The Village of Shorewood Hills stands along the shores of Lake Mendota and adjacent to the University of Wisconsin-Madison. The land on which the Village stands has had a long history. The vegetation was originally prairie and oak forest. Native Americans found the lake a good source of food and camped along its shores. White settlers came to the area when Madison was chosen as the capital of Wisconsin Territory in 1836. By the 1850s, much of what is now Shorewood Hills had been cleared for agriculture. As the City of Madison and the University of Wisconsin grew they expanded west and the area gradually urbanized. The Village of Shorewood Hills was founded in 1927 and remains a quiet enclave within the greater Madison area.
The Village has it's own Police Department, Public Works Department, Forestry Department and Municipal Pool and Marina. Fire and EMS is contracted out to the City of Madison.