Lake Mills, IA

Lake Mills grew around water and machinery. A gristmill stood at the site by 1864, the community was platted in 1869, and C.D. Smith incorporated it that year. The name comes from the town’s position along the old shoreline of Rice Lake, while the mill history includes both grist and lumber operations. In the twentieth century, Cool Spring Canning Company became an important local employer until its plant closed in 1957. Lake Mills Community School District serves the town today. The short version is right there in the name: a lake, a mill, and a Winnebago County town that built itself around both.