Community with colorful history offers homes in resort-like setting
Once a posh resort town for the affluent, Lake Villa today offers a thriving residential and business community that attracts more and more homebuyers each year.
"We're still a small town with a lot of good, affordable housing and a broad range of housing," said Bob Linke, broker-associate with RE/MAX Advisors Realty. "We have starter homes for less than $100,000 all the way up to the big lakefront houses that can go for more than $1 million. A good size house in a prime location on the Chain O' Lakes can be pretty expensive."
Linke says there are also some older historical homes from the early 1900s in Venetian Village in Lake Villa, where he lives.
"There's an interesting story from a gentleman in his 80s who is writing a book about the neighborhood. Word is that the original plan for the neighborhood was to have canals where the streets are, similar to Venice in Italy. I don't know what happened to that idea."
Several mansions from the town's early days still stand and are a rich part of the town's history. The fabulous Lehmann home is a stucco castle built in 1912 as a summer home for Edward J. Lehmannn and his family.
Lehmann's father, E.J. (Ernst) Lehmann, owned a jewelry and department store in Chicago and was known as the "Merchant Prince of State Street." He brought in the railroad and built a resort hotel in Lake Villa in the 1880s. Along with John Stratton, E.J. Lehmann owned a livery stable and bus barn that offered horse-drawn carriage rides to local resorts from the train station, as well as sightseeing tours.
The village purchased Edward Lehmann's mansion in 2001. The residence has been beautifully restored to the grandeur of its past. Today it is a great facility for hosting weddings and village and community events. Also, in front of the mansion (Mansion Park), the village just added a skate park, softball, soccer and baseball fields and a gazebo.
"It's a very nice park," said Robert Frank, broker-owner of Robert E. Frank Real Estate Inc.
"There are many amenities here such as Lehmann Park, which many consider the jewel of Lake Villa," he said. "It hosts various events and is the focal point for Lake Villa activities."
A favorite among residents, the park provides swimming in Cedar Lake, boat launching, volleyball, picnic shelter with tables and grills and playground equipment.
Two other parks offering recreation are Steven Sherwood Memorial Park with a tot playground, tennis courts, volleyball, horseshoe pit and shelter, while Glacier Park has swimming and a boat launch.
Known as the Gateway to the Lakes Region, Lake Villa has two beautiful lakes within its boundaries. Deep Lake is popular for water sports while Cedar Lake is good for fishing and offers a nice calm lake with no high-powered motors, Frank said. "It's rated as one of the cleanest lakes in Illinois - one of the top for quality of water."
The two lakes, smaller lakes and ponds and wetlands have been important in Lake Villa's historic tourist industry and even led to a small ice industry.
Being close to the Chain O' Lakes and just 10 minutes from the Wisconsin border, people enjoy all the summer and winter sports here, Linke said. "Boating, fishing, snowmobiling, the usual things, ice fishing tournaments, and things like that are pretty popular."
Lake Villa borders the Grant Woods Forest Preserve, which has walking trails. And the Millennium Trail winds up in the Painted Lake subdivision, which leads to the youth village premier baseball complex, Frank said.
"It's a town with great community spirit. We're one of the few towns in Lake County that has a St. Patrick's Day Parade. Last night I took my daughter to a historical society meeting for a presentation on beekeeping. The library is right there on Grand Avenue. My daughter goes there with her grandmother. I think there are so many wonderful events and activities here.
"Lake Villa has it all," he said. "We have a commuter station here, too."