Land O' Lakes Wisconsin History

In 1926 George St. Clair, following an outdoor show in Chicago and a meeting of a number of summer home owners, requested that the post office designation be changed to Land O’Lakes. Actually, a name change had been requested by the U.S. Post Office, which had Stateline post offices in Minnesota and Mississippi, a confusing situation. Therefore to further enhance the tourist appeal of the town and to clarify its position, the official U.S. Post Office designation was changed to Land O’Lakes in 1926. Apparently, however, the name of the full township was not changed to Land O’Lakes until 1948. From 1894 through 1936, the business district of Land O’Lakes grew around LaChance’s store and saloon, Benson’s lumber yard, Dickman’s Garage, the Hi Hat, Pitts grocery, Schrecks store, the post office and the Tackle Box - all established long before the Gateway Hotel was built. Early settlers in these times included the Mayos, the Grovenors, the Elys, the Warrens, the LaChances, the Millikens, the Carlsons, the Williams, the Britz’s(he was postmaster at Donaldson) the Gudegasts, the Dickmans, the Heinigs, the Halverts, the Sparks, the Pitts, the Sensibas, the Caudills, the St. Clairs and the Flodins.

History of Land O' Lakes, Wisconsin
Black Oak Lake Resort (for more historic pictures, visit www.landolakeshistory.org)
In 1926 George St. Clair, following an outdoor show in Chicago and a meeting of a number of summer home owners, requested that the post office designation be changed to Land O’Lakes. Actually, a name change had been requested by the U.S. Post Office, which had Stateline post offices in Minnesota and Mississippi, a confusing situation. Therefore to further enhance the tourist appeal of the town and to clarify its position, the official U.S. Post Office designation was changed to Land O’Lakes in 1926. Apparently, however, the name of the full township was not changed to Land O’Lakes until 1948. From 1894 through 1936, the business district of Land O’Lakes grew around LaChance’s store and saloon, Benson’s lumber yard, Dickman’s Garage, the Hi Hat, Pitts grocery, Schrecks store, the post office and the Tackle Box - all established long before the Gateway Hotel was built. Early settlers in these times included the Mayos, the Grovenors, the Elys, the Warrens, the LaChances, the Millikens, the Carlsons, the Williams, the Britz’s(he was postmaster at Donaldson) the Gudegasts, the Dickmans, the Heinigs, the Halverts, the Sparks, the Pitts, the Sensibas, the Caudills, the St. Clairs and the Flodins.	At one time it was said that Highway B went through timber so thick that one "40" (forty acre parcel) produced one million board feet of lumber. This rich resource led to the development of area logging camps, including Bent's Camp, located on Mamie Lake, established in 1893; the Presque Isle logging Camp located 15 miles North of Boulder Junction, Wisconsin, established in 1914; the Pine Camp near Tenderfoot Lake, about 20 miles West of Land 0' Lakes, on what’s now the deer farm; the Moccasin Pine Logging Camp, about 7 miles West of Land 0' Lakes, established in the 1890s; the hardwood camp located on present day Notre Dame property about 17 miles West of Land 0' Lakes, established in the early 1900s; and the Wisconsin River Pine Logging Camp, on the Wisconsin River 2 miles South of Land O’Lakes, established in the 1890s.
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