E.H. Dupee’s Property [Lac La Belle, Wisconsin]

A prominent Gilded Age family property in Jefferson County, Wisconsin.

This unique pair of manuscript blueprint plans identifies a large parcel of property in Jefferson County, WI owned by E.H. (Eugene Henry) Dupee. The area around Oconomowoc in southern Wisconsin, about 130 miles from Chicago, was a favored summer retreat and considered by many to be the ‘Newport of the West’, until its decline during the Great Depression.

The earlier sheet, dated Oct. 17th, 1928, was surveyed by J. Alex. Stemper and shows a basic large-scale overview of the ~13-acre area. County and township borders are noted on the far right. The smaller, later, plan is dated 1931 and presents a smaller-scale map of the region around Oconomowoc. The E.H. Dupee Property is labeled, along with local amenities like railroads, industries, and golf courses.

While an impressive property in its own right, Eugene’s was by no means the grandest Dupee estate in the area. His great-uncle, John Dupee, created a lavish summer residence called Edgemoor near Buzzard’s Point on Lac La Belle. Eugene Henry Dupee (1866-1960) would follow in the footsteps of his father, Charles Anado Dupee, and become an influential attorney in the city of Chicago with the practice of Lyman, Adams, Bishop & Dupee. He worked closely with the Board of Local Improvements and served as special counsel to the Lincoln Park Board of Commissioners during the implementation of the Burham Plan. Eugene and his wife, Georgia, had three children: Charles, Jane, and Eugene Henry, Jr.

Sources: Geocaching.com; Ancestry.com; City of Oconomowoc; Chicago Design Slinger;