What makes Green Lake great
Green Lake offers visitors and residents the best of both worlds: a small town lifestyle, coupled with diverse amenities. With just over 1000 year-round residents, Green Lake is highly accessible and easy to navigate.
An active community makes the area vibrant and the amenities abundant. Area retail businesses are thriving, offering visitors and residents unique shopping and a variety of options. All necessary amenities are available here: medical facilities, churches, service providers, schools, colleges and universities.
Centrally located, Green Lake is within an hour and a half drive of many of Wisconsin’s major cities including Madison, Green Bay, Appleton, Oshkosh, Fond du Lac, Milwaukee, Sheboygan, and Stevens Point. Being situated on Wisconsin’s deepest lake and one of its largest, doesn’t hurt either. Year-round recreational opportunities like fishing, sailing, swimming, diving, kayaking, skating, ice boating and lake cruises are available on the lake. Not to mention non-water-based recreational activities like golf, hiking, tennis, mini-golf, biking, horseback riding, hot-air balloon rides, public and private hunting grounds, an art gallery and a fruit orchard.
Additionally, there are seasonal outdoor festivals and activities. The city park system offers boat launches, athletic fields, playgrounds and swimming beaches.
Last but not least, Thrasher Opera House is a historically restored building and a unique venue bringing Green Lake patrons quality programming from music and theater to opera and dance.
Where we come from Green Lake has an interesting and dramatic history that makes it what it is today. The following timeline tells the story:
1632
Green Lake is inhabited by the Winnebago (Ho-Chunk) who lived in peace with early settlers in the area.
1832
A treaty by the tribe ceded their lands east of the Fox River and most were removed to reservations.
1835
The first settler in the area is thought to be James Powell.
1847
The area begins to grow in population and Anson Dart and John Sherwood plot the “Village of Dartford.”
1862
The Village of Dartford becomes the County Seat and today is home to County Government offices.
1867
The first summer resort, Oakwood Lodge, was built by David Greenway. It is believed to be the first summer resort West of Niagara Falls. Other resorts soon followed.
1871
Trains arrive often bringing Midwestern visitors who rented cottages on the grounds so they could spend the entire summer season there.
1907
To end confusion caused by the rail station being called Green Lake and the village being called Dartford, the Village of Dartford officially changed its name to Green Lake.
1911
The last Chief to rule the Green Lake Area is Chief Highknocker who died in 1911.
1940s
Most of the large wooden hotels are destroyed by fire or torn down. Only a few original cottages exist today. One, the Oakwood Lodge, is now operated as a bed and breakfast. A reminder of times gone by.
Today
Visitors continue to be drawn to the cool inviting waters of Green Lake.
Wisconsin’s treasure The waters of Green Lake play host to every water sport imaginable like fishing, boating, sailing, swimming, diving or just simply floating on the water enjoying the area’s abundant nature and wildlife.
The lake’s vital statistics • 237 ft. deep (Deepest natural inland lake in Wisconsin)
• 100 ft. average depth
• 27.3 miles of shoreline
• 796 ft. Elevation
• 7.3 miles long
• 2 miles wide
• 11.5 sq. miles
• 7,325 acres surface area
• 95% spring fed
• Empties into Fox River through Puckyan River
• Principle inlet is Silver Creek
• Indian name is Day Cho Lah
• Trophy size fish are: Trout, Northern, Walleye, Bass, & Perch
For more information call the Green Lake Area Chamber of Commerce at
(920)294-3231 or (800)235-7354.
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An active community makes the area vibrant and the amenities abundant. Area retail businesses are thriving, offering visitors and residents unique shopping and a variety of options. All necessary amenities are available here: medical facilities, churches, service providers, schools, colleges and universities.