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User:Awkwafaba/Lake Country, Wisconsin

Coordinates: 43°06′43″N 88°24′21″W / 43.1119°N 88.40597°W / 43.1119; -88.40597
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
Not to be confused with Lake County.
This page is about the area of southeastern Wisconsin. For the populated area in British Columbia, see Lake Country.

43°06′43″N 88°24′21″W / 43.1119°N 88.40597°W / 43.1119; -88.40597

Lake Country Playhouse [wikidata], a theatre in Hartland in Lake Country, WI

Lake Country is an informal region of Waukesha County, Wisconsin known for its numerous lakes.[1] It was previously called the Lake District,[2] the Oconomowoc lake district,[3] or the Oconomowoc–Waukesha lake district and includes about 45 lakes ranging from Lake Five [ceb; wikidata] in the northeast to Golden Lake [wikidata; ceb] to the southwest.[4] The area is centered about 30 miles (48 km) west of Milwaukee.[3]

Many notable local organizations and such are named for the area, including the Lake Country DockHounds, the Lake Country Trail, and Elmbrook Church - Lake Country.

History

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Prehistory

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Most of the lakes formed from the Kettle Moraine between the Green Bay and Lake Michigan lobes of the Late Wisconsin Ice Sheet.[2] The large exception being Pewaukee Lake which existed before the glaciation.[2] The majority of the others are kettle lakes.[2]

Precolonization

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Paleo-Indians arrived in the area around 10,000 BCE.[5] From 100BCE to 1600AD, the Ho-Chunk built effigy mounds in the area, particularly around Summit.[5] They were replaced by the Potawatomi around 1700, who stayed in the area until white settlers arrived.[5]

The land that is now Lake Country was part of Cession 187, ceded to the United States in 26 September 1833 by representatives of the Ojibwe, Odawa, and Potawatomi.[6][7][8] However, the land was inhabited by the Meskwaki, Sauk, Potawatomi, Sioux, Kickapoo, Ho-Chunk, Miami, and Peoria.[9]

Nineteenth century

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In the 19th century it became a popular summer destination for wealthy city residents from Milwaukee and Chicago.[10][1] This growth was sparked by the 1855 completion of the railroad by the Milwaukee and Watertown Railroad Company (later part of the Chicago, Milwaukee, and St. Paul Railroad), which greatly improved access to the area.[10] Previously travel was mainly by the Milwaukee–Watertown Plank Road, completed two years earlier.[11]

Wealthy visitors initially stayed in local hotels, but by the 1890s the trend had swung towards building summer residences.[10] This is also when daily commuter rail service to Milwaukee began.[10]

Twentieth century

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In the early 20th century, much of approximately 100 miles (160 km) of lakefronts were occupied by summer residences.[3]

Lakes of Lake Country

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USDA aerial image of Lake Country, Wisconsin

The lakes of Lake Country include:[4]

A small minority of sources include lakes to the south, such as Big Muskego Lake [wikidata; ceb].[1]

Settlements of Lake Country

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The cities, towns, villages, census-designated places, and unincorporated communities of Wisconsin's Lake Country include:

