The Last Decades

The Clear Lake property went through two short-term tenures after 1969, finally settling into the wonderful strewardship of John and Edy Steinmann in 1977. John and Edy were gracious hosts, willingly giving tours and welcoming former residents. They raised their children there and, when the combination of age, health concerns and maintenance costs became too great, reluctantly offered the property for sale. No one ever imagined that they would be the last occupants of the house.

Much had changed since Hamilton had converted the old farm and farm house into the present properties in 1909. The then-empty landscape had since filled with houses, apartments and condos. Interstate 35 now grazed the west end of the lake, with a nearby exit causing the former small twon of Forest Lake to be swallowed up in the megapolitan sprawl of the Twin Cities. Property values, especially shore property, had soared. Like the RMS Queen Mary, the beautiful, old house had become too inefficient and expensive to own and operate.

A reprint of the final article in the local newspaper, describing the salvage auction held by the buyer prior to demolition, can be found under "The Ancestral Home/Some History".

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