Feature Article from The Whitewater Press - Holiday / Winter 2010  www.thewhitewaterpress.com

By Carol Cartwright ~ Whitewater Historical Society Volunteer Coordinator

Carol Cartwright is a Historic Resources Consultant specializing in the research of historic buildings for completing historic building surveys and for listing in the National Register of Historic Places.  She works for individuals, communities, and engineering firms.  She is the volunteer coordinator of the Whitewater Historical Society’s Depot Museum.               

Water: A Theme Throughout Whitewater’s History

Water has played a role in Whitewater’s history from its beginning.  Native Americans who lived nearby were attracted to the “white” sand in the Whitewater Creek and called it “white water.”  The early settlers of the late 1830s used this name for the new settlement. 

It was not just the color of the sand that drew early white settlers to the area, it was creek, itself, that was seen for its water power potential.  This potential was tapped in 1839, when James Trippe of East Troy was contracted to build a dam and mill.  The flour mill was constructed and was the first industry in the community.  The mill was located on the vacant land next to the Brass Rail tavern. 

This dam created a mill pond now known as Cravath Lake.  Trippe Lake was created from another dam on the creek built by James Trippe.  Known as the “upper dam,” it was built to provide power for the second industry in Whitewater, a saw mill.  The site of the saw mill saw much activity over the next 150 years.  A paper mill was built in 1859, then in 1913, the building was remodeled into a milk condensery.  This factory grew into the large Hawthorne Mellody milk plant.  When the plant closed in the late 20th century, the site was cleared and condominiums were built on this attractive and historic site. 

Water played a role in early public services in Whitewater.  Today, we take city water for granted. But in the 19th century, most people had their own wells and outhouses.  The proximity of wells and outhouses fostered disease and it was for this reason that the public pushed for a waterworks system that was completed in 1889.  This private system was acquired by the city in the early twentieth century.  Whitewater’s waterworks was an early one in southern Wisconsin.  For example, Fort Atkinson did not get their system until 1901. 

Water powered the first electrical system in Whitewater in 1886, as well.  The water power came from the Old Red Mill, located just outside of town (where the golf course is today).  This was short-lived, though, because the old mill could not provide enough power and soon an electric power generating plant was built along Whitewater Street. 

Cravath Lake was the location for an important winter industry during the 19th and early 20th centuries, ice-harvesting.  For decades, an ice house sat at the lake and when the ice was thick enough, it was cut, then stored in the ice house for summer use.  Ice delivery for ice boxes continued into the 1940s, but after the war, almost everyone had refrigerators, and ice was being manufactured mechanically.  So, the industry died out.

During the twentieth century, water became more important for recreation than for power.  For many years, Trippe Lake was used for a swimming beach for the city.  Old post cards called it “the old swimming hole.”  Cravath and Trippe lakes are used for boating and fishing, and in the nearby Town of Whitewater, a major recreational area was developed in the mid-twentieth century when two small lakes were combined into Whitewater Lake. 

Today, many articles are being written about the struggle for water and we in Wisconsin are very fortunate to have natural lakes and plentiful underground water resources.  Water power is not as important today, but the power of water may become very important in the near future.