There are many abandoned properties across the country, and we’re fascinated by the keys they hold to the past. Not many of them have histories that are as truly fascinating as this abandoned mansion in Wisconsin.

The Alexian Brothers' Novitiate was built as a private mansion in 1939 in Gresham (Shawano County) for a widow and her daughter from New York.
Flickr/Chris

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It was donated to the Alexian Brothers in 1950 and became a Novitiate, or a place where young men considering the priesthood were trained.
Flickr/Chris

Due to reforms in the church, the operation was moved to Chicago, and it was empty except for a caretaker by 1972. In 1975, it was seized by a group of Menominee Indians, with the caretaker and his family taken hostage. The brothers feared another tragedy like Kent State and sold the property to the reservation for $1. They were unable to keep up with the property and it was given to the city, but unfortunately a fire damaged the interior later that year.

Since then, the mansion and the surrounding land have changed hands several times, and the monastery addition has been demolished, but the mansion remains abandoned.

Here’s a brief glimpse of the mansion today followed by a short documentary on the Novitiate:

It’s sad that we still haven’t found a good use for this beautiful building. What do you think about this abandoned Wisconsin property?

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