HauntBound archive · catalog record
Reported phenomena, as catalogued
+ 1 further entry on record
1857 Wisconsin Estate and Underground Railroad Stop
1421 Mansion Dr, Monroe, WI 53566
Research updated September 2026
Age
All Ages
Cost
$$
Tours by appointment; lodging and event rates vary. Contact venue for pricing.
Access
Accessibility not stated
Paved
Equipment
Photos OK
Est. 1857 · Underground Railroad Stop · Trotting Horse Heritage · 19th Century Wisconsin Estate
Arabut Ludlow, a Monroe businessman and farmer, built the mansion in 1857 with his wife Caroline Sanderson-Ludlow. The estate functioned as part of the Underground Railroad in the years preceding the Civil War. The property eventually became Idle Hour Farm, gaining national recognition for its champion trotting horses, including Peter McKinney and Calumet Delco, both trained at Idle Hour by jockey Arlie Frost.
In 1937 the Ludlows' granddaughter, May Ludlow Luchsinger, and her husband Frank Luchsinger restored the property. The estate remains in private use as Ludlow Mansion Events, an event venue and bed and breakfast on five acres at 1417 Mansion Drive. The home retains its widow's walk and original second-floor configuration.
Sources
The mansion's resident figure is named in local accounts as Lady Ludlow. The most-repeated detail places her on the rooftop widow's walk after dark, sometimes visible as a silhouette pacing its length. A back hallway on the second floor is the second most-cited location, where staff and former employees describe seeing her cross the corridor.
Lady Ludlow's bedroom is reported to remain cold even when the house heat is running, an observation that recurs across multiple accounts and time periods. Smaller phenomena — flickering lights, the movement of objects, a sense of presence — are reported around the same areas.
A folk explanation circulates that Lady Ludlow asked her sons on her deathbed never to allow liquor in the house, and that her continued presence is associated with the family's failure to honor that request. This story is presented as folklore rather than verified history.
Notable Entities
The mansion offers private tours of the 1857 main house and grounds by appointment. The widow's walk on the roof and a back hallway on the second floor are the locations most often associated with reports of Lady Ludlow.
Five suites are available inside the historic mansion. Lady Ludlow's bedroom and the back second-floor hallway are the most-cited locations for reported activity.
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