Somerset Center native W. H. L. McCourtie (1872-1933) entered the cement industry after W. F. Cowham of Jackson introduced him to it in 1897, then went to Dallas, Texas, where he made a fortune speculating in oil and established the Trinity Portland Cement Company. During the 1920s he returned to Somerset Center, and in 1924 he acquired his family's home and transformed it into a community showplace. Seeking to create a model town, he gave free white paint to homeowners who needed it and hosted the community's annual homecoming celebrations, drawing thousands of people to "Aiden Lair" for stunt flyers, baseball, local musicians, dancing, and unlimited refreshments. At the height of the Great Depression, he offered his estate as a place "Where Friends Meet Friends and Part More Friendly." The estate may contain the country's largest collection of el trabeio rustico, the Mexican folk tradition of sculpting concrete to look like wood. Around 1930, likely inspired by work he had seen in Texas, McCourtie hired itinerant Mexican artisans George Cardoso and Ralph Corona to build seventeen bridges on the property, forming them with steel rods and hand sculpting wet concrete to resemble planed lumber, rough logs, thatch, and rope. Different species of trees can be identified, and two concrete trees on the property still serve as chimneys for the underground rathskeller and garage. The estate is listed in the National Register of Historic Places.