Tucked away on the eastern banks of Sylvan Lake, Rome City is a quiet place offering the tranquility of small town living surrounded by a bucolic countryside.

Although it’s a sleepy place now, from 1876 to 1906, Rome City was home to a Chautauqua that attracted thousands from all over the nation. The brilliant orator William Jennings Bryant spoke here in 1899 to a crowd of 5000.

Gene Stratton Porter

One of those in attendance was Gene Stratton Porter who became attracted to the pastoral splendor of the area where she and her husband bought a house.

By the early 1900s, Porter was one of the most popular writers in America. Her books, such as “A Girl of the Limberlost”; “Freckles”; and “Michael O’Halloran”; were uplifting stories about how nature and determination help people overcome adversity. Some, still in print today, became so popular that they were made into movies; many were translated into numerous languages, including, somewhat astoundingly, Finnish.