George R. Thorne, partner in brother-in-law Aaron Montgomery Ward's mail-order empire, chose this south-side Chicago location for his summer cottage. Thorne was one of the few wealthy Chicagoans who built a retreat home alongside the Midlothian Country Club & Golf Course. The architect, Howard Van Doren Shaw, was well known among Chicago's social elite and a master at adapting historical styles to the design of American Houses. This house is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.