The Richfield area was originally inhabited by Native Americans, including the Menominee and Potawatomi peoples. In 1831, The Menominee surrendered their claims to the land to the United States Federal Government through the Treaty of Washington, and the Potawatomi surrendered claims in 1833 through the Treaty of Chicago, which required them to leave the area by 1838. While many Native people moved west of the Mississippi River to Kansas, some chose to remain, and were known as "strolling Potawatomi" because they were migrant squatters. Eventually the Potawatomi who evaded forced removal gathered in northern Wisconsin, where they formed the Forest County Potawatomi Community.