unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a region that is not governed by a local municipal corporation. Widespread unincorporated communities and areas are a distinguishing feature of the United States and Canada. Most other countries of the world either have ...
Michigan
Michigan () is a state in the Great Lakes region of the upper Midwestern United States. With a population of nearly 10.12 million and an area of nearly , Michigan is the 10th-largest state by population, the 11th-largest by area, and the ...
. The community is located within Garfield Township. As an unincorporated community, Lake has no legal autonomy of its own but does have its own post office with the 48632 ZIP Code.
Geography
Lake is located in Garfield Township in southweastern Clare County about west of the village of Farwell along U.S. Route 10. The community is situated between two lakes: the larger Crooked Lake on the west and the smaller Perch Lake on the east. The community is located near many other smaller lakes, including Big Cranberry Lake, Gray Lake, and Mystic Lake. Eight Point Lake is a larger lake located to the west.
Other nearby communities include Lake George to the north, Weidman to the south, the village of Barryton to the southwest, and Sears to the northwest. The city of
Clare Clare may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land
Australia
* Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley
* Clare Valley, South Australia
Canada
* Clare (electoral district), an electoral district
* Cl ...
and
U.S. Route 127
U.S. Route 127 (US 127) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the eastern half of the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at US 27 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The northern terminus is at Interstate 75 (I-75) near G ...
are about to the east via M-115.
The Lake post office uses the 48632 ZIP Code. The current post office is located at 8959 Lake Station Avenue.
The post office serves a large Tabulation Area covering of land and a population of 5,125. The post office serves the majority of Garfield Township, as well as most of Freeman Township to the north. The post office also serves the western portion of Lincoln Township, as well as a very small portion of Surrey Township and Redding Township. The ZIP Code also extends west into small areas of Orient Township in Osceola County and Fork Township in Mecosta County. In
Isabella County
Isabella County is a county located in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 64,394. Its county seat is Mount Pleasant. The area was known as ''Ojibiway Besse'', meaning "the place of the Ojibwa" (known as the C ...
to the south, the Lake post office serves portions of Coldwater,
Gilmore Gilmore or Gillmore may refer to:
*Gilmore (surname)
Places Australia
*Gilmore, Australian Capital Territory, a suburb in the Canberra district of Tuggeranong
*Gilmore Avenue, a road in southern Perth, Western Australia
*Division of Gilmore, an ...
, and
Sherman
Sherman most commonly refers to:
*Sherman (name), a surname and given name (and list of persons with the name)
** William Tecumseh Sherman (1820–1891), American Civil War General
*M4 Sherman, a tank
Sherman may also refer to:
Places United St ...
Clare Clare may refer to:
Places Antarctica
* Clare Range, a mountain range in Victoria Land
Australia
* Clare, South Australia, a town in the Clare Valley
* Clare Valley, South Australia
Canada
* Clare (electoral district), an electoral district
* Cl ...
to Baldwin along the former railway lines. The community of Lake contains a trailhead called Lake Station Depot. The Garfield Township Hall is located in Lake at 9348 Terry Street in the center of the community. The community is served entirely by Farwell Area Schools to the east in the village of Farwell.
History
The Lake Station train depot predates the community itself, which was settled as a lumber camp as early as 1873 by Scott Garrish. The
Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad The Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad (F&PM) is a defunct railroad which operated in the U.S. state of Michigan between 1857 and 1899. It was one of the three companies which merged to become the Pere Marquette Railway.
Early history
The F&PM was c ...
began expanding into the area in the early 1870s, and Lake Station can be seen on a histori 1873 map of Clare County, which itself was organized in 1871. Lake Station was originally part of Surrey Township until Garfield Township was created in 1897.
By 1877, a community named Lake Station formed around the train depot. A post office named Crooked Lake opened on February 28, 1877, with railroad agent Charles Howard Bates serving as the first postmaster. The name came from the nearby Crooked Lake. The original train depot was struck by lightning and burned down in 1892 during a severe storm that devastated the surrounding area. A new depot was soon built in its place. In 1897, Garfield Township was set aside from the southwestern portion of Surrey Township, and Crooked Lake would become part of the new township. The name of the post office was shortened to Lake on March 11, 1909. Among the oldest remaining structures in the community include the Lake General Store, which has been in operation since 1904.
The Flint and Pere Marquette Railroad soon became the Pere Marquette Railway in 1900, and the railway lines served as an important route between Saginaw and Ludington, as well as connecting many communities in the Lower Peninsula. U.S. Route 10 was also rerouted to pass directly through the community just north of the railway lines by 1938. The railway depot was expanded, and the railway lines eventually came under the ownership of the
Chesapeake and Ohio Railway
The Chesapeake and Ohio Railway was a Class I railroad formed in 1869 in Virginia from several smaller Virginia railroads begun in the 19th century. Led by industrialist Collis P. Huntington, it reached from Virginia's capital city of Richmond t ...
before closing in 1949. The railway lines were removed, while the unused train depot was restored and serves as a museum. The only other trace of the former railway is the coaling tower, which still stands as one of the few remaining structures of its kind in the state. This segment of the former railway lines was converted into the Pere Marquette State Trail.
Because the community was once referred to as Lake Station, it may still be referred as such to distinguish it from its generic name of Lake. While the post office itself remains in operation and is known as Lake, it can also receive mail under the Lake Station destination.