Minor Update & Photographs

(Scroll down for pictures + update) 

It has been a while since my last post. I have been making numerous enquires, all of which so far have been ignored. Perhaps I have come across as medling, or just plain neurotic by taking such an interest in a rather obscure topic. 

I have a tendency not to express myself well (at 3am) so I do hope this comes across right. I feel I should clarify that I am not trying making any judgement about the 'truthfulness' of all the claims made. I have no intention of declaring hauntings are real or not (nobody likes a biased history site).

My interest, is in what I can show is definitely real. There was a house.... there were articles, there were stories, photos and claims made. As to whether they were truthful .... you may draw your own conclusions and please feel free post if you have any opinions, insite or contributions and so forth. 

Summerwind Mansion was a beautiful building. My aim for this blog, is to show its history. 

Currently have a backlog of things meaning to be posted. Trying to verify some of the sources....so while I am chasing that up..Heres a little update...
  
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I found this photograph. This is the same photo which was on the official Summerwind Mansion website with the copyright notice on it. However this one appears to be the original image, curious about its source. On the smaller image which was on the official site, it was captioned 'circa 1916, copyright 2006'

• http://www.landolakeshistory.org/assets/galleries/78/1wbay03.jpg

This shows the original building which stood before the summerwind mansion was built. The writing under this photo (what I can make out at least) says 

"view of the main buildings at west bay lake resort" 

"Summerwind was constructed during the early 20th century as a fishing lodge." -via wiki
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Another find...

So far been unable to find the original source, as I suspect it wasn't from this site. Two incredibly detailed images. 

• http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/vipermike2002/Summerwind/Summerwind_01.jpg 
• http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v609/vipermike2002/Summerwind/Summerwind_01.jpg 

from http://www.thechicagogarage.com/forum/off-topic/993-my-latest-exploration-ruins-summerwind-mansion.html 

I have come across some attempts to join these images together. It would seem (on close inspection) they are two separate images, as one is on a slightly different angle.

I did try to join them. producing this ... (please note this is a manipulated image, as you can see the originals in the above links). 

From the site it states it was taken in 'the early 1980s' to see larger http://oi50.tinypic.com/2h742m1.jpg  .

Another very detailed picture 

To see the original links :

• http://www.landolakeshistory.org/assets/galleries/78/1wbay03.jpg
• http://www.landolakeshistory.org
• http://www.thechicagogarage.com/forum/off-topic/993-my-latest-exploration-ruins-summerwind-mansion.html

Two Articles

Many posts to be made today. Found two articles last night, One of which I cant find the origin or content. The image is from http://image26.webshots.com/26/1/56/68/366415668BCPTAV_ph.jpg  and supposedly comes from http://www.pic2fly.com/Pictures+of+Summer+Wind+Mansion.html site . The website shows a dead link, and I cant find what paper it is from. The word 'sat' past tense suggests that the article is post 1988, but that is about all the information I can deduce from it. Been looking through the archives found many interesting articles, but not what im looking for just yet, plenty more places to search. Im trying to document the history of the Summerwind mansion rather than focus on the Paranormal Investigations, but any account is Interesting. 

Another article from the Boulder Bulletin 2010 'a newspaper near Land O' Lakes, Wisconsin', 

The article is very difficult to read from photograph so here is the content 

"Once a stunning mansion, a building with vast windows overlooking a beautiful lake, Summerwind mansion is nothing now but land of ruins, nevertheless, it was never truly perfect. According to the families that owned and lived there, the mansion was haunted.
They would witness unexplainable events and abandon the place with no explanation. One family in particular had much to tell. 

They supposedly saw many ghosts and observed the mansion replaying the past, or was it the future? Still, some feel the stories that families have told are part of publicity hoax. In 1988 the remains of Summerwind was struck by lightning and burnt to the ground. All that’s left of this once grand home in northern Wisconsin on west bay lake are the stone archways and chimneys. Even though Summerwind is now destroyed, the spirits live on. Medias of all kinds included Books, newspaper articles and even a show that aired on the discovery channel have focused on Summerwind. Recently Tony and Devon bell, independent filmmakers from Eau Claire, WI, featured Summerwind as their season finale to their web video series ‘the haunting experiments’. 

