Pewaukee Village began as the site of a Potowatomi village. Vermonter Asa Clark arrived in 1836 and acquired most of the land around the northeast shore of the lake. He built a dam in 1839, along with a sawmill and grist mill. As Yankee settlers arrived, the population increased, and early businesses included wagon making, barrel making, a dry goods store, a blacksmith, a tannery, and a pump factory. Both church and school met in Clark’s parlor. The Watertown Plank Road came in 1850, and the railroad in 1854. Improved transportation gave rise to the ice industry in the 1880’s, as breweries and meat packers shipped rail cars of their products to distant markets using Pewaukee Lake ice. Following the Civil War, Pewaukee became a summer resort area, and several large hotels were built, including the one hundred ten room Oakton Springs, later destroyed by fire. Today Pewaukee is a village of homes, churches, and small businesses, close to large cities but retaining small town charm.