

Knollwood History
Knollwood's New History Page
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Geneva Lake’s premier 19th century hotel had a short, tragic life
By Dennis West
The Pishcotaqua Park House Hotel opened as a temperance resort in 1880. The four-story structure on the north shore of Geneva Lake was advertised as the largest in the Northwest. Although that may have been an exaggeration, with 87 rooms, 1,600 feet of lake frontage, one-third of a mile of balconies fronting all four floors and a dining room that seated 300 guests, it wasn’t your average hotel. Pishcotaqua was the Potowatomi word for “sparkling waters,” which was appropriate for a lakefront resort that didn’t serve alcoholic beverages. Despite its size and location, the resort wasn’t a resounding success. From 1880 to 1890 there were five owners, none of whom made money. Then in 1890, John S. Cooke of Chicago purchased the property and things began to improve. The main reason was that the Chicago & North Western Railroad had extended its tracks from Lake Geneva to Williams Bay in 1888, bringing thousands of weekenders to the west end of the lake. A converted railroad car parked by the side of the track near Lake Como provided a stop from which guests and luggage could be transported by wagon over the ridge to the big hotel on Geneva Lake. Another reason was that Cooke, ironically a successful distiller and brewer in Chicago, abandoned the temperance aspect of the place and made extensive improvements. He also bought a steam yacht and used it to transport guests to and from the railroad station in Williams Bay. Arthur Kaye, owner of Kaye’s Park across the lake from Cooke’s hotel, saw how successful it was and began to do the same thing. Profits at the Pishcotaqua Park House finally began to rise. But a carelessly discarded cigar started a fire that destroyed the hotel’s bowling alley, billiard hall, ice house barn and carriage house. It was a major setback, but Cooke brought in workmen who rebuilt the hotel, which opened to capacity for the 1891 season. Fate wasn’t finished with John Cooke, however. Another fire destroyed the entire hotel in December, 1892. It was at this point that he decided to abandon the hotel business and switch to farming. He rebuilt the relatively new building that had housed the billiard hall as a residence for his family, incorporated an addition and raised it onto a stone foundation. He renamed it Ara Glen after a scenic spot a few miles from his 1837 birthplace in County Cork, Ireland. His house is still there, but most of the property was subdivided. For many years the estate was the site of Camp Augustana. Today most of it is known as Knollwood Subdivision, though some belongs to the Ara Glen Subdivision, while another part is owned by the Chapel on the Hill Church and Christian Arts Center.
Apparently finding farming boring, Cooke reentered the beverage business. In 1897 he started a mineral water business, buying supplies from springs in Wauwatosa and Quincy, Ill. He called it Diuretin Mineral Water and claimed it was a remedy for Bright’s Disease, kidney troubles, dyspepsia and indigestion. Headquartered in Chicago, he named the enterprise the Ara-Glen Mineral Water Bottling Company.n Unfortunately, Cooke didn’t have long to enjoy his new home on Geneva Lake. In March, 1899 he died of a heart attack at his residence in Chicago.
Thanks to Maggie Gage, whose talk about the mansions of Geneva Lake during Geneva Lake Museum’s Tuesdays@2 brought the Pishcotaqua Park Hotel to our attention. Learn more about Geneva Lake Resorts at the museum, 255 Mill St. in Lake Geneva.
Obtained from the Beacon April 19, 2019


