In the 1800’s, before assigning names to roads was common practice, intersections were often given names to identify communities and places of interest. The trail through Brass Ball Corners began at Lake Michigan and ran west through Lake Geneva to Janesville, and farmers and merchants used it to haul grain, furs, and lead to the Port of Kenosha. In 1842, farmer Seth Huntoon saw the growing need for a place where travelers could rest, built an inn on the northwest corner of a busy junction, and hung a wooden ball gilded in gold at the intersection. Because it looked like brass, the junction became known as Brass Ball Corners. Over time, a school, post office, church, shoemaker, and several homes were built there, and the community eventually became the Village of Paddock Lake.