Men of Laketown

After the 2270 T.A. with the coming of Smaug, The Magnificent, and the fall of Bard of Dale a group of those from Dale moved into the area between Mirkwood and the The Long Lake. Eventually they decided to place their establishment out on the Lake itself to give them some protection from Smaug and other enemies. Water being cheaper than stone, and pilings quicker to build with wood on hand, than stone that would have to come from miles off.
Laketown became the lonely Northern outpost of Men in Wilderland. The Merchants of this new town, which became known as Laketown, were able to set up trade routes for the natural bounty of the North and the lands South. While dealing in lumber and furs would never make one as rich as the King Under the Mountain, it did make the town the most prosperous in Wilderland. Then in 2941 Smaug was roused from his lair. He assumed it was the Men of Laketown that had disturbed him and not THORIN OAKENSHIELD'S COMPANY . He took wing and swooped down on Laketown bathing it with his fiery breath.
One of the leaders of the town guard: Bard of Dale a descendant of the last King of Dale, was able to shoot the beast with a single arrow for a killing shot that brought it down. Unfortunately the great drake landed on parts of the town, and the fire that erupted from him set fire elsewhere. By the next morning the town was gone burned or crushed. The men were on the bank and Bard had taken leadership as the old men of the town council were not ready for such a challenge.
Bard led the people North toward Erebor. There they found Thorin Oakenshield and his company in control of the Mountain and it's Halls. They were joined there by the forces of the WOODLAND REALM . Both groups felt some of the Dragon's hoard should be theirs to pay for the destruction of Laketown, and the years of damages suffered from Smaug. Negotiations had failed, and the Dwarfs bolstered by reinforcements from the KINGDOM OF THE IRON HILLS .
Then conditions changed as Orcs form the Grey Mountains and the Misty Mountains arrived to try to seize Erebor. Dale united his forces with those of the Elves of Mirkwood and the DWARVES OF THE IRON HILLS . Thus came The Battle of Five Armies after which Bard was recognized as King, and led his followers to reclaim the City of Dale.
Not all have been pleased with the return to Dale. It was not their home and the structure and walls of a stone city were not to everyone's liking. Wanting to again feel the freedom of living in an open town, some left Dale, and returned to the Long Lake, where they built a new Laketown. With the activity of Erebor, Dale, and the Iron Hills in the area it has become a center of trade. It is freeer, richer, and a bit more dangerous than before. It has grown as others from in and outside of Wilderland have come there to find their fortune.