Bangs Lake is a natural glacial lake that is located in Wauconda, Illinois. It is named after Justus Bangs, the first permanent settler in Wauconda, who arrived in the summer of 1836. Justus Bangs reportedly named Wauconda as well, supposedly after a Native American Indian character in a story Bangs had read. However, some believe that Wauconda was named after an Indian chief who is buried on the southern shore of Bangs Lake.