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Lake Mills, Wisconsin

16 topographic sheets cover this place, the earliest surveyed in 1891 and the latest in 1991. It stands in Lake Mills City. It lies in ZIP code area 53551. The Survey maps it on the Lake Mills quadrangle. 6,211 people lived here at the 2020 count.

Research this city

Lake Mills within Jefferson County

On record in Lake Mills

Buildings and businesses the archive holds for this place. Each opens its own page, with the source record it came from.

On the National Register 6 records

Population over time

2 figures

Lake Mills grew from 5,708 to 6,211 between 2010 and 2020. These are the recorded population figures Wikidata holds for this place, reached through the Geographic Names Information System number this page is keyed on rather than by name, so they belong to this place and not to another of the same name. Most are census counts, but not all are: an early figure may be a founding or settlement estimate, and an estimate published within five years of a census is left out. The change column is computed, and is left blank where more than 20 years separate a figure from the one before it, because a gap that long is not a change between two counts.

YearPeople Change
20105,708
20206,211+503 (+9%)

Topographic sheets covering this place

9 surveys from 16 printed sheets

Matched by testing this settlement's coordinate against the published boundary of every sheet in the United States Geological Survey's historical collection. Each opens the scanned sheet at the Survey.

Fires near this place

9 since 2010

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal wildfire occurrence database lists 9 fires within 5 miles of Lake Mills between 2010 and 2020, burning about 284 acres in total. None started naturally. 2 were recorded as arson. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a fire counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Reported cause Fires
Debris and open burning4
Arson/incendiarism2
Missing data/not specified/undetermined2
Equipment and vehicle use1

The most recent of them, most recent first, with the day each was reported and the service that recorded it.

DateCause SizeReported by Name on the report
9 May 2020Debris and open burning1.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources137
17 May 2011Equipment and vehicle useunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
29 April 2018Debris and open burning5.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources2018044
24 April 2018Debris and open burning3.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resources101
11 April 2012Missing data/not specified/undetermined10 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
1 April 2010Debris and open burning8.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural Resourcesnot named
29 March 2018Missing data/not specified/undeterminedunder an acreWisconsin Department of Natural Resources1800030
23 March 2017Arson/incendiarism2.0 acresWisconsin Department of Natural ResourcesHOPE LAKE ROAD FIRE

Settlements close enough to share some of these fires:

Every fire recorded in Jefferson County

Mines and quarries near this place

3 within 5 miles

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The federal mineral resources record lists 3 workings within 5 miles of Lake Mills: 2 producers, 1 past producer. 2 still produce. What was taken out: Sand and Gravel, Construction. Distance is straight-line from the map coordinates, so a quarry counted here may appear on a neighbouring settlement's page as well.

Where SiteCommodity StatusRecorded
Duwe PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionPast Producer
Mud Lake PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer
Nelson PitSand and Gravel, ConstructionProducer

Every working recorded in Jefferson County

Storms near this place

60 of 66 shown

Regional context, not property-specific evidence. The National Weather Service names Lake Mills in 66 storm reports between 1994 and 2026: 26 thunderstorm wind, 25 hail, 5 funnel cloud, 3 lightning. No death or injury is recorded in these reports. Each account below is quoted exactly as the forecast office filed it, from the NOAA Storm Events Database, and each date opens the federal record of that event.

