Peter Baker, often called the “human computer” of Lake Ivanhoe, a resident since 1966, figures centrally in a the effort to preserve the town's unique origins for posterity. After nearly two decades of advocating for historic recognition of his hometown, Peter Baker, was recognized for his efforts, at the unveiling of the marker from the Wisconsin Historical Society recognizing Lake Ivanhoe as the state's first Black-founded resort community, established in 1926.

Lake Ivanhoe was the vision of three middle-class Black men from Chicago — attorney Jeremiah Brumfield, business executive Frank Anglin and politician Bradford Watson — who purchased 86 acres and built up a thriving vacation destination through the 1920’s.

The trio recognized growing racial tension as a result of the Great Migration that brought millions of African Americans north. As communities merged, Black families faced restrictive covenants and redlining that barred African Americans from certain neighborhoods, and even violence from white people intent on keeping them out.

In 1919, riots broke out in Chicago, when a Black boy was killed by white attackers on a beach and the police would not make an arrest. Amid this racial unrest, Brumfield, Anglin and Watson wanted a safe place to take their families on vacation. So they decided to build their own. They drew up plans and sought financial backing from both white and Black investors. In 1926, they purchased an 83-acre farm on Ryan Lake in Walworth County. A white real estate agent named Ivan Bell agreed to broker the deal, and the lake was later renamed in his honor.

They carved out lots, and named the streets after famous Black figures — Dunbar Boulevard, Phyllis Wheatley Drive, Douglass Avenue. They even placed ads in Chicago newspapers, to get the word out. On a hill overlooking the lake, they built a large pavilion where people could dance or just enjoy the music. Jazz great Cab Calloway performed on their opening night in 1927.

In 1929, during the Great Depression, businesses suffered, however, Lake Ivanhoe saw a revival in the 1950s and '60s when families like Baker's rediscovered the area as a safe haven. However, over the years, the demographics of Lake Ivanhoe have shifted and now it has mostly white and Hispanic residents. African Americans are only nine percent of the population.

The Wisconsin Historical Society's eighth marker focused on Black history, out of over 600 makers in the state. The historical society plans to erect about 40 new markers in the next three years focused on "underrepresented histories," supported by a grant from the William G. Pomeroy Foundation.