Gage Marine continues tradition on Geneva Lake

by Sandra Landen Machaj CORRESPONDENT

Geneva Lake’s clear water has been an attraction that has brought visitors to the area as far back as the early 1870s.

There are few of those visitors that have not tried out the Lake Geneva Cruise Lines boats – cruises that take people around the lake and share the history of the lake and the homes built on it.

This year, Gage Marine and Lake Geneva Cruise Lines celebrate 150 years of boating on Geneva Lake. Their story goes back to 1873, when the lake became the favorite summer vacation spot for Chicagoans seeking to escape the hot and sooty air of the city – especially after the Chicago Fire of 1871.