Queer Places:
Orchard Hill, 234 Madison St, Mineral Point, WI 53565
University of Wisconsin, 716 Langdon St, Madison, WI 53706
Graceland Cemetery, Mineral Point, Iowa County, Wisconsin, USA
William Perry Gundry (November 23, 1853 – June 8, 1936) was a prominent businessman, patron of the arts, and lifelong resident of Mineral Point, Wisconsin. Coming from a
successful local lead-mining and investment family, Gundry lived a life defined by cultural pursuits, international travel, and deep mentorship of younger men within
progressive local circles.
Born in Mineral Point, Wisconsin, on November 23, 1853 (though some historical accounts occasionally misstate his birth year as 1858). He was raised in a prominent family centered around the family estate, Orchard Hill.
Gundry attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison, studying classics. He gained early local recognition for his artistic talents, notably praised for "the best artistic performance of the evening" in a college musical.
His university career was cut short following a student prank. Consequently, his family sent him to Paris for a year. In 1879, in his twenties, he traveled to London, residing and working abroad for three years—an experience that deeply influenced his worldview.
Gundry studied piano at the New England Conservatory of Music in Boston during the 1880s.
Upon returning to Mineral Point, he hosted seven annual musical evenings for select audiences on the grounds of Orchard Hill, complete with custom printed programs. Local reviews lauded him as an "artist of ability."
Gundry actively sponsored the career of a young pianist friend, John Clark Williams. In 1892, Gundry traveled with Williams to Berlin to support the continuation of his musical education. The two frequently took extended leisure trips together, including an eight-day horse-team journey through southern Wisconsin and a 1898 trip to the Trans-Mississippi Exposition in Omaha.
Will Gundry enjoyed traveling around the state with young men like the companion in this photo taken at Devil’s Lake in 1891. MINERAL POINT LIBRARY ARCHIVES
In the 1890s, Will became an active partner in Gundry and Gray, the leading department store in Mineral Point.
Alongside junior partner John L. Gray, Gundry modernized the establishment, introducing progressive features such as full electric lighting and steam heating, earning praise for their business enterprise.
Gundry managed extensive family investments, took particular care of the Orchard Hill estate grounds, and was notably among the first residents in Mineral Point to own an automobile complete with a chauffeur.
In his later years, Gundry mentored a young man named Robert "Bob" Neal in interior design and business. Gundry facilitated Neal's career by connecting him with prominent English decorator Syrie Maugham (estranged wife of author W. Somerset Maugham) for positions in her Chicago and New York shops.
Historical documentation highlights Gundry's connections to broader metropolitan gay networks. Later correspondence reveals he shared acquaintances and news with Bob Neal, who participated in Chicago’s gay circles during the 1930s. Gundry also managed Neal's inherited wealth.
In his later years, Gundry and his sister frequently traveled down the Wisconsin River to Frank Lloyd Wright’s Taliesin to view foreign films at the Fellowship.
Gundry passed away on June 8, 1936. In his will, he left financial bequests to his young protégés, including $1,000 to Bob Neal and $500 to Neal's partner Edgar Gorby Hellum. When the historic Orchard Hill estate faced demolition threats in the late 1930s, Bob Neal successfully preserved it by establishing the Mineral Point Historical Society and renaming the property Orchard Lawn, securing its historical status.
References:
 We’ve Been Here All Along: Wisconsin’s Early Gay History Hardcover – Illustrated, May 7, 2019 by R. Richard Wagner |
Other References:
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