The Geneva Lake Conservancy purchased two properties adjacent to Lake Ivanhoe in Walworth County with funding from the Knowles-Nelson Stewardship Program and a North American Wetland Conservation Act grant through Ducks Unlimited.
The two properties, totaling 42 acres, are part of the Lake Ivanhoe community and will connect with Wisconsin Department of Natural Resources (DNR) land to form a 120-acre nature preserve. The DNR has identified the preserve as a Conservation Opportunity Area of regional significance throughout the Midwest. The Wisconsin Historical Society has also recognized the history of Lake Ivanhoe as Wisconsin’s first African American resort community with a historical marker.
Named in honor of the Anglin family, one of the original founding families of the Lake Ivanhoe community, the preserve will be open to the public sometime in 2024. The Lake Geneva News covered the site dedication.
Geneva Lake Conservancy Executive Director Karen Yancey said, “This is a special purchase not only because it protects the rare wetland plants that are so important to wildlife, but also because it preserves and recognizes the land’s history as an integral part of a vacation resort for African-American families throughout much of the last century.”
Featured image by Joshua Mayer, 2015.