WhenEvent Place namedHarm What the report says
June 2008Flash FloodLake Mills$102,220,000Heavy rains resulted in flash flooding across much of Jefferson County. Water depths on road surfaces reached 3 feet or more and there were gravel washouts. The rain on June 12th ultimately lead to record-setting crests on the Rock and Crawfish Rivers, and many farm fields remained flooded into early July. The cities of Watertown, Jefferson, and Ft. Atkinson were hard hit by high river levels. The breakdown on residential home damage losses were: 100 with minor damage, 400 with major damage, and 10 destroyed (total of about $36 million). Business losses totaled abouit $21.4 million. Crops losses were estimated at $35 million. Public sector damage was about $44.811 million. There were several roads and bridges that sustained damage.
April 2006HailLake Mills$4,360,000no account filed
September 1997Tornado (F0)Lake Mills$650,000no account filed
August 2007Flash FloodLake Mills$100,000Flash flooding affected a swath of Jefferson County from the Lake Mills area to the city of Jefferson after 3 to 6 inches of rain fell overnight. Shorewood Road near Lake Mills was closed where a retention pond overflowed and flooded the road with water 2 to 3 feet deep. Most low roads in county had water over them. Bark River Road in Fort Atkinson was closed. Some soil erosion and crop damage was noted in the surrounding countryside. At least 10 homes sustained minor flood damage to basement contents, and at least 3 businesses had minor damage. Some gravel shoulder washouts were also noted. At a location 3.6WNW Lake Mills, 5.23 of rain was measured overnight through 0145CST on August 19th. It was noted that peak rainfall rates at this location reached 2.98 in 2.3 hours. Ultimately , the CoCORaHS observer at this location measured 6.04 by 1000CST on August 19th. A City of Jefferson spotter measured 5.50 overnight. In the extreme southeast corner of the county, a NWS employee measured 3.81.
August 2007Flash FloodLake Mills$50,000Flash flooding occurred in the Lake Mills to Watertown area due to repeated thunderstorms with heavy rains on top of a saturated ground. Numerous roads were covered with fast-flowing water depths of 6 inches to 1 foot. Hourly rainfall rates were 1.5 to 2 inches based on WSR-88D Doppler radar estimates. Soil erosion and crop damage also occurred on several other farms in that area. Additionally, a few basements had water damage to contents. Most creeks and streams in the area exceeded flood stage by one to 2 feet.||August, 2007, rainfall totals include: 10.64 in Ft. Atkinson, 12.68 in Jefferson, 17.75 in Lake Mills, 14.39 in Watertown, 12.54 in Waterloo, and 12.78 at the NWS office 3.8SE of Sullivan.
June 2001Thunderstorm WindLake Mills$30,000no account filed
June 2008Thunderstorm WindLake Mills$25,000Powerful thunderstorms winds knocked down large trees and power-lines.
July 2001LightningLake Mills$25,000no account filed
May 2018Thunderstorm WindLake Mills$20,000Multiple large trees down in and around Lake Mills. One tree fell on a car. A power pole was blown to a position on an angle. Power was out.
October 2010Thunderstorm WindLake Mills$20,000Law enforcement officials reported numerous trees and power lines blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts estimated up to 65 knots (75 mph) in the city of Lake Mills.
June 2022Thunderstorm WindLake Mills$15,000Numerous trees down across Lake Mills.
June 1997Thunderstorm WindLake Mills$15,000no account filed
September 2022Thunderstorm WindLake Mills$10,000A swath of scattered trees and branches down across the county including Waterloo, Lake Mills, Ixonia, and Palmyra.
July 1997LightningLake Mills$10,000no account filed
August 2021HailLake Mills$8,000Hail reported to be 1 to 1.5 inch in diamater.
September 2012Thunderstorm WindLake Mills$8,000The Jefferson County 911 Call Center reported trees and power lines were blown down by damaging thunderstorm wind gusts estimated to be 56 knots (64 mph) in Lake Mills.
June 2013Thunderstorm WindLake Mills$7,000The public reported trees, some up to 12 inches in diameter, and numerous branches blown down by thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 60 mph (52 knots). A road sign was twisted by the winds along Interstate-94 just west of Lake Mills, and some lofting of tree debris was noted by a storm spotter.
June 2000LightningLake Mills$3,000no account filed
June 1999Tornado (F0)Lake Mills$3,000no account filed
July 1997Thunderstorm WindLake Mills$3,000no account filed
June 1997Thunderstorm WindLake Mills$3,000no account filed
June 2000Thunderstorm WindLake Mills$2,000no account filed
August 2000Thunderstorm WindLake Mills$2,000no account filed
February 1999Thunderstorm WindLake Mills$1,000no account filed
July 1997Thunderstorm WindLake Mills$900no account filed
May 1998Thunderstorm WindLake Mills$500no account filed
April 2026HailLake Mills-Trained spotter reports 1 inch diameter hail northwest of Lake Mills.
June 2013HailLake Mills-There was a report from the public of large hail estimated to be 1 inch in diameter 2 miles west of Lake Mills.
May 2011HailLake Mills-Ham radio operators reported severe thunderstorms dropped hail up to 1.00 inch in diameter in a 3-mile wide swath from 3 miles southwest of Lake Mills to 1 mile northeast of Lake Mills.
September 2011Thunderstorm WindLake Mills-A trained spotter reported large tree branches blown down, an above ground pool blown into a neighbor's yard and lawn furniture tossed from severe thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 65 knots (75 mph).
June 2011Thunderstorm WindLake Mills-Powerful thunderstorm wind gusts toppled several large trees. One of the trees crashed onto a home and resulted in minor damage.
September 2010Thunderstorm WindLake Mills-Sheriff deputies reported trees blown down by strong thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 56 knots (65 mph) along a line from Lake Mills to Oakland Township.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindLake Mills-County sheriff deputies reported trees were blown down by the strong thunderstorm gusts.
August 2010Thunderstorm WindLake Mills-Police officials reported considerable tree damage from thunderstorm wind gusts estimated at 65 knots (75 mph).
June 1994Thunderstorm WindLake Mills-Scattered severe thunderstorms raced from west central to south central and southeast Wisconsin generating hail up to 1 inch in diameter and gusty winds to 60 mph. Over $100,000 in property damage occurred to 43 homes in the Star Prairie area of St. Croix county due to intense thunderstorm winds. Other damage was confined to trees and power lines.
April 2025HailLake Mills-no account filed
August 2017HailLake Mills-no account filed
August 2017HailLake Mills-no account filed
June 2014HailLake Mills-no account filed
May 2012HailLake Mills-no account filed
May 2012HailLake Mills-no account filed
May 2012HailLake Mills-no account filed
April 2011HailLake Mills-no account filed
June 2010HailLake Mills-no account filed
June 2010HailLake Mills-no account filed
June 2010HailLake Mills-no account filed
June 2008HailLake Mills-no account filed
June 2008Funnel CloudLake Mills-no account filed
April 2007Heavy RainLake Mills-no account filed
April 2006HailLake Mills-no account filed
July 2006Heavy RainLake Mills-no account filed
August 2006HailLake Mills-no account filed
October 2006Funnel CloudLake Mills-no account filed
May 2005HailLake Mills-no account filed
June 2005Thunderstorm WindLake Mills-no account filed
June 2005HailLake Mills-no account filed
July 2004Funnel CloudLake Mills-no account filed
April 2002Thunderstorm WindLake Mills-no account filed
June 2000HailLake Mills-no account filed
June 2000Funnel CloudLake Mills-no account filed

