Watertown was one of the oldest settlements in Minnesota’s south central region. Chief Little Crow of the Dakota Nation and his tribe often camped by the Crow River, and at first the chief and the settlers trusted each other. Chief Little Crow acted on behalf of the Dakota Indians because of his ability to read and write English. After broken treaty problems with the U. S. government, members of the tribe were starving, which led to the 1862 Dakota War. The place was first named Rapid Waters, a translation of the Indian name for this site, where there was an Indian village. On September 25, 1858, the name was changed to Watertown because a Little Rapids settlement already existed in the southern part of the county and the similar names were thought likely to confuse the postal system. Caleb and Isaac Lewis selected the name Watertown because of the area’s large water supply and the South Fork of the Crow River, then a mighty stream. Isaac Ives Lewis chose this place for a site in the heart of the Big Woods and officially made it a town. Caleb and Isaac Lewis, a father and son mercantile team from Connecticut, took a strong interest in the town and placed it under their special charge. Isaac was an entrepreneur who contracted to build the first bridge over the Crow River, opened the first drug store business, and started the first school on the top floor of his store, and he is often credited with making Watertown a successful pioneer town. In February 1856, Alexander Moore and David Bickford set out from St. Anthony into the Big Woods looking for sites to start a settlement. They came upon the Crow River where Rockford is located, followed it to the site of present-day Watertown, camped for two nights, marked claims on both sides of the river, and returned to St. Anthony. That spring, convinced of the area’s potential, they drew up shares to the townsite and formed a company with eight other shareholders: John H. Stevens, H.B. Hancock, Henry Chambers, Isaac B. Edwards, M.C. Baker, Lewis Herrington, Henry King, and Isaac I. Lewis, who was appointed secretary of the company. In 1856 the road to St. Anthony, Minneapolis, opened as the Territorial Road, and Isaac Lewis opened the first drug store. In 1857 Caleb Lewis became the first postmaster, and in 1858 Mr. Kerr opened a blacksmith shop.