The first settlement in the Mukwonago area was the Potawatomi Indian Village along the Fox River where the Village of Mukwonago is now located.  The Winnebago tribe also lived in Waukesha County before the Potawatomi tribe arrived in the early 1700’s.  In 1832, the Potawatomi ceded their lands and white settlers soon arrived.

 The Indian village site was considered desirable by the new wave of white settlers.  In the spring of 1836, Sewall Andrews, and Henry Camp attempted to erect a house at that site. The remaining Native Americans objected to the intrusions, so Andrews and Camp built their house about a mile and one half northwest of the Indian village near the still existing Andrew’s house (Mukwonago Museum).  During the same year, Charles Cox and Joseph Smart set up homesteads in Section 19 of the Town, as did Tom Sugden in Section 26.  Following the early settlers in 1836 additional families arrived.  A colony of 20 socialistic families from England purchased 160 acres around Spring Lake in 1843, led by a man named Hunt.  They built one large log cabin for the whole group to live in, supplemented by smaller cabins. Following theories developed by Robert Owen, a Welsh born factory owner, everything was owned by the community and everyone was to receive an equal share of the necessities of life.  The land did not yield the crops needed to support them and in 1850 the colony broke up. Several Owenites, including the Steele, Johnson, Skidmore, Whitnall, Blackworth and Hunt families did not return to England but remained in the Mukwonago area.  Other new timers, who moved to the Town or the Village before 1840, included the Jones, Hills, Raynons, Chafin, Prescott, Winch, Ray, Bond, Blood, Elmore, and the Basselt families. By the end of this decade, Mukwonago included a hotel built in 1837, two stores, a shoemaker, blacksmith, and post office.  The first permanent bridge was laid over the Fox River in 1843.  A flour and sawmill started operating in 1847 and two years later, the Mukwonago Chief began printing.  Henry Hinkley was elected the first Town Chairman in 1838, when the Town of Mukwonago also included the present Towns of Genesee, Ottawa and Eagle.

For the rest of the 19^th century, Mukwonago grew as a farming community. Construction of the Milwaukee and Beloit railroad track running through the village provided the farmers with transportation for their crops.  Schools and churches were established to further fulfill the basic needs of the residents.  Social clubs and activities were also important. In 1878, 19 young women who swore never to marry formed an “old maids club”. When they met for the last time in 1905, only Martha MacArthur, Josephine, Rose & Fanny Chapin, Dr. Evelyn Hoehne and Betty Andrews had remained single.  The Mukwonago Territorial Badgers, survivors of the pioneers who lived in Wisconsin when it was still a territory, held meetings from 1899 to 1928. 

The character of Waukesha County changed in the late 1800’s from being exclusively agricultural to including resort activities.  Travelers from Milwaukee, Chicago, and all over the country visited the fresh water springs at Spring Lake and Kellogg Springs as well as other springs throughout the county.  Several large hotels were built in Mukwonago to house those seeking the curative waters.  Another popular recreational activity for both visitors and residents was clam digging from canoes along the shores of the Fox River.  The area now known as the Vernon Marsh was used for activities other than hunting and fishing; farmers harvested wild hay and other crops.  During the prohibition era, the marsh hid several moonshine stills. 

Mukwonago was never isolated from the political events of state and national importance.  In 1919 a “women’s liberation” parade marched through the village square drawing women from many of the area’s prominent families.   Mukwonago dairy farmers showed their clout when they broke with the Wisconsin Cooperative Milk producers in 1934 through their vote to keep the United Dairy plant open.  The Mukwonago delegation was among those who met with the Governor of Wisconsin and later with the U.S. Secretary of Agricultural about the milk pricing controversy.

 The Village of Mukwonago was incorporated from the Town of Mukwonago in 1905. The population of the Town remained at about 800 from 1890 to 1950 when the influx of suburbanites began.  In 1954 a lot and single family home in the Town sold for $9,000 to $13,500, by 1960 the population increased in the Town to 1,579 residents.

 The beauty of the Town did not go un-noticed by developer Francis Schroedel.  In the 1960’s he bought 900 acres adjacent to a lake south of the Mukwonago River and planned a 756 room convention and resort center called Rainbow Springs.  He considered this project to be the triumph of his career, but he never saw it to completion.  Before the hotels furnishings were installed for a project completion target date of May of 1967, Schroedel ran into financial difficulties.  The Marshall and Isley Bank foreclosed on Schroedel and bought the complex in 1973.  Since then, there have been several efforts to open Rainbow Springs, the most recent one occurring in the summer of 1981.  The 736-room hotel was partially destroyed by fire in the early 2000’s and subsequent to that, the Town of Mukwonago Board and the Waukesha County Park & Planning Commission terminated the Conditional Use permit for the hotel and convention center on said property and only allowed it to operate the golf course and clubhouse. 

Through the 1960’s and 1970’s more homes sprang up in the Town. Construction of the Rock Freeway (I-43) from Milwaukee to Mukwonago in 1972 aided the influx of new residents.  By 1980 the growing needs of the Town residents resulted in the construction of a new Town Hall next to the existing one on Beulah Road. 

 Over the years, many of the Town’s first families have moved or died out. Agricultural activities still exist operated by descendents of the settlers as well as by newcomers.  The Town is now a mix of agricultural and residential areas but old and new residents appreciate the Town’s natural beauty and unique character.  It was with preservation of this community flavor and preservation of the natural beauty in mind that the citizens of the Town of Mukwonago embarked upon the original long range land use plan to encourage preservation of its quality of life to their heirs.