Björklunden (, ; in full: Björklunden Vid Sjön, ) is the northern campus of

Lawrence University Lawrence University is a private liberal arts college and conservatory of music in Appleton, Wisconsin. Founded in 1847, its first classes were held on November 12, 1849. Lawrence was the second college in the U.S. to be founded as a coeducation ...

. The estate is on

Lake Michigan Lake Michigan is one of the five Great Lakes of North America. It is the second-largest of the Great Lakes by volume () and the third-largest by surface area (), after Lake Superior and Lake Huron. To the east, its basin is conjoined with that o ...

in Door County, Wisconsin, just south of

Baileys Harbor The Town of Baileys Harbor is located in Door County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 1,003 at the 2000 census. The unincorporated community of Peninsula Center is located in the town. The census-designated place of Baileys Har ...

. The landscape covers meadows, woods, and over a mile of Lake Michigan shoreline. Lawrence faculty and students attend seminars and retreats during the academic term. During the summer, Lawrence holds week-long adult

continuing education Continuing education (similar to further education in the United Kingdom and Republic of Ireland, Ireland) is an all-encompassing term within a broad list of post-secondary learning activities and programs. The term is used mainly in the United ...

courses. All of these courses and retreats take advantage of Björklunden's natural situation and landscape. Recitals and

concert A concert is a live music performance in front of an audience. The performance may be by a single musician, sometimes then called a recital, or by a musical ensemble, such as an orchestra, choir, or band. Concerts are held in a wide variety a ...

s also occur and are free and open to the public. Almost 1,400 students and faculty members from 65 groups attended 30 separate programs during the 2004–05 academic year. Donald and Winifred Boynton of

Highland Park, Illinois Highland Park is a suburban city located in the southeastern part of Lake County, Illinois, United States, about north of downtown Chicago. Per the 2020 census, the population was 30,176. Highland Park is one of several municipalities located o ...

, bequeathed the estate to Lawrence University in 1963. At the time, the buildings on the estate included a main lodge and a stave church the Boyntons handcrafted from 1939 to 1947, including 41

fresco Fresco (plural ''frescos'' or ''frescoes'') is a technique of mural painting executed upon freshly laid ("wet") lime plaster. Water is used as the vehicle for the dry-powder pigment to merge with the plaster, and with the setting of the plaste ...

es and carved-wood furnishings. The rustic wooden chapel is a popular site for weddings during the summer. Fire destroyed the main lodge in 1993. The new lodge opened in 1996, much larger and more modern, but with elements retaining the Norwegian heritage of the estate. The University signed an agreement with the Door County Land Trust in 2016 to protect 305 of the site's 441 acres from future development. The land is primarily boreal forest occurring far south of its normal range.

Gallery

References

*"$5 million campaign would expand Björklunden lodge", ''Door County Advocate'', August 6–7, 2005, p. 3A.

External links

Official SiteInterior of Boynton Chapel
photo, ''Wisconsin Historical Society''
Boynton Chapel
drawings and diagrams, ''Historic American Buildings Survey''
Bjorklunden with Mark Breseman
by the Baileys Harbor Historical Society, ''Sevastopol TV'', August 21, 2014, 1:09:51 Buildings and structures in Door County, Wisconsin Lawrence University Education in Door County, Wisconsin Tourist attractions in Door County, Wisconsin 1928 establishments in Wisconsin {{Wisconsin-struct-stub