Warroad took its name from the Indian heritage of the town, which was once one of the largest Chippewa villages on Lake of the Woods. The Chippewa fought a long and fierce war against the Sioux for the lake's rice fields. From the prairies of the Red River Valley, the Sioux frequently invaded this territory by way of the Red and Roseau rivers, a route that ended at the mouth of the Warroad River. This old war road gave the river and village their name.