The YouTube video came out on October 13 2010 and is about 13 minute long. They also have a Facebook page, the secrets of Summerwind. Because of the web series, the bells have been featured in local magazines as well as guest speakers at a paranormal group. For more information about this series visit the websites http://thehauntingexperiments.synthasite.com/ or http://hauntingsexperimentwebvideoseries-yolasite.com " 

Only the first link currently works, And the video 'the secrets of summerwind' has been removed from youtube, it can however be purchased at http://www.amazon.com/The-Secrets-Summerwind-Devon-Bell/dp/B005C5UJA4 , it is 13 minutes long.  The image from the above article is from http://thehauntingexperiments.synthasite.com/media.php

• http://image26.webshots.com/26/1/56/68/366415668BCPTAV_ph.jpg
• http://thehauntingexperiments.synthasite.com/media.php

Summerwind Mansion General History

This Blog contains a detailed history about the Summerwind mansion (otherwise known as Lamont mansion) I shall include sources at the bottom of each article. If anyone has any anything they would like to contribute or correct feel free to comment, My aim is to collect the information which is scattered about into one useful source. I am updating this as I find new information (quite a lot of things to post).

"Summerwind Photos and More 1981-88
Post by omw on Mar 20, 2009, 6:31pm"

General history from Wikipedia 

"Summerwind, formerly known as Lamont Mansion, is a ruined mansion on the shores of West Bay Lake inVilas County, Wisconsin. It is reputed to be one of the most haunted locations in the state. As a result of abandonment, the elements, and fire, little of the mansion currently remains standing. For a while it was popular with paranormal tourists. Summerwind's ruins are located on private land and are closed to the public. The mansion was featured on an episode of A Haunting. The show is aired on The Discovery Channel.

Location 

"Summerwind was constructed on the edge of West Bay Lake in Vilas County, North East Wisconsin, off of the western intersection between Highway B and Helen Creek Road. The coordinates of the mansion's location are N46 11.916 W089 25.298."

Origin

"Summerwind was constructed during the early 20th century as a fishing lodge. In 1916 it was purchased by Robert Patterson Lamont, who employed Chicago architects Tallmadge and Watson to substantially remodel the property and convert it into a mansion.The renovations took two years to complete, and led to the near total reconstruction of significant portions of the property.  

Lamont remained in Summerwind for approximately 15 years, during which time the maids told Lamont that the mansion was haunted, but he did not believe them as the building was too new. However, he is then reported to have abandoned the property suddenly in the mid 1930s after witnessing an apparition in the mansion's kitchen. Local legend holds that he and his wife were eating dessert in the kitchen, when the door to the basement started to shake open, revealing the ghostly form of a man. Robert Lamont was reported to have taken one look at the ghost, and pulled out a pistol. The ghost swung the door shut and Lamont squeezed off two shots in its direction, before fleeing the residence with his wife."

• http://chadlewis.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=wisconsinghosts&action=print&thread=1331
• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summerwind 

Fascinating collection of photographs found at This site. 

"Summerwind Photos and More 1981-88
Post by omw on Mar 20, 2009, 6:15pm

So I got a photos album from one of my mom's good friends. Inside is all sorts of photos and documentation from her research on Summerwind and the Paulding Light from 1981-88. I will start scanning some of this in to share with you all. I was amazed what I found inside when I got the album. Lets start with the inside cover. Here's a piece of Summerwind from before it burned down."

http://chadlewis.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=wisconsinghosts&action=print&thread=1331

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(Link Bellow) An Interesting article from Quad City Times, in October 29, 1995  wrote,

"A Realtor, who once handled the sale of the terri-fying haunted house, picked a brick off the porch as a souvenir. While driving away, she had an automobile accident and just last week told me she had "long ago thrown that brick away."

The last time at Summerwind, I stood on the porch of the wasted stone ruins, closing my eyes to the era when such lumi-naries as President Warren Harding stayed within its 26-room palaced walls. I honestly felt an exultant feeling of the creeps. I had been searching for the place for hours, and upon finding it hidden in the deep timber, was eerily excited.
I cupped an ear for transcendental organ sounds, said to still drift off the nearby lake at night because a one-time resident was driven mad by ghosts who demanded to be soothed by organ music. His wife attempted suicide. 

