405 N Mayflower Rd,
Lake Forest, IL 60045

10 beds-- baths25,000 sqft

One of Illinois' most architecturally-significant estates on Lake Michigan, the Schweppe Estate, was restored to perfection in 1987 and 1988 by 70 craftsmen and European artists/stonecrafters. Over 440-foot of lake frontage, 28 rooms, 12 bedrooms, 12.5 baths, marble fireplaces, intricate limestone molding and plaster relief ceilings. Exquisite dining room with beveled mirror panels and handsome library with spectacular detail. Fabulous gardens and grounds.

A few miles north of Chicago, where Dr Henry Howard Holmes tortured and killed as many as 200 people during the 1893 World's Fair, a clumsy cow burnt down most of the city in 1871, and the Chicago Cubs have been under a demonic goat curse since 1945, is one of the most beautiful estates in the United States. It has everything a buyer could ever want including detailed old world architecture and spectacular Lake Michigan views. The only bad thing is that some people say it is haunted.

In 1917, as war raged in Europe, Chicago’s wealthy elite were still enjoying the bounty of the Golden Age. These families produced landmark American companies and many of the goods that we still buy today. They also built fabulous mansions with a level of craftsmanship that is almost impossible to duplicate today.

Such was the case of two important families, John G. Shedd, chairman of Marshall Field & Co. and donator of the Shedd Aquarium to Chicago, and the Schweppe family, heir to the carbonated beverage company. Since families of great fortune usually married into other families of great wealth, the

marriage of Laura Shedd and Charles H. Schweppe seemed made in high society heaven. John Shedd gave his daughter Mayflower Place, a grand 24,500-square-foot English Renaissance mansion, as a wedding present.

During its heyday, Mayflower Place was host to many of the world’s most notable members of American and European society. Included in the guest list were abdicated King Edward, Duke of Windsor and Wallis Simpson. In the summer of 1926, Sweden's Crown Prince Gustavus Adolphus and his Princess Louise were guests at the estate and were said to have danced on the large terraces.

But things soon turned bad. In 1937, the lovely Laura Schweppe died at age 58 of a heart attack,

leaving Charles only $200,000 of her $10 million estate. Charles became despondent from the financial slight as well as loneliness and committed suicide with a gun shot to his head in 1941. The only clue from Charles was a note he left on his dresser, “I've been awake all night. It's terrible.”

So why was Charles “awake all night?” After his death, the magnificent mansion remained empty and liveless for almost 50 years. Rumors spread that both Laura and Charles' ghosts roamed the mansion's empty corridors. Some people even said that the servants, who discovered Charles' dead body,

also became ghosts and never left. Which might explain the one window overlooking the home's driveway that people say has always remained spotless no matter how dirty the rest of the windows might be.

Now called the Schweppe Mansion, the home was purchased in the late 1980s and underwent a total two-year restoration by 70 craftsmen, including Italian artisans and Bavarian stonecrafters. However the couple who did the restoration divorced, and the home went to foreclosure in 2009, leaving the estate to the bank.

It is easy to understand why ghosts might not want to leave such an exquisite estate, but it seems the ghosts are officially gone and the beautiful mansion is for sale. With approximately 400 feet of Lake Michigan beachfront, the home has 10 bedroom, 16 bathrooms, 11 fireplaces, a library, family-game room, elevator, and extensive marble and limestone mouldings. The exterior includes lush landscaping, balconies, terraces, fountains and gardens with Lake Michigan beach.

The Schweppe Mansion, located in Lake Forest about half way between Chicago (John Wayne Gacy and Richard Speck) and Milwaukee (Jeffrey Dahmer), is asking $12 million