About Us

Anne Hathaway Cottage was built in 1939 by Walter and Elsie Smith. Mrs. Smith was a native of England, independently wealthy and a women of descreet taste. She hired an english architect to design a creative reproduction of the Anne Hathaway Cottage in Stratford, England. All of the lumber used to construct the home was taken from the property, hand carved, cut, sanded and stained. The unique steelcased windows and antique furnishings were shipped over from England to integrate into the design making the finished product the most pictured home on the entire lake.

Despite it's size, the cottage feel abounds throughout every room. Take in the most beautiful site of the lake from the large floor to ceiling windows in the living room. Vaulted ceilings and expansive master suites flourish with charming details, antique fixtures and comfort.

It was in the mid 1940's when Max and Lorraine Rysdon came to Green Lake for a Baptist Conference and fell in love with the home. They purchased it and started taking family trips every summer. The home is now owned by the family's non-profit subsidiary company, The Sioux Steel Company Foundation.

Yes, to this day, the Rysdon family still vacations at Anne Hathaway Cottage every summer and is proud of it's fourth generation legacy. Funds taken in from Anne Hathaway cottage in Green Lake, Wisconsin, are invested and given to charitable organizations and used to manage and maintain the home year round. We hope you enjoy the home as much as we do.

The Rysdons

Phil Rysdon and his grandchildren on their way to look for deer, July 2002.