As the legend goes, a Great Lakes captain, Jonathan Carver, once owned the tract but was tricked out of the deed at the site where Summerwind was built. He died a pauper, and is one of the ghosts claimed to reappear to reclaim ownership. The mansion itself was built in 1916 by mil-lionaire Robert P. Lamont, who became Pres-ident Hoover's secretary of commerce. Bizarre events followed as owner-upon-owner bought it, and sold it, spooked by apparitions and ghostly goings on. Wallpaper hung on one day would fall off the next. Paint would change colors overnight. A ghost named Ma-thilda was said to float through walls and windows. One owner was driven to a mental institution. A resident was struck speechless, to never utter another word, upon finding a skeleton sealed in a wall. 

The empty mansion, built mightily of stone, brick and frame, had just burned under strange circumstances when I last visited. Still, walls and chimney stood gauntly. A stranger said, "Come back to me after you've been there and tell me what you smelled." I caught the strange essence of orange rind. "You're correct," he said. "That is from the spirits." There is no question among towners yet today that when the mansion burned, that skeleton, still sealed within a wall, was consumed by flames. 

In recent years, several businessmen bought the site for $20,000, envisioning it as a potential haunted bed and breakfast. The tales of ghosts were too realistic for investors to get involved. All backed out. 

"Certainly, now I'm out of the deal," says Jerry Olk, of Head-water State Bank of Wisconsin. "In everyone's mind around here, it's still a haunted place."
One of those who had invested in the restoration was Roger "Skip" Pfohl. He claims to have been clutched by the curse of Summerwind. 

"My life has been a nightmare since buying an interest in that place," he told me. "I lost a franchise business. My best friends, who co-owned Summerwind with me, weren't speaking to me. I had a psychic visit it. He got out in a hurry, said it was so spooked that even he wanted no part of it." 

The curse lingers. In recent weeks, Skip was starting an old Chris Craft in his boat house. It exploded, blowing him into the water and burning the house to water's edge. He escaped with a broken leg, and luckily friends were nearby to save his life. 

Summerwind is now owned by a Chicago couple, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Tracy, who have left the place in a certain abandoned, spooky splendor, but banker Olk believes they might sell for $100,000. " 

 __________________________________________________________________________

(Link Bellow) Another article from Quad City Times, in October 28, 2007 wrote.

"I called Jerry Olk, of Headwater State Bank in Land O’ Lakes.  He said, “What’s left of Summerwind is still there, mostly tall stone fireplace chimneys and the stone porches that were left when the place burned a dozen or so years ago. Nothing has been done since the last time you were here. It’s a beautiful spot that no one wants.”

 Photos from Forum click to see more 

"I’ve vainly tried to reach the Summerwind owners, Mr. and Mrs. Harold Tracy of Chicago. There is an answering machine, with a woman’s cheery voice that says “Greetings.” But I’ve received no return calls. The mystery is still there. Are all the tales true, about skeletons, bullet holes and cars bursting into flames in the driveway?"

To see the full article check out :

• Quad City Times article 1995
• Quad City Times Article 2007
• Forum Discussion and Pictures
• http://chadlewis.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=wisconsinghosts&action=print&thread=1331

Robert Patterson Lamont

Born: 1-Dec-1867
Died: 20-Feb-1948
Birthplace: Detroit, MI
Location of death: Chicago, IL
Cause of death: unspecified
Gender: Male
Nationality: United States
Executive summary: US Commerce Secretary, 1929-32
Military service: US Army (WWI)

Father: Robert Lamont
Mother: Isabella Patterson
Father's Birth Place: Scotland
Mother's Birth Place: Canada English 
  


photo of Lamont, Robert P. Honorable. It was made between 1905 and 1945 by Harris & Ewing. 

