A Storied Past

Notable Residents of Glen Arden

Mary Hawes Wilmarth (1837-1919) Mrs. Wilmarth began construction of Glen Arden in 1892. She was the widow of Henry Wilmarth, a wealthy gas fixture manufacturer and founder of the First National Bank of Chicago.

An outspoken suffragette and leading advocate for women's rights, Mrs. Wilmarth served as the president of the Women's City Club of Chicago. With fellow suffragette Jane Addams (who later won the Nobel Peace Prize), she was an integral supporter of Chicago’s Hull House.

Mrs. Wilmarth was a delegate at the National Convention that nominated Theodore Roosevelt for president. She also served as a trustee of the Chicago Historical Society and as chairman of the Women’s General Committee of the Educational Congress at the 1893 Chicago World’s Fair.

One of the most compassionate residents of Lake Geneva, Mrs. Wilmarth was known to host an annual summer party for the staff members of all the lakefront estates. 

Anna Wilmarth (1873-1935) Daughter of Mary Hawes and Henry Wilmarth. She was one of the first women to serve in the Illinois state legislature. She married Harold Ickes, and the two lived in Glen Arden until 1922, when Sidney Smith purchased the estate.

Harold Ickes (1874-1952) Named by TIME Magazine as one of the Top Ten Cabinet Members of All Time, Harold Ickes served as Secretary of the Interior in President Franklin Delano Roosevelt's cabinet. During his tenure, he protected America’s national parks from private industry abuse. From 1933-39, he was appointed head of the Public Works Administration, constructing many large dams and building numerous highways. A clever politician, Ickes was known as Roosevelt’s “hatchet man”, and was an essential part of FDR's being elected the United States's only four-term president. 

Sidney Smith (1877-1935) Sidney Smith was the cartoonist who created the Chicago Tribune’s long-running comic strip, The Gumps, which was also America’s first syndicated cartoon. In 1922, The Gumps yielded Smith a million-dollar contract with the Tribune, equivalent to about $14,000,000 today. Smith drew The Gumps in the third story turret room of Glen Arden, which is going to be restored to its original position. 

The Gumps was so popular nationally that there was a campaign to elect Andy Gump as president. The Chicago Tribune presented Smith with a life-size statue of Andy Gump, which today sits in Lake Geneva's main lakefront park. The road which accesses Glen Arden has been renamed Sidney Smith Lane in his honor. Sidney Smith is prominently featured in the Lake Geneva History Museum.

Garnet McKee (1878-1944) Garnet McKee was a Canadian born industrialist who hailed from Rockford, IL. A noted inventor, he developed the valve that allows windshield wipers to work automatically. He also was a pioneer in home heating and energy efficiency. McKee also purchased the second of the estate's two steam yachts, the Hathor. 

Ira Ogush (1922-2015) Ira Ogush was a Chicago jeweller heralding from New York. He was a member of New York's 24 Carat Club and president of the Chicago Jewelers' Association. During World War II, Mr. Ogush served as a B29 Bomber pilot in the Pacific Theatre, and was twice awarded the Distinguished Flying Cross.