Beaver Dam is a city in Dodge County, Wisconsin, United States, along Beaver Dam Lake and the Beaver Dam River. The population was 16,345 in 2014, making it the largest city primarily located in Dodge County. It is the principal city of the Beaver Dam Micropolitan Statistical area. The city is located within the Town of Beaver Dam.HistoryBeaver Dam was first settled by Thomas Mackie and Joseph Goetschius in 1841, and by 1843 had a population of almost 100. The city was named for an old beaver dam located in a stream flowing into Beaver Dam River. The area had also been known as Okwaanim, Chippewa for beaver dam. The community was incorporated as a city on March 18, 1856. That same year the Milwaukee Railroad reached the area, encouraging further growth.Beaver Dam hosted a World War II POW camp called Camp Beaver Dam in the summer of 1944. The camp held 300 German prisoners of war in a tent city encampment where the Wayland Academy field house now stands.Beaver Dam is also home to the Williams Free Library, the first public library in the United States to have open stacks.Geography and climateBeaver Dam is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 8.17sqmi, of which, 6.79sqmi is land and 1.38sqmi is water.