Charles B. Sheldon, the first settler, arrived on April 21, 1837. The Oconomowoc River flowed through a tamarack swamp into Lac LaBelle, and a dam built across it in 1837 formed Fowler's Lake. Oconomowoc was named in 1846, became a village in 1865, and a city in 1875. The Milwaukee-Watertown Plank Road reached the town in 1850, and its tollhouse still stands. The Milwaukee and Watertown Railroad arrived in 1854. Pioneer John S. Rockwell led many enterprises, including the dam, mills, hotel, bank, stores, plank road, and railroad, and also played a leading role in religious, cultural, and civic affairs. Pioneer David W. Small served as judge of the Waukesha-Milwaukee Circuit Court from 1870 to 1882. Oconomowoc was home to national figures including scientist Increase A. Lapham and conservationist James A. Henshall. After 1870, it was widely acclaimed as "The Newport of the West" as a summer resort center, with great estates along the lakeshores and fashionable hotels such as the Townsend House, Woodlands, and Draper Hall. Though its colorful summer society era has long vanished, its lake-land charm and strong trade impulses confirmed its position as the center of the famed Oconomowoc Lakes region.