Cities

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Villages

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Towns

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Census-designated places

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Unincorporated areas

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Former communities

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References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v w x y Woolard, Megan (19 September 2023). "What is Lake Country, and what lakes does it include?". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. ISSN 1082-8850. Archived from the original on 27 September 2023. Retrieved 27 September 2023.
  2. ^ a b c d Poff, Ronald J.; Threinen, C. W. (1963). Schneberger, Edw. (ed.). Surface Water Resources of Waukesha County. Madison, WI: Wisconsin Conservation Department. p. 5. OCLC 2664250.
  3. ^ a b c Fenneman, N. M. (1910). "VI The Oconomowoc Lake District". On the Lakes of Southeastern Wisconsin. Educational Series. Vol. 2 (2nd ed.). Madison, WI: State of Wisconsin. pp. 104–129. OCLC 1684297.
  4. ^ a b Juday, Chancey (1914). "IV The Oconomowoc–Waukesha Lake District". The Inland Lakes of Wisconsin: The Hydrogeography and Morphometry of the Lakes. Wisconsin Geological and Natural History Survey Scientific Series. Vol. 9. Edward A. Birge, Director. Madison, WI: State of Wisconsin. pp. 36–64. OCLC 3648367.
  5. ^ a b c Kane, Mary A. (2006). Oconomowoc. Arcadia Publishing. ISBN 0738540897. OCLC 76268123.
  6. ^ "Cession 187". DigiTreaties. Indigenous Digital Archive. Archived from the original on 29 May 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  7. ^ Royce, Charles C.; Thomas, Cyrus (1899). Indian land cessions in the United States. p. 64. OCLC 9422461. Archived from the original on 2021-08-23. Retrieved 2023-09-28.
  8. ^ Kappler, Charles J., ed. (1975). Indian affairs: laws and treaties. Washington, DC: Government Printing Office. pp. 402–415. Archived from the original on 28 September 2023. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  9. ^ "Native Land Digital". Native Land Digital. Archived from the original on 9 July 2022. Retrieved 28 September 2023.
  10. ^ a b c d Jacobs, Jenna. "Lake Country". Encyclopedia of Milwaukee. University of Wisconsin-Milwaukee. Archived from the original on 23 March 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  11. ^ "Milwaukee-Watertown Plank Road Completed in 1853". Watertown Daily Times. December 30, 1986. Archived from the original on March 7, 2017. Retrieved January 19, 2014.
  12. ^ "IT'S IN OUR NATURE". Delafield Promotion & Tourism. Delafield, WI. Archived from the original on 10 August 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023. A LIVELY LAKE COUNTRY COMMUNITY
  13. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t u v Frank, Evan; Johnson, Alec (8 January 2020). "Here are the Lake Country candidates running for local office in the April election". Milwaukee Journal Sentinel. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  14. ^ a b c d e f g "Lake Country Fire & Rescue". Lake Country Fire & Rescue. Delafield, WI. Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024. Lake Country Fire & Rescue is a combination department (full-time and part-time employees) that serves 7 communities in the Lake Country Area which span over 75 square miles and serves 28,000 citizens.
  15. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m n o p q r s t "Lake Country Municipal Court". Lake Country Municipal Court. Oconomowoc, WI. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  16. ^ "Things to do and explore in Oconomowoc". Visit Oconomowoc. Oconomowoc Department of Tourism. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023. Oconomowoc is a favorite local vacation spot in the Heart of Lake Country...
  17. ^ Bierce, Steve. "Mayor's Office Pewaukee's Government". The City of Pewaukee, Wisconsin. Archived from the original on 7 June 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023. The City of Pewaukee is a premier city in what is considered the "Lake Country" area.
  18. ^ "History". Village of Chenequa. Chenequa, WI. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023. The Village of Chenequa is located in the "lake country" portion of Waukesha County...
  19. ^ "About Hartland, Wisconsin". Hartland Chamber of Commerce. Hartland, WI. Archived from the original on 5 September 2023. Retrieved 5 September 2023. Located 20 miles west of Milwaukee, in the heart of southeastern Wisconsin's beautiful Lake Country
  20. ^ "Village of Nashotah The Pride of Lake Country". Village of Nashotah. Nashotah, WI. Archived from the original on 25 September 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  21. ^ Wiemer, Donald (22 June 2009). "VOL". Village of Oconomowoc Lake. Oconomowoc Lake, WI. Archived from the original on 9 January 2017. Retrieved 25 September 2023.
  22. ^ "Our Community". Village of Pewaukee. Pewaukee, WI. Archived from the original on 3 August 2023. Retrieved 25 September 2023. The Village of Pewaukee is a 4-square mile community located about 17 miles west of Milwaukee in the heart of the Lake Country area
  23. ^ "About Us". Village of Summit. Summit, WI. Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024. Summit, with a population as of October 11, 2023 of 5,202 residents, truly is a special community in the heart of Waukesha County's lake country.
  24. ^ "Community". Town of Delafield. Delafield, WI. Archived from the original on 27 August 2024. Retrieved 27 August 2024. The Town of Delafield is located in Waukesha County, in the heart of Lake Country.
  25. ^ "Lake Country Municipal Court System". Town of Merton, Wisconsin. Merton, WI. Archived from the original on 26 August 2024. Retrieved 26 August 2024. The Town and 19 other communities of Lake Country jointly operate the local municipal court, which is called the Lake Country Municipal Court System and provides non-criminal citation processing.
  26. ^ Lesser, Jo Ann (October 15, 2012). "TOWN OF OCONOMOWOC PLAN COMMISSION MEETING MINUTES" (PDF). Town of Oconomowoc. Oconomowoc, WI. Archived (PDF) from the original on 17 May 2021. Retrieved 27 August 2024. Mr. Van Lare would also like to use it for storage of boats/trailers being that it is located in lake country
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