| Home | Tour | InnFo | Getting There | About Bailey House | Around Town | Contact Us |
 |
||
 The scenic settlement now known as Williams Bay began about 1879. By the turn of the century it was well populated with homes and summer cottages along sparkling Lake Geneva. The village was connected to Chicago in 1888, when the Chicago Northwestern Railroad opened its end-of-the-line station in Williams Bay. |
||
| One of the earliest tax plates of the area (1873) shows the first house and orchard belonged to Kiah Bailey. The contemporary structure shows its strong “prairie architecture" common to manor houses before the later Victorian design became popular. Tax assessment records indicate the most significant expansion of the Bailey House occurred between 1920-1930 by John M. Smythe of the Chicago furniture family. | ||
 Today, the lovely, rambling home, situated on three wooded acres includes a large, in-ground swimming pool, hardwood floors and a famous architectural neighbor...the University of Chicago’s Yerkes Observatory where Bailey House guests can stroll over to enjoy FREE weekend tours. | ||
 In the modern Bailey House of today, one can still interact with distinct elements of our nations history. According to John Beckman, Innkeeper, "The table used in the dining room was once a part of a New England barn, portions of which may have built from the Mayflower herself." Oddly, this astonishing fact remains an "undocumented" part of the Inn's history. |
||