Educational reformer Harlan Page Davidson founded Northwestern Military Academy in Highland Park, Illinois in 1888. For years many cadets came from northern Illinois, but enrollment broadened after the academy moved to the shores of Lake Geneva, Wisconsin, in 1915. The Davidson family, especially Harlan Page Davidson and his son Royal Page, continued to operate the school until 1944, when the main line of the family died out. During this period the academy gained national fame through its Bycicle Corps, which traveled to Washington DC, and through its cadet-produced armored cars. The Lake Geneva campus commanded a magnificent view of the lake, and for many years sailing and boating were important parts of cadet life, reflected in the addition of “Naval” to the academy’s original “Military” title. In 1944 the academy’s operation passed to the Episcopal Church. Financial constraints led to the sale of surplus academy property in the early 1970s. In 1995, the school merged with St. John’s Military Academy in Delafield, Wisconsin, to become St. John’s Northwestern Military Academy.