Editing Wauconda, Illinois (section)

=== 1800s ===
According to local legend, Wauconda was named after an indigenous chief whose name translated as 'spirit water'.{{citation needed|date=March 2025}}

Many early settlers of Wauconda came from [[New England]] and [[New York (state)|New York]] by [[covered wagon]] or through the [[Erie Canal]] and the [[Great Lakes]].<ref name="WaucondaIL">{{cite web |title=History of Wauconda {{!}} Wauconda, IL |url=https://wauconda-il.gov/217/History-of-Wauconda |url-status=dead |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20180227174017/https://www.wauconda-il.gov/217/History-of-Wauconda |archive-date=February 27, 2018 |access-date=May 9, 2018 |website=wauconda-il.gov |language=en}}</ref>

Elihu Hubbard built the first log cabin on the bank of [[Bangs Lake]] in 1836. Justus Bangs, the first settler in Wauconda, built a house next to the lake in 1848 and the lake was later named after him. In 1840, members of the [[Ho-Chunk|Winnebago]] tribe who did not leave the shores of the [[Fox River (Illinois River tributary)|Fox River]] often went to the area to trade. In 1849, Wauconda was organized into a town by a vote of the people of Lake County to divide Lake County into towns. There were 1,695 votes cast and all except three were in favor of the division. The first town meeting was held on the 1st Tuesday in April 1850 where the first officers were elected and appointed. I.<ref name="WaucondaIL" />

Wauconda's first school was built in 1839 and the area's post office was moved to Wauconda on June 27, 1849, with Hazard Green becoming its first postmaster.<ref name="WaucondaIL" />

Elder Joel Wheeler of [[McHenry, Illinois|McHenry]] built the first [[Baptists|Baptist]] church in Wauconda in the autumn of 1838. A [[Methodism|Methodist]] church was organized on September 3, 1852, by Reverend C. French, and built in 1856 on the Commons. Both Methodists and Baptists attended prayer at the church until February 1870, when the Baptists reorganized and built a new church on October 30, 1870. A [[Roman Catholic church]] was built in 1877 and its first trustees were James S. Murray, Charles Davlin, Felix Givens, John Givens, Hugh Davlin, and Owen McMahon. Its first priest was Father O'Neil.<ref name="WaucondaIL" />

In 1850, Wauconda had a population of around 200 residents, and the town had three goods stores, two public houses and various mechanics.<ref name="WaucondaIL" />

The Village of Wauconda was incorporated on August 18, 1877.