unincorporated community
An unincorporated area is a parcel of land that is not governed by a local general-purpose municipal corporation. (At p. 178.) They may be governed or serviced by an encompassing unit (such as a county) or another branch of the state (such as th ...
Michigan
Michigan ( ) is a peninsular U.S. state, state in the Great Lakes region, Great Lakes region of the Upper Midwest, Upper Midwestern United States. It shares water and land boundaries with Minnesota to the northwest, Wisconsin to the west, ...
. The community is located within Lyon Township. As an unincorporated community, Higgins Lake has no legally defined boundaries or population statistics of its own. Higgins Lake has its own post office with the 48627 ZIP Code.
Geography
Higgins Lake is located along the western shores of
Higgins Lake
Higgins Lake is a large recreational and fishing lake in Roscommon County, in the U.S. state of Michigan. The lake is known for its deep, clear waters and is the 10th largest in Michigan with a shoreline of . It is named after Sylvester Higgins ...
. The community is near
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 U.S. Route 27, US 27 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The northern terminus is at Interstate 75 ...
to the west, and
Interstate 75
Interstate 75 (I-75) is a major north–south Interstate Highway in the Great Lakes and Southeastern regions of the United States. As with most Interstates that end in 5, it is a major cross-country, north–south route, traveling from S ...
Roscommon Area Public Schools
Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60, N61 and N63 roads. The town is in a civil parish of the same name.
The name Rosco ...
.
History
The area received its first post office in 1902 under the name Higgins Lake, although it was a summer-only post office that only existed briefly from June 17 to August 30, 1902. A permanent Higgins Lake post office was opened under the same name on May 3, 1909. This post office was discontinued soon after on March 31, 1910 but reestablished under the name Lyon Manor on August 12, 1910. The name Lyon Manor was used until January 1, 1960 when the name was changed back to Higgins Lake. The post office remains in operation and is located at 6311 West Higgins Lake Drive.
The post office currently uses the 48627 ZIP Code and is primarily used for
post office box
A post office box (commonly abbreviated as P.O. box, or also known as a postal box) is a uniquely addressable lockable box located on the premises of a post office.
In some regions, particularly in Africa, there is no door-to-door delivery ...
services. The ZIP Code delivery serves a very small area encompassing the neighborhood immediately surrounding the post office. The majority of the Higgins Lake area is served separately by the
Roscommon
Roscommon (; ; ) is the county town and the largest town in County Roscommon in Republic of Ireland, Ireland. It is roughly in the centre of Ireland, near the meeting of the N60 road (Ireland), N60, N61 road (Ireland), N61 and N63 road (Irelan ...
48653 ZIP Code.
Higgins Lake's mean depth was 30.4 feet in a 2020 county survey. There is a dam that helps control the lake level on the southern portion of the lake. This dam flows outward at a rate of 44.2 cubic feet per second. This dam is managed by the Roscommon County Board of Commissioners. Land cover in the Higgins Lake watershed consists of 35.7% open water. The rest is 38.3% forest, 10.1% urban, 7.9% wetland, 5.3% grassland, 2.5% other, and 0.1% agricultural. Higgins Lake was formed around 12,000 years ago from glaciers shifting across Michigan. The glacier activity carved out bedrock and uncovered the natural springs that feed Higgins Lake. Some of these natural springs can be found coming out of the sand into the water on the East side of the North State Park. Higgins Lake gained its popularity in earlier times because it was a source of water near an area where lots of logging was done.