Upper Lone Tree Farm Listed in the National Register of Historic Places

TOWN OF BROOKLYN, Wis. – Upper Lone Tree Farm was listed in the National Register of Historic Places on July 16, 2026. Listed at the statewide level of significance, the complex is a rare example of a model farm.

Upper Lone Tree Farm is located three miles west of the city of Green Lake at the southeast corner of the intersection of State Highway 23 and County Highway T. The complex is sited on the grounds of the Green Lake Conference Center and the Lawsonia Golf Course. Upper Lone Tree Farm is a distinctive example of a model farm property type that features Dutch Colonial Revival style architecture. It is one of the most intact and rarest model farms developed in Wisconsin between 1913 and 1916 for Jessie and Victor Lawson of Chicago; it stands as the second of two model farms on the estate. 

The district covers 23.1 acres with 17 contributing resources (14 buildings and three structures) that are unified through the use of estate livery, architectural features used on most estate buildings. The farm buildings consist of a concrete foundation, exterior drop siding painted dark green, and a gambrel roof clad with wood shingles. The animal barns are highlighted by oversized haymow doors with multi-pane, fixed upper windows and multi-pane, quarter-round transoms set in a round arch. This provided a template for all agricultural outbuildings that inspired the Dutch Colonial Revival style. A second motif can be found on barns: front-gabled dormers with diamond-pane casement windows. The Guernsey barn displays the characteristics of the “Wisconsin Dairy Barn” promoted by the University of Wisconsin Agricultural Experiment Station standing as a large barn framed on the south by grand, glazed clay tile silos. The complex also includes the Shell Gas Station, designed in the same architectural style and materials, and constructed to serve the guests. Both the barn and gas station are representative examples of the style and property type.

The property is owned by the American Baptist Assembly (ABA); they acquired most of the Lawsons’ Estate in 1943 for a training and conference center, now known as the Green Lake Conference Center (GLCC).

Additional information for Upper Lone Tree Farm is available.

Learn more about the State and National Register programs in Wisconsin. 

About the Wisconsin Historical Society

The Wisconsin Historical Society, founded in 1846, ranks as one of the largest, most active and most diversified state historical societies in the nation. As both a state agency and a private membership organization, its mission is to help people connect to the past by collecting, preserving and sharing stories. The Wisconsin Historical Society serves millions of people every year through a wide range of sites, programs and services. The Wisconsin Historical Foundation, a 501(c)(3) tax exempt organization, receives grants and private contributions benefitting the Wisconsin Historical Society and administers the membership program. For more information, visit www.wisconsinhistory.org.