LAKE IVANHOE, Wis.— A century-old resort community in Walworth County is getting recognition like the area’s leadership claimed it hasn’t seen before.
Lake Ivanhoe has a population of just under 500 people. It’s a small, century-old town just six miles east of Lake Geneva.
One of those people is Peter Baker, who moved to the town when he was just 10-years-old.
“You could walk into anyone’s home. Everyone was your best friend,” he said.
Lake Ivanhoe was founded in 1926 by three affluent Black men from Chicago. Today, African Americans make up 6% of the population.
Those cultural roots mean a lot to Baker, who has found memories of fishing on summer days. In fact, the first time he visited the town, he got nicknamed “The Fisherman.”
“I had fished when I came up with my friend’s grandfather, but this labeled me the fisherman,” Baker said.
From that first visit on, Baker said he knew Lake Ivanhoe was special.
“I ran home and told my mother, ‘Here is a community— up here on a lake— that’s all Black,”’ he said.
That stood out to him as a child, and the feeling still holds true for Baker.
“There was total freedom, safety and security,” Baker said.
When Baker was growing up, about 60 people lived in the town. It was an all-Black community at the time, according to Baker.
Now, Baker is one of the town’s leaders.
For the past 20 years, Baker has served as the president of the Lake Ivanhoe Property Owners Association; he said he has worked hard to keep Lake Ivanhoe’s rich African American history alive.
His determination has started to pay off.
“It’s my honor to be able to work with the Lake Ivanhoe Homeowners’ Association to erect a historical marker to commemorate this rich heritage of Wisconsin’s first and only Black-founded community—founded by Black people, specifically for Black people,” said Fitzie Heimdal with the Wisconsin Historical Society’s historical markers program.
Heidmal said historically Black towns around the nation are at risk if disappearing.
“I look at towns like this as racism reaches across the country. African Americans needed these communities as a place for safety,” said Heimdal.
Baker said he wants everyone to remember Lake Ivanhoe’s roots.
“Moving to Lake Ivanhoe was the best thing that ever happened to me in my life... it molded me,” Baker said. “I wish I could go back to this time and stay in it for infinity.”
Now, Lake Ivanhoe is being recognized as Wisconsin’s sole Black-founded town. That historical marker will help preserve its history.
The state historical marker program said it plans to add 35 historical markers around Wisconsin within the next 3 years to recognize the history of marginalized communities.