Dec.-27-1897 Yerkes Observatory and the town of Williams Bay from above the railroad tracks. Photo Credit: University of Chicago Photographic Archive, apf6-01399, Special Collections Research Center, University of Chicago Library.
GALLERY
The Williams Bay Historical Society strives to preserve and exhibit images of historical interest. We seek to provide the public with educational opportunities to learn about our unique local history and commemorate events in village history.
We want to thank the owners of these photographs for allowing us to display their pictures in our photo gallery.
We want to thank the owners of these photographs for allowing us to display their pictures in our photo gallery.
All photos courtesy of Williams Bay Historical Society
Click to view the slideshows
Click to view the slideshows
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Centennial Celebration 1919 - 2019
The Centennial celebration commemorated the events that began on June 26, 1919 when a petition to incorporate was circulated in the Village. On October 23, 1919, 108 men voted whether or not to incorporate; 66 voted in favor of incorporation, 41 voted against, and one voted invalid. |
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The Heart of the Village
Williams Bay is a Village in Walworth County Wisconsin named for the Williams family who settled here after the Wisconsin Territory was open for settlement in 1836. The charming little village of Williams Bay, is situated in a rolling fertile county whose natural beauty has been carefully preserved and enhanced by wise community guidance. An easy three-hour drive or train ride from Chicago brought travelers to this delightful and interesting spot where simplicity, beauty, and truth were the order of the day, where music, art, and letters, as well as the world of science, had their representation. |
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Early Businesses
1890s to 1930s advertisements for businesses in Williams Bay. |
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The People
Williams Bay has been home to many interesting and influential people. From the beginning, they worked to make Williams Bay the amazing community we call home. |
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Home Sweet Home
Whether it was a one-room cabin or a lakefront mansion, the owners proudly called them home. The first home in Williams Bay was built in 1838 by Israel Williams. This home would become known as the Buck Horn Tavern a stage stop on the route from Southport (Kenosha) to Beloit. Williams Bay grew steadily in the last quarter of the nineteenth century. Subdivisions were platted and homes were built. Farms dotted the landscape to the west, north, and east of Williams Bay. |
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Volunteer Fire Department
Over 90 years ago the Williams Bay Volunteer Fire Department was organized with 15 members. Victor Hansen, charter member and first Fire Chief, served in that position for 33 years. The Fire Committee at the time was: Dr. E.J. Fucik, W.A. Lackey, and E.H. Hollister. The newly organized department’s first Stoughton fire engine was purchased for $5,130, a considerable sum in 1923. The department used rented quarters for meetings and equipment storage until 1936 when members built their new firehouse at 5 Geneva Street on land donated by Victor Hansen. It is still in use today. The firehouse was built by the men of the Fire Department and is still owned by them. |
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A Picture of Life in Early Williams Bay
When the first Congregational Church was destroyed by fire in 1911, George C. Blakslee a noted photographer for George Williams College Camp and Yerkes Observatory was enlisted by the local Ladies Aid Society to assist in a fundraiser to help rebuild the beloved church. For $1 Village residents could have their picture taken performing various daily activities. Blakslee called the series “A Day in the Bay”. Over one hundred years later this extraordinary series of images provides a unique opportunity to see Williams Bay as it once was. |
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Early Transportation
Prior to the arrival of the Chicago & North Western Railroad in 1888, Williams Bay was a small rural community. Everything changed when access by train made the village and Geneva Lake more accessible to businesses, home owners, visitors and campers. It was that ease of access that also contributed to Williams Bay being the choice location for the prestigious Yerkes Observatory in 1893. People wanting to get away from city life came to Geneva Lake by train, horse and buggy, and later automobiles for rest and recreation. |
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Yerkes Observatory
Attention turned to Williams Bay on October 21, 1897 when a crowd gathered for the official dedication ceremony of the University of Chicago’s great Yerkes Observatory. It was a day of speeches, glorifying both the telescope in its Beaux Arts Observatory and the man who made the whole thing possible, Charles Tyson Yerkes. The observatory’s namesake delivered an address presenting the observatory to the University of Chicago. Looking out of place in the crowd of robed scholars, a nervous Yerkes spoke briefly about astronomy, its history, and its “uncommercial” nature saying “There is nothing of moneyed value to be gained by the devotee to astronomy, there is nothing that he can sell; consequently the devotee of astronomy has as his only reward the satisfaction which comes to him in the glory of the work which he does and the results which he accomplishes.” |
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Recreation
Geneva Lake was the playground of Chicagoans and locals alike beginning as early as the 1870s. Williams Bay had abundant opportunities for recreation in every season. Williams Bay has been home to some of the oldest religious and recreational camp organizations on Geneva Lake - some dating back to the mid- to late-1800s. While each organization served different purposes, their common belief was that fellowship in nature has beneficial effects that linger far beyond the “camp” experience. |
To see photos from past Historical Society Events, Click on a link below.
