In 1870 Harrison Ludington, a three-term Milwaukee mayor and governor of Wisconsin, purchased 100 acres here and established an exemplary farm where he worked to improve the quality of the state’s livestock. In 1881 he built this large “Gentleman’s Farmhouse” for his son Frederick. The westernmost 62 acres of the farm became Ravenswood Subdivision in 1926. Ludington descendants lived in this house until 1950.