On June 22, 2024 the town was hit by an EF-1 tornado, there were no injuries or fatalities, but the storm caused some areas of considerable damage.

The village was named for Captain Israel Williams[6] of Massachusetts, who, with several of his sons, settled in the area in 1837.

Williams Bay became a vacation spot for wealthy Chicagoans displaced by the Great Chicago Fire of 1871.

In 1873, mail jumping was established on Geneva Lake as a means to provide postal service via boat to lakeside homes.

Each year between June 15 and September 15, jumpers deliver mail to piers along the lake on behalf of the US Postal Service.

The camp's programs later evolved into George Williams College, an independent institution of higher education based in the Hyde Park neighborhood of Chicago and later in Downers Grove, Illinois.

The Astrophysical Journal was previously published at the observatory and the facility was the site of the first meeting of the American Astronomical Society in 1899.

In October 1965, Dr. Martin Luther King Jr. led a three-day retreat of fellow activists and supporters at Conference Point Center.

[7] According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.80 square miles (7.25 km2), all of it land.

Williams Bay is home to Yerkes Observatory, which was owned by the Department of Astronomy and Astrophysics at the University of Chicago until May 2020.

The Belfry Theatre, Wisconsin's first summer stock theater, was an active seasonal repertory company from the 1930s through the 1970s.

Harrison Ford's first professional acting job was in summer stock at the Belfry in 1964 after dropping out of Ripon College and before he moved to California.

[10] Gary Burghoff, Del Close, and Paul Newman also performed as part of the Belfry Players.

Other properties include the Helen Rohner Children's Fishing Park and recreation facilities at George Williams College.

The Williams Bay School District serves the village, in addition to portions of the towns of Delavan, Geneva, Linn, and Walworth.

The GWC campus consists of 137 acres and hosts a conference center and the Music by the Lake summer concert series.

The Williams Bay Volunteer Fire Department provides fire protections services for the village, while the Williams Bay Rescue Squad provides pre-hospital emergency care and rescue services.

No public transportation presently serves Williams Bay, but until the 1960s it was the terminus of the Chicago and North Western Railway.