Highcroft: Wayzata Real Estate

Atop the wooded crest above Ferndale Road, on what was once a grand Gilded Age estate, sits the quiet neighborhood now known as Highcroft. Few would guess that beneath the shade of these canopied lanes lies one of the most significant chapters in the legacy of Lake Minnetonka.

In 1895, grain magnate Frank H. Peavey—who revolutionized the Upper Midwest grain trade with the invention of the concrete grain elevator—chose this very ridge to build his summer estate. Peavey had already reshaped the skyline of Minneapolis and now turned his ambitions west toward the lake. His 110-acre estate would become one of the crown jewels of the North Shore.

Peavey commissioned Minneapolis architect William Channing Whitney to design a 30-room Georgian Revival residence overlooking Wayzata Bay. Known as Highcroft, the red brick and white-columned mansion featured a 40-by-60-foot Great Hall with carved mahogany paneling, 10 marble fireplaces, and sweeping views through leaded glass windows. The estate included formal gardens, stables, greenhouses, and a working dairy farm with prize Guernsey cattle—a gentleman’s farm in the truest sense.

Following Peavey’s death in 1901, Highcroft passed to his daughter, Lillian, and her husband, Frank Heffelfinger. A Yale football captain turned Minneapolis Club president, Heffelfinger elevated Highcroft from retreat to social centerpiece. Summer garden tours and debutante dances gave way to winter Christmas pageants, where neighborhood children received handmade toys and oranges beneath the Great Hall’s chandeliers.

By the 1930s, the Highcroft herd was one of the most celebrated Guernsey herds in the country. Their bloodlines shared the railcars and blue ribbons with the Daytons’ Boulder Bridge Farm en route to expositions in San Francisco and beyond. But as the era of the great estates waned, the Heffelfinger legacy made way for a new vision of lake living.

In 1953, the mansion was razed. The prized Menomonie brick was sold off—by the piece, at one cent each. Some found their way into new homes nearby; others into fireplaces, garden walls, and mementos of what once was.

Today, Highcroft remains one of Wayzata’s most enduring and architecturally rich neighborhoods. Generous two-acre parcels trace the original estate’s footprint. The winding drives, stone gates, and preserved alleés still whisper of a time when Lake Minnetonka society gathered beneath those porticoed eaves.

The carriage house still stands—now a private residence. And while the mansion is gone, Highcroft lives on in the land and the lives it shaped. This is not just a neighborhood. It is a legacy—etched in grain, granite, and grace.

Thinking of buying or selling in Highcroft? This is a neighborhood where relationships matter. We don’t chase clients. We serve those who value timing, discretion, and early access to what’s next.

Ready when you are.