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35 historic Williams Bay photos
Here is a look back at Williams Bay faces and places over the years.
Williams Bay history - 1
The first Lady of the Lake passenger boat.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 2
An historical image of Williams Bay shows the Chicago and Northwestern railroad depot that once welcomed visitors from Chicago, after a stop in Lake Geneva.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 3
Inside the Williams Bay Public Library during the early days with women identified only as Mrs. Pierce, Mrs. Kuhlman and Mrs. Bartholomew.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 4
This image depicts the homestead of the Israel Williams family, village founder for whom Williams Bay was named.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 5
Oliver Southwick's general merchandise store in early Williams Bay days.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 6
Williams Bay resident Grover Spotz, who worked for the Chicago and Northwestern Railroad, shown around 1951.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 7
First school in Williams Bay, shown around the year 1900 northeast of the current former elementary school where the current Doug and Kathi Swangren residence is located.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 8
Yerkes Observatory is shown around the year 1907, when the Williams Bay astronomical facility was a relatively new addition to the community.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 9
Note the formal attire of visitors to the YMCA Camp around the year 1890.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 10
Even as early as this image dated 1902, fishing enthusiasts could not resist trying their luck in the waters of Williams Bay.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 11
Reuben Palmbach is shown in front of an early Williams Bay fire station.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 12
Boys enjoy a chance to cool off swimming in the bay by Holiday Home Camp around the year 1907.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 13
Passengers load and unload onto boats at Williams Bay around the year 1900.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 14
Early ice shanties on the frozen lake at Williams Bay.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 15
Ned Grim is shown alongside a vintage car model in the 1930s.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 16
Yerkes Observatory and the surrounding lakefront campus is shown in an aerial from the early 1900s.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 17
Luke's Restaurant in Williams Bay, with a car that seems to suggest the 1950s or '60s.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 18
The Stenstrom family of Williams Bay.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 19
Downtown Williams Bay, year unknown.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 20
Brothers Frank and Laddie Fleishman are shown having a little waterfront fun with an unidentified woman circa 1929 or 1930.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 21
Handling a canoe near Conference Point around 1920 is a group of young women, including Margaret Houston, second from left, grandmother of current Geneva Lake Museum director Janet Ewing.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 22
Trains and boats kept a tight schedule when they were the main mode of transportation in and around Williams Bay.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 23
An unidentified woman feeds ducks and chickens with Yerkes Observatory looming large in the background.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 24
Three women cool off in the water of Williams Bay in this undated photograph.
Contributed photos, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 25
Sunday school students shown inside Williams Bay Lutheran Church around the early 1950s.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 26
Summer resort life draws a crowd in an undated photo in Williams Bay.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 27
An early calling card for the Water Safety Patrol, based in Williams Bay.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 28
Edwin Brant Frost, a former Yerkes Observatory director who died in 1935, for whom the current Frost Park is named at the corner of Geneva and Congress streets.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 29
Members of the Class of 1925 at Williams Bay High School.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 30
Members of the Williams Bay-based Water Safety Patrol stand ready for action circa 1965.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 31
An early hotel overlooking the Williams Bay lakefront just north of the Lackey Building circa 1895.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 32
Oscar and Erma Stenstrom enjoy a day in the sun in Williams Bay.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 33
Two youngsters walk the pier as boat passengers fill up a boat at the Williams Bay Municipal Pier.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 34
An early map of Williams Bay.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsWilliams Bay history - 35
The Williams Bay Municipal Pier on Geneva Lake continues to see boat traffic daily throughout the summer.
Contributed photo, Regional NewsRelated to this collection
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The Faith Christian basketball teams saw the most success of any local schools this past week, with both the boys and girls picking up wins.
The following individuals were either recently charged in Walworth County Circuit Court or recently made their initial court appearance.
WILLIAMS BAY — It was 1934, the second year of FDR’s presidency. The midterm elections were fast approaching, with the famous “100 days” long …
WILLIAMS BAY — Future plans for Yerkes Observatory could be presented later this month at a public meeting at Williams Bay High School.
WILLIAMS BAY — It was a warm and sunny day when Finn Goodman sat down at Edgewater Park and started playing his guitar with one simple goal: m…
A husband and wife from Monroe are facing felony charges in an alleged series of break-ins and thefts from self-pay stations at state park fac…
FONTANA – Boat dealers around Geneva Lake have witnessed a dramatic uptick in sales this season as locals and visitors look for safe ways to e…
Pier 290 will close for 48 hours after three of its employees tested positive for COVID-19.
ELKHORN — The Walworth County Historical Society is reaching out to elementary school students and teachers who may not be able to visit the W…
WILLIAMS BAY — Sometime in the fall of 1926 or spring of 1927, Dr. Paul B. Jenkins of Williams Bay and S.B. Chapin, owner of Flowerside Farm n…
