Known until 1916 as Government Hill because it was used for government surveying purposes, Lapham Peak is the highest point in Waukesha County at 1233 ft. It was purchased by the state in 1905 as part of the farms acquired for the Statesan tuberculosis hospital. The remaining hospital bldgs. are now part of the Ethan Allen School for Boys.
Increase A. Lapham (1811-1875), for whom the peak is named, was a New Yorker who came to Wisconsin in 1836 as an engineer for Byron Kilbourn's ill-fated Milwaukee and Rock River Canal project. He later settled in the Oconomowoc area where he resided until his death.
Lapham, best remembered as the father of the United States Weather Bureau, also was recognized as a pioneer scholar, botanist, geologist, archeologist and scientist. He mapped many areas of state, including Milwaukee County, of which Waukesha County was then a part.
He served as State Geologist, was a founder and president of the State Historical Society, a founder of the Milwaukee Female Seminary (later Milwaukee Downer College), and a member of the board of trustees of Carroll College.
He made a survey of all Indian mounds in Wisconsin and was a prolific writer. Among his publication topics were: Wisconsin's Fauna and Flora, Grasses, Forest tress and Antiquities, and Wisconsin: Its Geography and Topography, History, Geology & Mineralogy.
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