According to the 1852 History of the Ojibway People, Wabedo Lake gets its name from an Ojibwe warroior killed by an invading war party of the Dakota, about the year 1768. The party came "into Wab-ud-ow lake, where they spilt the first Ojibway blood, killing a hunter named Wab-ud-ow (White Gore), from which circumstance the lake is named to this day by the Ojibways." The same party, advancing northward, killed three boys gathering rice, whence Boy Lake and River received their name, as noted on a preceding page. Gilfillan spelled Wabedo Lake as "Wabuto sagaiigun, or Mushroom lake."