Map of Williams Bay village

Williams Bay is a village in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. It is one of three municipalities on Geneva Lake. The population was 2,953 at the 2020 census.

Williams Bay village overview:
Name:	Williams Bay village
LSAD Code:	47
LSAD Description:	village (suffix)
State:	Wisconsin
County:	Walworth County
Elevation:	879 ft (268 m)
Total Area:	2.78 sq mi (7.20 km²)
Land Area:	2.78 sq mi (7.20 km²)
Water Area:	0.00 sq mi (0.00 km²)
Total Population:	2,953
Population Density:	949.28/sq mi (366.55/km²)
ZIP code:	53191
Area code:	262
FIPS code:	5587200
GNISfeature ID:	1576761

Online Interactive Map

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Williams Bay online map. Source: Basemap layers from Google Map, Open Street Map (OSM), Arcgisonline, Wmflabs. Boundary Data from Database of Global Administrative Areas.

Williams Bay location map. Where is Williams Bay village?

Williams Bay location on the U.S. Map. Where is Williams Bay village. — Williams Bay location on the U.S. Map.

Williams Bay location on the Wisconsin map. Where is Williams Bay village. — Location of Williams Bay in Wisconsin.

History

The village was named for Captain Israel Williams of Massachusetts, who, with several of his sons, settled in the area in 1837. Much of the surrounding area was settled in the early 19th century by surveyors plotting roadways from the East.

Williams Bay became a vacation spot for wealthy Chicagoans displaced by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871. The village continues to attract vacationers from Chicago, Milwaukee and elsewhere.

In 1873, mail jumping was established on Geneva Lake as a means to provide postal service to lakeside homes. The tradition continues today. Each year between June 15 and September 15, jumpers deliver mail to piers along the lake on behalf of the US Postal Service.

In 1886, a training camp was established by leaders of the YMCA at Williams Bay. The camp’s programs later evolved into George Williams College, an independent institution of higher education based in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago and later in Downers Grove, Illinois. The Williams Bay site continued to be used as a summer training camp. The college was later absorbed by Aurora University.

The village is probably best known internationally for being home to the Yerkes Observatory which was established by the University of Chicago in 1897. The building was designed by Henry Ives Cobb, while the grounds were designed by John Charles Olmsted. The observatory’s Greco-Roman façade has intricate stonework and carvings. The observatory houses the world’s largest refracting (lens) telescope, the great 40-inch, which saw first light in May 1897. The Observatory’s first Director was George Ellery Hale, who went on to establish Mount Wilson Observatory in Southern California. The observatory has been an important center of astronomical research. The Astrophysical Journal was previously published at the observatory and the facility was the site of the first meeting of the American Astronomical Society in 1899. Albert Einstein visited the observatory during his first trip to the United States in 1921. The facility is now operated by the Yerkes Future Foundation.

The Williams Bay Air Force Station served as a general surveillance radar station from 1950-1960. A historical marker on the site commemorates the 755th Radar Squadron.

In October 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a three day retreat of fellow activists and supporters at Conference Point Center. The purpose of the retreat was to develop a strategy to protest racial segregation in Chicago. The resulting plan became known as the Chicago Freedom Movement.