Wife: Helen Gertrude Trotter (m. 24-Oct-1894, one son, two daughters)

Son: Robert Patterson Lamont Jr (estimate. born 1898) 
Daughter: Gertrude Lamont (estimate. born 1904)
Daughter: Dorothy Lamont (estimate. born 1910)

University: BS Civil Engineering, University of Michigan (1891)

•   US Secretary of Commerce (1929-32)
•   Simplex Railway Appliance Foundries Corporation to President (1905-)
•   Thailer & Schinglau Secretary & Engineer (architecture firm, 1892-97)
•   World Columbian Exhibition (Chicago) Engineer (1891)
•   American Iron and Steel Institute President 

"In 1916 Lamont constructed a retreat home in northern Wisconsin called Summerwind. Summerwind is known as one of the most haunted places in America, with Lamont himself firing a pistol at an apparition. The mansion was built in 1916 by Robert P. Lamont as a summer home for he and his family. Nestled on the shores of the lake, the house caught the cool breezes of northern Wisconsin and provided a comfortable place for Lamont to escape the pressures of everyday life in Washington D.C., as he would later go on to serve as the Secretary of Commerce under President Herbert Hoover.But life was not always sublime at Summerwind during the years of the Lamont family. For those who claim that the ghost stories of the house were "created" in later years, they forget the original tale of Robert Lamont’s encounter with a spirit. Legends of the house say that Lamont actually fired a pistol at a ghost that he believed was an intruder. The bullet holes in the basement door from the kitchen remained for many years. " -
lamont-young.com 

Photos from http://www.prairieghosts.com/summer.html

"Lamont remained in Summerwind for approximately 15 years, during which time the maids told Lamont that the mansion was haunted, but he did not believe them as the building was too new. However, he is then reported to have abandoned the property suddenly in the mid 1930s after witnessing an apparition in the mansion's kitchen. Local legend holds that he and his wife were eating dessert in the kitchen, when the door to the basement started to shake open, revealing the ghostly form of a man. Robert Lamont was reported to have taken one look at the ghost, and pulled out a pistol. The ghost swung the door shut and Lamont squeezed off two shots in its direction, before fleeing the residence with his wife." - Wiki

Curious find, an article from April 7th 1951, about Gertrude Lamont

• http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Summerwind
• http://www.lamont-young.com/lamont/getperson.php?personID=I14717&tree=Lamont
• http://www.old-picture.com/american-legacy/000/Robert-Lamont-P.htm
• http://www.nndb.com/people/404/000167900/
• http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=IORXAAAAIBAJ&sjid=O_YDAAAAIBAJ&dq=robert%20patterson%20lamont&pg=4970%2C2453673

Summerwind House Fire

"In June 1988, Summerwind was struck by lightning several times, resulting in a fire that destroyed much of the mansion. Today, only the house's chimney stacks, foundations, and stone steps remain." - wiki

http://chadlewis.proboards.com/index.cgi?board=wisconsinghosts&action=print&thread=1331

Interestingly in The Milwaukee Journal - 11th of Feb ,1985 three years before the house burnt down .... 

"Supervisors of the Town of Land O'lakes are tired of repeated vandalism and a series of noisy weekend parties by teenages. Town Chairman Ronald Ramesh said the town expected to petition Vilas County Circuit Court for permission to burn the building"

Second part 

See full : 

• http://news.google.com/newspapers?id=5mYaAAAAIBAJ&sjid=IyoEAAAAIBAJ&pg=5584%2C547045

Article from 1985 Summerwind Mansion

Bellow is an Article from The Milwaukee Journal - Oct 21, 1985.  8 Months after  "Town Chairman Ronald Ramesh said the town expected to petition Vilas County Circuit Court for permission to burn the building"(see Here)and 3 years before the house was burnt down by lightning. 

At the end of the article it notes 'reprinted with permission of Beth Scott and Michael Norman from their book "haunted heartland". I've noticed many significant inconsistencies in this article (compared to other accounts) So in my next post I shall highlight inconsistencies i've come across so far. I dont own a copy of this book, however it would be interesting to see if the author had included the sources to which they gathered this information.
The book can be purchased at:

http://www.amazon.com/Haunted-Heartland-Beth-Scott/dp/0446357251  

see the link to the article bellow. 

The Milwaukee Journal - Oct 21, 1985

• The Milwaukee Journal - Oct 21, 1985 Page 1
• The Milwaukee Journal - Oct 21, 1985 Page 2