History of Oak Lodge

Originally built in 1873, Oak Lodge stands as one of the earliest summer homes on Geneva Lake. Situated on the eastern shore near downtown Lake Geneva, the property is said to have once spanned nearly 23 acres with 1,300 feet of lake frontage, extending from what is now Campbell Street on the north to Stone Manor on the south. The original 10-room cottage was constructed by Allen C. Calkins, a prominent lumber dealer and former Chicago alderman.

After Calkins’ death in 1899, the estate was purchased by George D. Barnard, a St. Louis lithographer, who turned the modest cottage into a stately summer retreat. Barnard’s expansion gave Oak Lodge the architectural character that it maintains today.

In 1919, the property was sold to Daniel S. Peterkin Sr., a senior executive at Morton Salt who would later become the company’s president in 1930. Under Peterkin’s ownership, Oak Lodge was updated with advanced amenities for its time, including one of the area’s first air conditioning systems.

Peterkin’s son, Daniel Jr., also a Morton Salt executive, married Bessie Shaw in 1929, further linking Oak Lodge to some of the most prominent families on Geneva Lake. Bessie was the daughter of Yellow Cab Co-Founder Walden W. Shaw, whose family spent summers at Wadsworth Hall, a landmark estate on the lake’s north shore, which was later owned by Richard Driehaus.

Following Daniel Sr.’s passing in 1941, Oak Lodge was inherited by his daughter Jeannette and her husband, William O. Hunt. The Hunts owned the estate for more than 50 years, until William Hunt’s death in 1994.

In the years that followed, the original property fell into disrepair and the land was subdivided. Oak Lodge, now on 3.5 acres with 210 feet of lake frontage, underwent a meticulous historic restoration, which was completed in 2009. Today, this section of lakefront is home to a collection of stately residences.

Among them is 630 S. Lake Shore Drive, an exceptional vacant lot and a rare opportunity on Geneva Lake. With its prime location and historic pedigree, it offers a unique chance to build a legacy home along one of the lake’s most sought-after stretches of shoreline.

Sources: Lake Geneva Newport of the West 1870-1920 Volume 1 by Ann Wolfmeyer and Mary Burns Gage and At the Lake Magazine, A Historic Geneva Lake Home Gets a 21st-Century Update October 31, 2019.