Every storm recorded in Jefferson County

Nearest settlements

The eight closest, with where each one stands in the county. Distances are straight-line, computed from the Geographic Names Information System coordinates.

Map PlaceDistance Sheets
Hoopers Mill1.9 miles16
Aztalan2.7 miles15
Milford3.7 miles15
Kroghville5.3 miles23
Breezy Knoll5.8 miles16
Lake Ripley6.5 miles16
Sylvan Mounds6.7 miles18
Jefferson Junction7.1 miles15

Elsewhere

Matched on this settlement's Geographic Names Information System number rather than its name, so it cannot be a different place of the same name in another state.

Wikipedia article on Lake MillsAn encyclopaedic summary. Its text is share-alike, so it is linked here rather than copied.
Wikidata item Q1570186The structured record the population and elevation above come from. Public domain (CC0).

Provenance

This settlement is recorded in the Geographic Names Information System as feature 1567742. The sheet list is computed by point-in-boundary test against the United States Geological Survey's historical topographic inventory. Both are works of the United States government and carry no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Wildfire. Short, Karen C. 2022. Spatial wildfire occurrence data for the United States, 1992-2020 [FPA_FOD_20221014]. 6th Edition. Fort Collins, CO: Forest Service Research Data Archive. https://doi.org/10.2737/RDS-2013-0009.6 Collected with United States Government funding and usable without additional permissions or fees.

Mines and quarries. USGS Mineral Resources Data System (MRDS) https://mrdata.usgs.gov/mrds/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105.

Storms. NOAA National Centers for Environmental Information, Storm Events Database https://www.ncei.noaa.gov/stormevents/ A work of the United States government, no copyright under 17 U.S.C. 105. Narratives are quoted verbatim from the National Weather Service report and are not edited or summarised.