In 1915 Herman and Lela Wilson came to Yates Township with twenty-five people from Chicago to inspect the real estate that would become the African American resort of Idlewild. The Wilsons promoted and sold property in Idlewild, then moved there permanently in 1921. Between July 1922 and August 1925, they platted three subdivisions, giving the streets names such as Paradise Path, Righteous Road, Wisdom Way, and Kindness Avenue. Built in 1927, the Wilson House, a fieldstone bungalow, reflects the prominence of Herman and Lela Wilson as among Idlewild’s early promoters and developers. They owned motels, seasonal cottages, and a grocery store behind their house until they built a market kitty-corner from there in 1948. They also owned the Paradise Club across Wilson Drive, where the Fiesta Room featured the Idlewild Revue, a nationally known floorshow.