OUR COMMUNITY ROOTS RUN DEEP

Waterford, Wisconsin celebrates over a century of tradition and progress as one of Southeastern Wisconsin’s premier villages. Its storied past evokes images of hearty pioneers carving a future settlement out of the rough wilderness. Waterford grew along the banks of the Fox River in this land where retreating glacial ice carved magnificent river valleys over 10,000 years ago.

In the early days, surveyor Moses Vilas plotted the main part of town on the western side of the Fox River. Many English-speaking people settled here; while the East Side, plotted by Vilas in 1845, was mostly German. During that period, the corner of Main and First was a low marshy mud hole where bull rushes grew and wild ducks found a home.

In 1836, Levi Barnes and his family built the first dwelling out of logs and divided it into three large rooms that functioned as apartments. Many of Waterford’s first settlers found temporary quarters here at the "Old Ark."

Sam Chapman built the first large residence in an Indian corn field around 1844, near the southwest corner of Main and Jefferson. The Chapman home, which still stands today, was a general meeting place for people in the village. In 1846, Chapman’s brother-in-law, Sam C. Russ, converted a small frame building at the corner of Main and Jefferson Streets into the first tavern, "Waterford House." After both men built mills along the Fox River, important industries began to grow in the region. During the ensuing decades, lumber, agriculture and masonry stimulated the local economy.

The last quarter of the 19th century, The Waterford Post, first published in 1877, recorded many dramatic events in town. The spring thaw that followed the "Big Blizzard" of 1881 brought flooding that caused a great deal of damage and wiped out the original wooden bridge across the Fox River.

A tragic fire destroyed most of the downtown area in 1898, causing $100,000 damage at a time when dinner cost a quarter.

During the 20th century, the Village of Waterford continued to change and grow. By 1928, the population had reached approximately 2,000, and today, 3,595 citizens agree that Waterford is a wonderful place to live, work and raise a family.

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