Lake Ivanhoe, Wisconsin

Lake Ivanhoe is a

In 1926, Jeremiah Brumfield, Frank Anglin and Bradford Watson purchased an 83-acre farm on Ryan Lake to develop a resort community for other middle-class Black Chicagoans.^[3][4] A white real estate agent named Ivan Bell brokered the deal, and the community was named Lake Ivanhoe in his honor. In addition to private lots for cottages and summer homes, the resort included a music pavilion that opened in 1927 with a performance by Cab Calloway. The resort also hosted fishing contests, beauty pageants, and boxing matches.^[3]

Lake Ivanhoe was successful until 1929, when property sales declined during the Great Depression. In 1934, Chicago Bears player Edward Sternaman began purchasing unsold property at Lake Ivanhoe with the intention of turning the community into a white resort. He built fences to restrict Black residents' beach and lakefront access, but when the residents filed a civil suit, a judge ruled that the lake was a public good, and Sternaman abandoned his plans and left the area.^[3]

Black families continued to move to the area after World War II, making it a year-round community by the 1970s.

Demographics

This section needs expansion. You can help by adding to it. (January 2023)

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
2010	435		—
2020	461		6.0%
U.S. Decennial Census[6]

See also

• African American resorts

References