Lake Waubesa [origin of place name] | Wisconsin Historical Society

Historical Essay

Lake Waubesa [origin of place name]

Lake Waubesa [origin of place name] | Wisconsin Historical Society
Dictionary of Wisconsin History.

Swan (V.) Corruption of wabisi, the Chippewa word for swan. Wau-bih-zee = swan wau-bih-sa = white bird or "thing flies along" (W.) Named by Dr. Lyman C. Draper about 1855, and legalized by Legislature Feb. 14, 1855.  Before that, the body of water was called Sa-hoo-cha-te-la, meaning "lake of the rushes". 

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[Source: Wis. Hist. Collections, v.10, p. 67; Milwaukee Sentinel, Jun. 29, 1953.]