How Did The Town Of Winona Lake Get Its Name?

Before there was any settlement along the lakeshore, the name of the lake was Eagle Lake. Presumably this name was given by John B. Chapman, who was charged with settling and developing the properties of northern Indiana, including Kosciusko County.
The three Beyer brothers, who in 1881 purchased the majority of property that is today’s town, developed it into a tourist attraction they named Spring Fountain Park. There was strong competition for clientele between Spring Fountain Park and Lakeside Park in Warsaw. But Spring Fountain Park’s tourist attractions, coupled with its Chautauqua programming, drew huge crowds, most of which came by rail.
In 1894, Dr. Solomon C. Dickey was serving as superintendent of home missions for the Presbyterian Church of Indiana. He was searching for a property to be developed into a retreat and discussion center for his denomination.
In recounting the history of Dickey’s original desire to find a common meeting place for “rest, counsel, recreation and inspiration,” Assembly President Thomas Kane noted in a memorial booklet that Dickey first suggested property on Bass Lake in Starke County. A plot of 160 acres was purchased, but plans to build a short railroad spur from the nearest railroad to the lake fell through. The local authorities failed to do their part.
So Dickey sought an alternate location and, according to Kane, “A few days later Dr. Dickey met one of the firm of Beyer Brothers on the train and incidentally mentioned what he was looking for. Come and see Spring Fountain Park at Eagle Lake was the prompt invitation. ‘We have just what you need and we want to sell.’ The invitation was accepted and within a few days the purchase was made.”
Dickey arranged for the Presbyterian Church members of Indiana to buy 160 acres of land which included the northeastern shores of Eagle Lake and also the resort and social center called Spring Fountain Park, located along the lake’s eastern shore. Dickey’s organization paid $100,000 for the property, even though the Beyer brothers had invested more than $125,000 to develop the park.
In 1895, the Presbyterians changed the name of Eagle Lake to Winona Lake. "Winona" was an Indian word meaning "first born" according to James Y. Heaton. Al Disbro, in his book titled “Images of America: Winona Lake,” claims the name was imported from Winona, a small town near the Bass Lake property Dickey first tried to purchase.
Local historian Bill Darr, on the other hand, believes Dickey was planning to locate on Lake Winona in Starke County, rather than Bass Lake. Darr believes Dickey had his Winona Assembly and Summer School Association stock certificates already printed and so he changed the name of Eagle Lake rather than reprint his stock certificates.
In a South Bend Tribune article dated Sept. 7, 1996, Brent Wilcoxson, who at that time was president of the Winona town council and president of the Winona Lake Historical Society, said, “This started in 1896. They began selling lots in 1897. The assembly built the administration building in 1898 and The Medillia, a home on Lot No. 2, was built in 1898. The Hillside on Lot No. 1 in 1901. The Swiss Terrace — three residences with linked front porches —was built in 1902. Also that year (1902) was when the canal was dredged, creating McDonald Island, and it was the year Sol Dickey built his Killarney Castle on the island’s shore.”
The town of Winona Lake was incorporated on June 2, 1913, and later a community symbol of an Indian princess was adopted. The princess image was used as the symbol of Winona from almost the beginning. Miss Airy Anna Haymaker, a Winona Lake teenage girl, was dressed in a colorful Indian costume in order to secure the original princess picture. A cut glass window and its mate showing the Princess Winona image were produced in the 1930s by the Warsaw Cut Glass Company and were displayed for years in the Eskimo Inn eatery. The artwork is now on display in the Winona History Center in Westminster Hall.
Princess Winona’s face also appears on the Winona Lake Town Seal, in a chainsaw carving by Rodeheaver Auditorium, and in several Winona Lake businesses, including the now extinct Winona Dairy.
Some sources trace the name Winona to Wenonah, the daughter of Nokomis and mother of Hiawatha in the 1855 epic poem, “The Song of Hiawatha,” by Henry Wadsworth Longfellow. The name Winona means “first born of a daughter” in the Sioux Indian dialect.
Tradition has it that “Winona” was the name of a favorite Indian princess of the Potawatomi Tribe, which occupied the local territory in the years before 1834. In the Indian tongue, the name was properly pronounced “Win-no-na” not “Wy-no-na.”