History - take a step back in time
Fox Lake's settlement history dates back to approximately 10,000 years before the white man came here. It was a fertile place and the Native Americans favored the lake for good hunting, fertile cropland, easy living, and as a gathering spot. With Jacob P Brower came the era of recorded history in Fox Lake, and by all accounts, it was a peaceful transition. The name of the city changed 3 times in the early years: Frankfurt in 1839, Waushara in 1840, and finally Fox Lake in 1856.
In 1860, at the beginning of the Civil War, the community had a population of 2,643, with nearly 2000 of them being residents of the Village proper. The community contributed greatly to the fight for the Union, sending 3 full companies to famous duty, including the Iron Brigade and the Eagle Regiment, as well as 20% of Berdan's Sharpshooters, and numerous individual regimental volunteers. Fox Lake men were present at most eastern theater battles from Bull Run to Appomattox.
Riverside Cemetery is the final resting place of war veterans from the war of 1812 through current conflicts and all in between, as well as the rejected lover of Florence Nightingale. Fox Lake has the oldest wood framed building in Dodge County, once had a marine US mail route, was along the Military Road, and hosted the first Wisconsin school for women, the Wisconsin Female Academy, later known as Downer College.