February 15, 2018 at 10:52 a.m.
Traveling trails less traveled
What's in a name?
Most of the names given to our area lakes bear some connection to the history of our region. So, as a starter for this column I retrieved my copy of "Surface Waters Resources of Vilas County," published by the Wisconsin Conservation Department in 1963, and did a bit of research on the subject. This 317-page document was my uncle, Bud Jorgensen's, personal copy that he received while he was employed by the WCD years ago. What follows is a portion of what I discovered.
There are approximately 1,300 lakes in Vilas County, about half are named and half are small un-named "pot-holes." Of the named lakes, 119 bear family names, beginning with Adams and ending with Zee.
Many of our lakes, 52, contain female names, labels the lumberjacks are given credit for suggesting, no doubt names of wives, daughters, mothers, girlfriends or an employee of a local saloon who provided a wide range of services. The girl's names begin with Adelade and span the alphabet to Verna.
Obviously those old time lumberjacks were more interested in females than men, which I guess is fairly normal, as only 29 lakes bear men's names, beginning with Benedict and concluding with Vance.
There are 37 lakes containing names honoring our Native Americans and/or the influence of the French fur trappers, traders and explorers. These lake names range from Allequash to Warrior.
Twenty-two animals are honored in lake names, ranging from Bambi and Beaver to Wolf.
Fifteen tree names were used, beginning with Aspen and concluding with Tamarack.
Fish species were used to name 14 lakes, Bass through Whitefish.
There are 12 lakes bearing the names of plants and fruit bearing shrubs, starting with Arbor Vitae and ending with Sumack.
Only five birds were selected for naming lakes, Chick-a-Dee through Snipe.
Various drinks did not fare well, as only two were used - Brandy and Coffee. I would suspect the brandy was thought of first and coffee followed the next morning.
Perhaps most interesting are the unusual titles that were affixed to many of the lakes in Vilas County.
Anvil Lake - perhaps the logging camp blacksmith used his anvil for a boat anchor and the rope broke?
Aurora Lake, which is very small, shallow, muddy and filled with rice, may have been the site where lumberjacks viewed the Northern Lights, or thought they did after consuming brandy?
Deadman's Lake - Local lore has it a trapper found a body in the lake after the spring thaw. Sounds plausible.
Devils Lake - It's a small, bog lake off Highway B which has a highly rustic carry-down-a-hill landing. Possibly as a joke, a lumberjack told his companions it was loaded with fish, and after his pals got skunked and asked why they were sent there - the jokester answered - "The devil made me do it."
Finger Lake - (No indication of which finger, but perhaps the old signal for --"I'm number one"?)
Lost Lake, which became "lost" during a blizzard when surveyors were trying to locate their tent camp, and Found Lake was named when the lost surveyors stumbled upon it thinking it was the lake where their camp was located. (That's supposed to be true.)
Hells Kitchen, at 7 acres and 63 feet deep, might have been mistaken for the stairway to Hell?
Hobo Lake, near the former railroad that ran from Sayner to Star Lake, is reputed to have been a favored camping location for homeless hobos during the lumbering era.
Horsehead Lake was named many years prior to the movie, "The Godfather," so I assume the name is not associated with the mob.
Hurrah Lake - If you've ever driven down the abandoned railroad grade leading to its rustic public access, one might guess the builders of the rail line might have yelled "Hurrah," after finally reaching the lake!
Mermaid Lake - Possibly a "vision" experienced by lumberjacks after spending time in a local saloon?
Nudist Lake - (Lots of possible situations that led to this name!)
Mystery Lake - It's name remains a mystery.
No Man's Lake - "Could it have been the site of an early attempt by women as a private retreat for females?"
Witches Lake - This lake is made up of two basins connected by a short, narrow channel where a logging railroad trestle once existed. There is a "North Witch" and a "South Witch" and to this day those are some folks who can't tell which Witch is which.
Scat Lake - (I'll let your mind run wild on this one!)
Secret Lake - Why it became secret is a mystery, but now that it's on the map the secret is out!
Snort Lake - Maybe a hunter heard a deer snort, or maybe it was the sight of an illegal still?
And last but least, Stub Walsh Lake, two acres and 37 feet deep. Stub Walsh was probably a lumberjack, but the mystery remains as to what part of him was "stubby."
Additional miscellaneous information: Four lakes have "bass" in their names, there are two Boot Lakes, one for each foot? Six lakes have "deer" in their names, plus a Buck, Doe and two Fawns. Three lakes begin with "Lac," there are six lakes with "stone" in their names, four with "sand" and three "muds." Five lakes have "twin" as part of their name, and there are six Camp Lakes, including five with a number following "Camp", 1, 2, 5, 10 and 12, all of which were sites where lumber camps once stood.
Lakes that received name changes include, Dirty Shirt Lake to Dorothy Dunn. Rock Lake to Escanaba. Anderson Lake to Shannon Lake. Johnson Lake to Little Cloud, and Dollar Lake to Kasomo Lake.
And so, there is a considerable amount of historical mystery that remains so to why certain names were assigned to many of our area lakes! Let the research begin!
Buckshot may be reached at buckshot [email protected].
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