Rice Lake and the surrounding area attracted early Indians because of abundant hunting and the wild rice growing in the shallow lake waters, and women of the Winnebago tribe continued harvesting the rice after the first white settlers arrived. The village of Rice Lake was already thriving in 1855 when Dodge County was established. In 1857 Methodists organized the Rice Lake Church and a post office was established. On a well-traveled road, the village supported numerous businesses, including blacksmith, barber, wagon and bootmaker shops, sorghum mills, photograph galleries, general stores, and doctors' offices, along with frontier cabins, stage stops, taverns, and a hotel. Anticipating growth from the Winona and St. Peter Railroad, residents platted an extensive townsite addition, but in 1865 the railroad selected a route several miles away. After that the village stopped growing, gradually declined, and eventually disappeared. The Rice Lake Church, one of the first houses of worship in the area, was later used by other denominations and today is the last remaining building of the old village of Rice Lake.