“Depths of Knowledge”
George Williams College along Geneva Lake in Williams Bay, Wisconsin
November 24, 2024
To me, this was the coolest place on Geneva Lake. Nowhere else could even compare.
I am talking about George Williams College (GWC) in Williams Bay, Wisconsin, along the north shore of the lake. The iconic dome of Yerkes Observatory is in the background.
I made this photograph on November 26, 2006, with my Leica 35mm camera and 135mm lens attached to a tripod positioned on Rainbow Point in Fontana along the south shore of the lake. The point is almost flat with the water, hence this perspective, captured on Ilford Delta 100 speed black-and-white film.
Notice that I used the word “was” in my reference to the college in my opening sentence because the campus was shut down in December 2023 by Aurora University, whose main campus is in Aurora, Illinois. The school owned the campus since 2000.
The university purchased the school from GWC and kept the name, which was incorporated into the university name. The college opened in 1890. Before that, the property was used as a YMCA camp and therefore often known as College Camp.
The 137-acre campus, which includes an inactive 18-hole golf course, is under contract for sale to Topography Hospitality of Chicago. The company is owned by Liam Krehbiel, who started it in 2021.
He is planning to turn the property into The Preserve at Williams Bay. The upscale, luxury development will have a country inn, retreat center, amphitheater, racquet courts, restaurants, cabins, activity center, spa, and nature preserve. Private memberships will be available, and the facilities will be accessible at various times by the public without membership.
Details about the new development are at www.thepreservewilliamsbay.com. The Facebook page is The Preserve at Williams Bay.
Having first come to the Geneva Lake area in 1957, I have been to College Camp and its successors many times since then. I always have delighted in the vibe of the place because of its location, architecture, events, activities, and people who worked there.
I especially enjoyed Music by the Lake, which was held in the former Lewis Auditorium in 1951-69 and then in an outdoor pavilion in 2001-23. For example, I remember seeing “Tonight Show” band leader and trumpeter Doc Severinson in the auditorium.
I frequently went to pavilion performances when they were arranged by Christine Flasch. She produced and directed several impressive theatrical shows.
The jazz concert by Gordon Goodwin’s Big Phat Band from Los Angeles was sensational, and I liked hearing Peter Frampton in concert, particularly when he sang “While My Guitar Gently Weeps,” one of my favorite Beatles tunes. And, of course, the Lake Geneva Symphony Orchestra concerts were excellent.
Apart from the musical entertainment, I went to numerous other cultural events, programs, and lectures at GWC. I came away from them enriched and enlightened. Most notably, I had an exhibit of my lake-area photography there in early 2001 titled “World of Wonder.”
View more photos of the Geneva Lake area and other parts of Walworth County in the portfolios on my home page.