Lester Lake is a lake in
Oakland County,
Michigan lake along the main branch of the
Clinton River.
Most of the lake lies within
Waterford Township, however the northern portion of the lake is in
Independence Township.
Lester Lake connects upstream to the 117-acre
Greens Lake. It also connects to 179-acre
Lotus Lake
Lotus Pond () is an artificial lake and popular tourist destination on the east side of Zuoying District in Kaohsiung, Taiwan. Opened in 1951, it is famous for the lotus plants on the lake and the numerous temples around the lake, including the ...
and 234-acre
Maceday Lake.
Boaters can get from Lester Lake to Lotus Lake only by way of a narrow culvert under the railroad tracks.
Downstream, Lester Lake connects to the 66-acre, 90-feet deep
Van Norman Lake.
Namesake
Lester Lake was named for William Lester, an early Oakland County settler.
In 1818, William Lester, Colonel Stephen Mack (1766–1826), Major Joseph Todd (1765–1848) and Orisen Allen were the first to settle what would become the city of
Pontiac, Michigan
Pontiac ( ') is a city in and the county seat of Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. As of the 2020 census, the city had a total population of 61,606. A northern suburb of Metro Detroit, Pontiac is about northwest of Detroit.
Founde ...
.
William Lester located on section 29 in Pontiac.
Camp
Camp Brady was a Boy Scout camp operated by the Detroit Area Council. It was located on the eastern shore of Lester Lake. The camp also extended across the street (Andersonville Road) to Greens Lake. The camp was in existence from 1921 through 1946.
In 1946, the camp was sold to the
United Way and was used as a camp for mothers and daughters through 1972. It was also used by the
Detroit Public Schools for underprivileged children.
The portion of Camp Brady on Lester Lake was sold off as residential property in 1946.
Depot
In 1851, the
Detroit and Milwaukee Railway
Detroit ( , ; , ) is the largest city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is also the largest U.S. city on the United States–Canada border, and the seat of government of Wayne County. The City of Detroit had a population of 639,111 at the ...
came through Waterford Township and in so doing made the lakes of the area, including Lester Lake, easily accessible to summer vacationers from the big cities.
The Windiate depot,
along with the
Waterford depot,
the
Drayton Plains depot
and the
Clarkston depot
served to make Waterford Township and Independence Township a resort area.
Resort
The Windiate Park Hotel was a summer resort for vacationers from
Detroit and
Lansing. The resort was easily accessed by four trains a day during the summer months from the 1890s to the 1940s and was located across the railroad tracks from Lester Lake on Lotus Lake, near the Windiate depot. The resort featured boating, fishing, sailing, sunbathing, tennis and a dance hall. The resort was owned by J.D. and M.L. Rice.
Fish
Fish in Lester Lake include
pumpkinseed sunfish
The pumpkinseed (''Lepomis gibbosus''), also referred to as pond perch, common sunfish, punkie, sunfish, sunny, and kivver, is a small/medium-sized North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Lepomis'' (true sunfishes), from family Centrarchi ...
,
largemouth bass,
walleye,
northern pike and
crappie
Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers.
Etymology
The genus name ''Pomoxis'' ...
.
References
{{authority control
Lakes of Oakland County, Michigan
Lakes of Michigan
Lakes of Waterford Township, Michigan
Lakes of Independence Township, Michigan