Historical Society

Land was selling for $1.25 an acre when Justis Bangs arrived in the Wauconda area in 1836 and built a cabin on the shore of the lake that was to be named in his honor. The soil was rich compared with that of the Massachusetts farm Bangs had left and he soon sent for his family.

By 1849 some 200 settlers occupied the village known as Rice’s Prairie.  Later that fall, these residents voted to form a township and assigned two township officials the task of giving their community a new name.

According to a local Indian legend, a chief named Wauconda (Spirit Water) was buried somewhere along the south shore of the lake. This name was proposed by a young schoolteacher who had been studying local Indian tales. The name Wauconda was adopted, first for the township and later for the village.

 
In 1877, Wauconda was formally incorporated as a village.  Its first ordinance governed the sale of liquor.  The community had a number of stores selling the necessities of life.

By 1900, Wauconda had a population of 397 and was on its way to becoming a summer resort area for Chicago businessmen and their families. It remained the place to vacation until the mid-1900’s when the gradual suburban sprawl that created “Chicagoland” began and changed Wauconda and other lake communities into the places where people who commuted to Chicago for work came to live and raise their families.

The Wauconda Historical Society was formed in 1973 and was renamed the Wauconda Township Historical Society in 1977. The society restored the Andrew Cook home which then became the Historical Society Museum and meeting place. The home has also received a State of Illinois historical marker.

The museum is open two Sundays per month from May through September and is located at 711 N. Main Street in Wauconda. For more information, please contact the Wauconda Historical Society at 526-3071.