Oconomowoc, Wisconsin

Before 1700, this region was inhabited by Potawatomi peoples descended from Woodland Indians known as "mound builders".^[7] There are reports that the Sauk Indian chief Black Hawk had a campsite on Oconomowoc Lake.^[7]

The first white person recorded in the area was Amable (sometimes spelled "Aumable") Vieau, brother-in-law of Solomon Juneau, one of the founders of Milwaukee.^[8] Vieau established a trading post in 1827.^[9] White settlers began to follow in 1830.

In April 1837, New York native Charles Sheldon staked a 160-acre claim on the eastern shore of what is now Fowler Lake, registering it with the Land Bank of Milwaukee on April 21, 1837.^[7] A few days later, H.W. Blanchard acquired a claim next to Sheldon's on the other side of the lake. Blanchard later sold the claim to Philo Brewer, who built what some consider to be the first residence within Oconomowoc's current legal limits, at what is now 517 N. Lake Road, between La Belle and Fowler lakes.^[7] The first recorded birth was that of Eliza Jane Dewey on January 19, 1840, in the lodgings above a chair factory at 116 N. Walnut.^[10] The first recorded death was that of Jerusha Foster, who died aged 30 to 36 on March 19, 1841.^[10] Initially buried at Zion Church point, she was eventually re-interred at Nashotah Mission.^[11]

Oconomowoc was incorporated as a town in 1844, although residents had to go to Summit to get their mail until 1845.^[12] Travel and communication links between the new town and nearby cities were quickly established. The Watertown Plank Road was extended to connect Oconomowoc to the nearby towns of Milwaukee, Waukesha, Pewaukee, and Watertown in 1850.^[12] Such infrastructure encouraged further settlement, and by 1853 the town grew to a population of 250, with ten stores, three hotels, one gristmill, and one sawmill (both located near the present Lake Road bridge), and a schoolhouse.^[13] The first passenger train from Milwaukee arrived in Oconomowoc on December 14, 1854, as part of the Milwaukee and Watertown Railroad Company's rapidly expanding Milwaukee & Mississippi line.^[14]

Large houses were established around the Oconomowoc lakes, particularly Oconomowoc Lake and Lac La Belle. The population grew so much that Oconomowoc incorporated as a city in 1865,^[15] and by 1880 it had a population of 3,000.^[7] In August 1899 a professional golf tournament hosted by the Oconomowoc Country Club was won by Harry Turpie.^[16]

In 2003, Oconomowoc acquired Pabst Farms from the Town of Summit. Pabst Farms, which had previously been owned by the Pabst family, is being developed as a mixture of commercial and residential property. On April 2, 2008, a gas line exploded just west of downtown, destroying the First Baptist Church on West Wisconsin Avenue. The church, which was built in 1913, was completely destroyed, except for the frame of its bell tower, which later had to be torn down as it was at risk of collapse. The source of the explosion was an old gas line that had been capped off sometime in 1972–1973; it ruptured after having been struck by a backhoe as utility work was being done on Wisconsin Avenue in preparation for reconstruction of the street.^[17]

In 2025, the City of Oconomowoc attempted to stop the Village of Lac La Belle from merging with the Town of Oconomowoc. The city's attempts to stop the merger were unsuccessful.^[18] This merger landlocks the city into its current borders.

Oconomowoc is located at 43°6′31″N 88°29′49″W (43.108814, −88.497019).^[19] It is located in the Lake Country area of Waukesha County. According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.18 square miles (31.55 km²), of which 11.54 square miles (29.89 km²) is land and 0.64 square miles (1.66 km²) is water.^[20]

Oconomowoc schools are served by the Oconomowoc Area School District (OASD).^[28] Elementary schools (grades Pre-K through 4th) include: Greenland Elementary, Summit Elementary, Park Lawn Elementary, Meadow View Elementary, and Ixonia Elementary. Oconomowoc has two middle schools, Silver Lake and Nature Hill Intermediate school, which serve students in 5th through 8th grades. These opened for the 2008–2009 year, replacing the older Oconomowoc Middle School. As of the 2018–2019 school year, Oconomowoc High School had 1,715 students.^[29]

St. Matthew's Lutheran School is a Christian 3K–8 grade school of the Wisconsin Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Oconomowoc.^[30]

Holy Trinity Lutheran School is a Christian 2K–8 grade school of the Evangelical Lutheran Synod in Oconomowoc.^[31]

Because of the unique pronunciation of the community's name, Oconomowoc is often used as a statewide shibboleth for the state of Wisconsin, where the proper pronunciation of the city is a tell of the speaker's state residency, while mispronunciation is a proper indication of an out-of-stater.^[32]

Primary automobile transportation is provided by highways 16, 67, and I-94. Highway 16 runs from Pewaukee to La Crosse. The original route passes through downtown Oconomowoc; however, a bypass was built which goes around Lac La Belle to the north. Highway 67 runs from Beloit to Chillton. Interstate 94 provides access to Madison and Milwaukee.^[33]

• The Wizard of Oz premiered at the Strand Theatre in Oconomowoc on August 12, 1939.^[37]

La Belle Cemetery was the first cemetery in Oconomowoc. Originally called Henshall Place, it opened in 1851 on land that is now part of Fowler Park. It later moved to Walnut Street. When the grounds became overcrowded, Charles Sheldon donated land for a new cemetery, and in 1864 the Wisconsin Legislature approved the transfer of burials from Walnut Street to the current La Belle Cemetery grounds on Grove Street.^[38]

• Dietzenbach, Hesse, Germany^[39]

• Henry and Mary Schuttler house (1880) at 371 East Lisbon Road was designed by German born Milwaukee architect Charles A. Gombert^[40]
• Oconomowoc Lake Club is a country club founded in 1890
• Minnewoc an 1892 castle like residence razed in 2021
• designed Oconomowoc station built in 1896
• Knollward a mansion built in 1928