Around the same time that Justus Bangs was settling on the shores of Bangs Lake, Jeremy and Thomas Slocum were settling on the shores of Slocum Lake. The year was 1837. By 1840 the Indians had moved westward leaving only a remnant of the Winnebago tribe on the shores of the Fox River. Several Indian mounds were found near here and it is probable there was an encampment at Slocum Lake. These remaining Winnebago Indians went into Wauconda to trade. Wauconda was organized in 1849 and named for an Indian Chief, which translated means "Spirit Water". The first area post office was located at Slocum Lake, but the settlement did not prosper so in June of 1849 the post office was moved to Wauconda. The stage route from Chicago to Janesville went through Wauconda. It took one week to make the round trip. In 1871 George Darrell the Grangers and the Bacons were among the first settlers in the area now know as Island Lake. At that time there was no island or lake, just rolling farmland, a gravel pit and Mutton Creek. In 1929 a group of area residents including Ray Paddock, Homer Cook, Dr. Werden and Dennis Putnam got together and with their wives, bought land from farmers Darrell, Dowell, Smith and Burnett. They planned to dam up Mutton Creek and establish a lake development patterned after their own community of Wauconda. But their plans were no match for the Depression of the 30's, and the newly created lake became a private fishing preserve for an exclusive group of sportsmen from Chicago.
Learn more about this city.City of Island Lake, IL official siteCity of Island Lake, IL Chamber of Commerce
City of Island Lake, IL official siteCounty of Island Lake, IL official siteState of Illinois official site