Lake Geneva

History

Originally called "Maunk-suck" (Big Foot)" after the man who led the local band of the Potawatomi in the first half of the 19th century, the city was later named Geneva after the town of Geneva, New York, which government surveyor John Brink thought it resembled. To avoid confusion with the nearby town of Geneva, Wisconsin, it was later renamed "Lake Geneva". After the Great Chicago Fire of 1871, a number of wealthy and prominent Chicago industrialists fled to the shores of Geneva Lake—then a popular summer camp destination—by train. Many of the families built palatial summer homes on the lake, which led it to be nicknamed the "Newport of the West." Lake Geneva remains a popular summer tourism destination for boating, water sports, and viewing the mansions, which can be seen from the public Geneva Lake Shore Path. Two historic Lake Geneva mansions are open to the public: the Baker House, built in 1885, now a bed-and-breakfast; and Black Point, the lakefront summer estate built for beer baron Conrad Seipp in 1888 in the nearby town of Linn, now a Wisconsin Historical Society museum. Other famous residents who built or have owned mansions on Geneva Lake include the Wrigleys, the Schwinns, Otto Young, and Richard Driehaus. In 1954, Lake Geneva was one of the three finalists for the location of the new United States Air Force Academy, but lost to Colorado Springs, Colorado. In 1968, Hugh Hefner built his first Playboy resort in Lake Geneva. It closed in 1981 and was converted in 1982 to the Americana Resort, and in 1993 to the Grand Geneva Resort. Royal Recorders (formerly Shade Tree Studios) was a Lake Geneva music recording studio where artists such as Ministry, Cheap Trick, Queensrÿche, Crash Test Dummies, Nine Inch Nails, and Skid Row recorded albums. Lake Geneva…

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Badger High
  High · Lake Geneva · 1,326 students · 16.2:1 ratio
• Elkhorn Area High
  High · Elkhorn · 974 students · 15.5:1 ratio
• Elkhorn Area Middle
  Middle · Elkhorn · 705 students · 16.4:1 ratio
• Lake Geneva Middle
  Middle · Lake Geneva · 615 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• Central - Denison Elementary
  Elementary · Lake Geneva · 566 students · 12.6:1 ratio
• Jackson Elementary
  Elementary · Elkhorn · 521 students · 16.8:1 ratio
• Big Foot High
  High · Walworth · 456 students · 14.3:1 ratio
• West Side Elementary
  Elementary · Elkhorn · 452 students · 14.6:1 ratio