Lake Beulah is an

unincorporated community An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...

in the town of

East Troy East Troy is a village in Walworth County, Wisconsin, United States. The population was 4,687 at the 2020 census. The village is located southwest of the Town of East Troy. A small portion extends into the adjacent Town of Troy. Geography Eas ...

, Walworth County,

Wisconsin Wisconsin () is a state in the upper Midwestern United States. Wisconsin is the 25th-largest state by total area and the 20th-most populous. It is bordered by Minnesota to the west, Iowa to the southwest, Illinois to the south, Lake M ...

, United States. The unincorporated community surrounds the freshwater Lake Beulah.

Lake Beulah

Community

The unincorporated community surrounds the freshwater Lake Beulah. The lake covers an area of 812 acres with a maximum depth of 58 feet. Two

summer camp A summer camp or sleepaway camp is a supervised program for children conducted during the summer months in some countries. Children and adolescents who attend summer camp are known as ''campers''. Summer school is usually a part of the academ ...

s, YMCA Camp Edwards and Beber Camp, also use the lake for recreational purposes.

Ecology

Lake Beulah contains a variety of different species within the lake. Many species of fish can be found in the lake, including:

Panfish The word panfish, also spelled pan-fish or pan fish, is an American English term describing any edible freshwater fish that usually do not outgrow the size of an average frying pan. It is also commonly used by recreational anglers to refer to a ...

Largemouth Bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, bu ...

, Smallmouth Bass,

Northern Pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are known simply as a p ...

Walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the yellow pike or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern United States. It is a North American close relat ...

Redbreast Sunfish The redbreast sunfish (''Lepomis auritus'') is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (family Centrarchidae) of order Perciformes. The type species of its genus, it is native to the river systems of eastern Canada and the United Stat ...

Catfish Catfish (or catfishes; order Siluriformes or Nematognathi) are a diverse group of ray-finned fish. Named for their prominent barbels, which resemble a cat's whiskers, catfish range in size and behavior from the three largest species alive ...

, Crappie, Bluegill, and

Cisco Cisco Systems, Inc., commonly known as Cisco, is an American-based multinational digital communications technology conglomerate corporation headquartered in San Jose, California. Cisco develops, manufactures, and sells networking hardware, ...

. The lake is also home to Painted Turtles, Smooth Softshell Turtles, and

Snapping Turtles The Chelydridae is a family of turtles that has seven extinct and two extant genera. The extant genera are the snapping turtles, ''Chelydra'' and ''Macrochelys''. Both are endemic to the Western Hemisphere. The extinct genera are ''Acherontemys' ...

Curly-Leaf Pondweed ''Potamogeton crispus'', the crisp-leaved pondweed, curly pondweed, curly-leaf pondweed or curled pondweed, is a species of aquatic plant (hydrophyte) native to Eurasia but an introduced species and often a noxious weed in North America. De ...

, Eurasian Water-Milfoil, Hybrid

Eurasian Eurasia (, ) is the largest continental area on Earth, comprising all of Europe and Asia. Primarily in the Northern Hemisphere, Northern and Eastern Hemispheres, it spans from the British Isles and the Iberian Peninsula in the west to the Ja ...

/ Northern Water-Milfoil, and

Zebra Mussels The zebra mussel (''Dreissena polymorpha'') is a small freshwater mussel. The species originates from the lakes of southern Russia and Ukraine, but has been accidentally introduced to numerous other areas and has become an invasive species in ma ...

can also be found in the lake.

Wood duck The wood duck or Carolina duck (''Aix sponsa'') is a species of perching duck found in North America. The drake wood duck is one of the most colorful North American waterfowl. Description The wood duck is a medium-sized perching duck. A ty ...

s and

Canada geese The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...

are also present on Lake Beulah.

History

Early history

The lake was formed at some point in the 1830s following the construction of the wooden Yonman-Johnson dam (which now forms part of Wisconsin County Highway J), creating a lake between

and

Mukwonago Mukwonago is a village in the U.S. state of Wisconsin. The population was 8,262 at the 2020 United States Census, 2020 census. The village is located mostly within the Mukwonago (town), Wisconsin, Town of Mukwonago in Waukesha County, Wisconsin, ...

. In 1894, the Lake Beulah Protective and Improvement Association (LBPIA) was established with the aim of "improving and protecting Lake Beulah and the streams and waters adjacent thereto." By 1904, the association had improved the lake strengthening the dam, introducing wall eyed pike, and formulating regulations regarding the display of lights on watercraft. The association successfully managed to get the dam further strengthened with cement in 1909, which allowed for the lake to be maintained at a set height all year round. A weed cutter was then purchased by LBPIA and led to the removal of weeds and tree stumps which had previously clogged some channels surrounding the lake.

Post World War Two

The end of the

Second World War World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposi ...

brought with it the advent of the commercial speedboat. Such crafts became a common occurrence on the lake and led to the issuance of a revised 'Code of Good Conduct' in 1963 which was issued to all lake front property owners. By the 1990s, the major issue on the lake was the spread of invasive species, particularly the Eurasian Water Milfoil.

Lake Beulah Yacht Club

The Lake Beulah Yacht Club was established in 1893. Its members have been nationally recognized in sailboat racing, winning prestigious awards. The Rolex Yachtswoman of the Year Award was presented to Stephanie Roble and

Annie Haeger Anne Haeger (born February 5, 1990) is an American sailor who competed at the 2016 Summer Olympics and joined the Canada SailGP Team as a Strategist in September 2023. Life Haeger was born in East Troy, Wisconsin in 1990. She started sailing w ...

in 2015 and 2016, respectively. Haeger also went on to represent the

USA The United States of America (U.S.A. or USA), commonly known as the United States (U.S. or US) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It consists of 50 states, a federal district, five major unincorporated territori ...

at the

2016 Olympics ) , nations = 207 (including IOA and EOR teams) , athletes = 11,238 , events = 306 in 28 sports (41 disciplines) , opening = 5 August 2016 , closing = 21 August 2016 , opened_by = Vice President Michel Temer , cauldron = Vanderlei Cordeiro ...

, finishing 7th in the women's 470.

Notable people

* Frank L. Fraser, Wisconsin State Representative, farmer, and lawyer lived in Lake Beulah; Fraser served as the postmaster for Lake Beulah and the chairman of the East Troy Town Board.'Wisconsin Blue Book 1895,' Biographical Sketch of Frank L. Fraser, pg. 692-693 *

, US Olympic sailor; participated in sailing competitions and other sailing activities with the Lake Beulah Yacht Club. * Stephanie Roble, US Olympic sailor; participated in sailing competitions and other sailing activities with the Lake Beulah Yacht Club.

Notes

External links

Lake Beulah Protective & Improvement Association
{{authority control Unincorporated communities in Walworth County, Wisconsin Unincorporated communities in Wisconsin