North Lake began at the crossroads of two Indian paths. Ralph Allen was the first white man to stake a claim there in 1837, and John Fischer also arrived early in 1839. The government gave 500 acres to Col. Henry Shears, the first landowner, who built the first sawmill, soon followed by a general store, post office, brewery, hotel, blacksmith shop, harness maker, wagon maker, creamery, stock yards, and lumber company. The brewery started by Rasmus Frederickson in 1863 became Hanson Brothers and is still family owned and operating as a tavern. Dr. Byron Kilbourn, son of Byron Kilbourn, Sr., who helped found Milwaukee, became important to North Lake and built the large mansion Hawkhurst in the 1860s. In 1898, W.B.H. Kerr built a grain elevator when the Milwaukee and Superior Railroad arrived, and North Lake became a farm produce shipping center. The first school, named after John Fischer, was built in 1846 and was called Fischer's Flats. North Lake's three original churches were St. Peter's Episcopal in 1867, North Lake Presbyterian Church in 1903, and St. Clare's Catholic Church in 1916. In 1910, ice harvesting began on North Lake, and an 1800-foot railroad spur was built to load ice onto railcars for shipment to Milwaukee; this continued until 1923 and employed seventy-five men. Visitors from other cities and towns came first by horse or wagon and later by train to enjoy lakeside resorts including the North Lake Hotel, the Henry Shears Resort, which became Schuchardt's Resort, and the Elm Springs Villa.