Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Okauchee Lake. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.
1892Oconomowoc sheet · 1:62,500
U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Okauchee Lake.
The story so far
Okauchee Lake, in brief
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Okauchee Lake yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Okauchee Lake was a census-designated place (CDP) in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 5,094 at the 2020 census. Okauchee Lake is located in the village of Lac La Belle.
Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population grew from 4,422 to 5,094 (+15%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
From the old history books
What they wrote about Okauchee Lake in 1880
Passages that mention Okauchee Lake, cut from the printed page as they were published.
The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources1880 · page 773Read the page →
Read the text
Okauehee Mill is located on the southwest side of Okauchee Lake, on Section 35. The first structure was a small saw-mill, built by Orson Reed, in 1839-40. It was known as Reed's Mill, and was operated by him until 1847. A large portion of the lumber used in the construction of the Milwaukee & Watertown Plank Road was furnished by this mill. In 1869, the mill passed into the possession of F. Schraudenbach. In 1877, twenty-five or thirty acres of land, including the dam, was contracted to H. B. Shears & Co., who built a new frame mill, putting in six runs of stone, and machinery for grinding flour by the new process. They conducted the mill until the spring of 1879, when the property reverted back to Mr. F. Schrau-
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
The History of Waukesha County, Wisconsin. Containing an account of its settlement, growth, development and resources1880 · page 318Read the page →
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County. North Lake, in the town of Merton, is its principal source, though two streams — one of them large enough to drive a mill, flow into North Lake from the southern portion of Washington County. This branch rises in Section 19, town of Polk, in Washington County. At the outlet of Okauchee Lake, and in the city of Oconomowoc, this stream furnishes good waterpowers. Chas. B. Sheldon remembers that Oconomowoc River is not much more than one-half
Text read by machine from the scan; it may contain errors.
Scans and text from the Internet Archive. Books published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →
From Wikimedia Commons (5), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and old county and town histories (Internet Archive). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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