Old McCormick Mansion Ruins
"Villa Turicum"
Lake Forest, Illinois

      After the divorce of Harold and Edith, the servants at Villa Turicum stayed there simply for maintenance reasons.  Edith never visited the estate after her return from Europe, although the house and grounds were kept in excellent condition. From the time Edith went to Europe (1913), to the time she died (1932), Villa Turicum stood in pristine condition. 

     Edith's death was a turning point for Villa Turicum.  At the time of her death, the estate of Mrs. McCormick was worth 1.5 million dollars.  However, the estate had outstanding debts of 3 million dollars.  This led to a public auction of her personal property.  In all, 3 million dollars worth of art and furnishings brought only $25,000 at auction.  These prices reflect the depression era.  At that time, no one had the capital to purchase the estate outright, so a small crew of caretakers made an effort to protect the property from the encroaching forest.  Part of the estate was sold to support the maintenance as well as to pay the property tax.   Slowly, Villa Turicum deteriorated.

     Thirteen years after the auction (c. 1945) a syndicate purchased the estate for $77,000 plus $160,000 in back taxes.  These men had envisioned the creation of a posh country club.  However, the plans were not financially sound, and the McCormick estate deteriorated further.

     By the early 1950's, weather and vandals had taken their toll on Villa Turicum.  In 1956, the estate as a whole changed hands for the last time.  Robert W. Kendler, president of Community Builders, Inc. of Skokie, Illinois bought the estate for $150,00 plus a $600,000 tax lien.  Originally hoping to restore Villa Turicum, Kendler was unable to do so because of the extensive damage.  Studies showed that the mansion was not structurally sound and the villa was ordered demolished.   Prior to demolition, Kendler removed any remaining items of value that had escaped vandals, such as wrought iron railings and marble and oak paneling.  It is an interesting note that Kendler made use of the old patio brick in houses he constructed on subdivisions of the estate.  Further, Kendler named his development Villa Turicum in honor of the area's history.

     As you can see, the remains of the once grand estate were few in 1983 when I was last there.  The gardens were mainly visible in the winter months when vegetation was low.  The stairs leading down to the pool had crumbled, as had the bath house.  Graffiti covered the walls of the bath house and parts could be found as far down as in the lake.

A doctor and his wife bought the property and have been painstakingly restoring the gardens and as much of the property as possible.  If you would like to see what they have done, check out the Summer 2001 issue of Chicago Home and Garden Magazine.  The photos are awesome, and the work that they have done is too fantastic to even try to describe. I am trying to get permission to put some of the photos on this site.

Much of the information on "Fact or Fiction" came from a paper written by Charles Barkley, which was provided to me by Richard Steck.   Thanks!