Potawatomi people camped near here in the early 1800s and, when they returned in the 1840s, called the area Shabaquanake, or “a growing place,” because western settlement had begun. Stephen Warren, the first settler, walked here in 1838 along an Indian trail from Michigan and laid a homesteader claim, and as the community grew it became known as Warren. He helped found the First Congregational Church in 1842. By 1848, the Watertown Plank Road was completed, giving farmers a highway for bringing grain to Milwaukee breweries. Warren built his brick home along the road in 1853, and it still stands at 235 East Capitol Drive. He also built a saw mill and helped extend the Plank Road west. Christian Hershey built a four story grist mill across the Bark River from this spot, a landmark that led the community to be known as Hersheyville. The Milwaukee and Watertown Railroad reached Hartland in 1854, spurring further growth of the community and nearby lake resorts and peaking in 1909 with 65 trains in one day. According to legend, an Englishman working on the tracks called the area Hartland because it reminded him of Hartland, Vermont, and Hartland remains “a growing place” today.