Village of Hartland

Village of Hartland. . , The Potawatomi camped near here in the early 1800s. Returning in the 1840s, they called this area "Shabaquanake" or "a growing place," because western settlement had begun., Stephen Warren, the first settler, walked to the area in 1838 along an Indian trail from Michigan, laying a homesteader claim. As the community grew, it became known as Warren. Warren was a founder of the First Congregational Church in 1842. By 1848, the Watertown Plank Road had been completed and farmers had a "highway" for bringing their grains to the Milwaukee breweries. Warren built his brick home along the road in 1853, which still stands at 235 East Capitol Drive. He built a saw mill and helped extend the Plank Road west., Christian Hershey built a four story grist mill across the Bark River from this spot, a landmark which promoted the community to be known as Hersheyville., The Milwaukee and Watertown Railroad reached Hartland in 1854, spurring further growth of the community and nearby lake resorts and peaking in 1909 with 65 trains in one day. Legend has it that an Englishman working on the tracks called this area Hartland, as it reminded him of the community of Hartland, Vermont., Hartland remains "a growing place" today.