Summerwind Mansion is located in Vilas County, Wisconsin.
According to popular accounts, Summerwind was built in the early 20th century as a fishing lodge on the edge of West Bay Lake in Vilas County, in northeastern Wisconsin, and in 1916, purchased by Robert Patterson Lamont. According to some stories circulated, Lamont employed Chicago architects for the remodeling. Some versions of the story name the architects as Tallmadge and Watson. Supposedly the renovations took two years to complete.
Legends include claims that Lamont fired a pistol at a ghost one night and was so frightened that he and his family abandoned the house. Other legends include claims that subsequent owners Arnold and Ginger Hinshaw were so disturbed by hauntings that Arnold suffered a “nervous breakdown” and Ginger attempted suicide
The popularity of the mansion as a paranormal site exploded when it was covered by Life Magazine in November 1980, featured as one of the top 9 most terrifying sites in the United States. Summerwind was portraited with a dark sinister photograph of a decaying structure. The information was presented based on myth and legends, different from the information uncovered by more recent investigators. The abandoned mansion became a magnet for thrill seekers and young teenagers who wanted to hang out (possibly as a place to smoke, to consume alcohol and to use drugs). The building was in decay, with the attic full of bats, with the theft of many of the belongings, and vandalism of the property.
On June 19, 1988, the mansion burned to the ground. The local media reported that the fire was caused by a lightning strike but others dispute that account. The landscape of the property had changed over the years of abandonment, with an overgrowth of trees and under-brush. Yet, none of the surrounding vegetation burned, only the building. In addition, the mansion still had functioning lightning rods. One local resident interviewed by the PIM team claims that the Fire Marshall sent a letter to the neighbors warning that the property was condemned as unsafe and was going to be burned by the fire department. Today, only some of the stone structures remain: two of the three majestic chimneys, the foundation, the basement, the stone arches facing the lake, and the stairways leading to the main entrance of the mansion.
