Lake Orion ( ) is a village in the northern outskirts of

Metro Detroit Metro Detroit is a major metropolitan area in the U.S. state of Michigan, consisting of the city of Detroit and over 200 municipalities in the Southeast Michigan, surrounding area. There are varied definitions of the area, including the officia ...

Oakland County, Michigan Oakland County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is a principal county of the Detroit metropolitan area, containing the bulk of Detroit's northern suburbs. Its county seat, seat of government is Pontiac, Mic ...

, United States. The population was 2,973 at the 2010 census. "Lake Orion" can refer to either the village or the much larger Orion Township, of which the village is a part. Lake Orion began as a

resort town A resort town, resort city or resort destination is an urban area where tourism or vacationing is the primary component of the local culture and economy. A typical resort town has one or more actual resorts in the surrounding area. Sometimes ...

and over time has incorporated elements of a

bedroom community A commuter town is a populated area that is primarily residential rather than commercial or industrial. Routine travel from home to work and back is called commuting, which is where the term comes from. A commuter town may be called by many o ...

History

Judah Church and Moses (or Samuel) Munson were among the first settlers. Munson, who arrived in 1824, built a

sawmill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logging, logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ...

in 1825, and planted the first

orchard An orchard is an intentional plantation of trees or shrubs that is maintained for food production. Orchards comprise fruit tree, fruit- or nut (fruit), nut-producing trees that are generally grown for commercial production. Orchards are also so ...

. Jesse Decker arrived from upstate

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York New York may also refer to: Places United Kingdom * ...

with his wife, Mary, in 1825. He was energetic and became "everything to everybody", so that the place soon became known as "Decker's Settlement" and the town "Canandaigua," after

Canandaigua, New York Canandaigua () is a city in Ontario County, New York, United States. Its population was 10,576 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Ontario County; some administrative offices are at the county complex in the adjacent town of Hopewell. ...

, where the settlers originated.Seeley, Thaddeus D. ''History of Oakland County, Michigan.'' Chicago & New York: The Lewis Publishing Company (1912), Vol. I, pp. 440–43. The settlement grew into a bustling commercial center with a sawmill, tavern, post office, general store, blacksmith shop, school and cemetery. In 1828, a power dam was built uniting several small lakes and forming the mile-wide Lake Canandaigua, just west of the village. In 1830, Decker raised the first frame barn in the area, with local Native Americans' help. The first post office was opened in 1832, with Decker as postmaster. In 1835, the community's name was changed from Canandaigua to Orion, and Lake Canandaigua was renamed Lake Orion. The new name was chosen by the village's attorney, reportedly for the Orion Trees in the area. The same year, the Township of Orion was formally approved by the Michigan Territorial government. Decker became the first Supervisor of Orion, with a salary of $2 a year. By 1836, two persons were licensed to keep taverns in the town, one of whom was Decker. He was elected to the first

Michigan House of Representatives The Michigan House of Representatives is the lower house of the Michigan Legislature. There are 110 members, each of whom is elected from constituencies having approximately 77,000 to 91,000 residents, based on population figures from the 2020 ...

in 1837 and also served as justice of the peace for the Orion area. By 1840 Decker owned of land. In 1909 a Marine Postal Center was established, with mail delivered to over 300 cottages on the lake and islands by boat. Lake Orion was the first town in the United States to have this service. In 1929,

Amelia Earhart Amelia Mary Earhart ( ; July 24, 1897 – January 5, 1939) was an American aviation pioneer. On July 2, 1937, she disappeared over the Pacific Ocean while attempting to become the first female pilot to circumnavigate the world. During her li ...

visited Lake Orion at the invitation of Orion resident and fellow aviator William Edmund Scripps. While visiting

Scripps Mansion The Scripps Mansion (originally called Moulton Manor) is a Norman/Tudor Revival style mansion located in Orion Township, Michigan. The buildings and surrounding land are known collectively as the William E. Scripps Estate. Since 1956, the prope ...

, she flew an experimental glider. Also in 1929, the village known as "Orion" was officially renamed "Lake Orion."

Railroads and trails

The Village of Lake Orion was served by trains on the

Michigan Central Railroad The Michigan Central Railroad (reporting mark MC) was originally chartered in 1832 to establish rail service between Detroit, Michigan, and St. Joseph, Michigan. The railroad later operated in the states of Michigan, Indiana, and Illinois in th ...

from 1872 to 1976, and the Detroit United Railway interurban system from 1899 to 1931. Each service had its own track and depot, although both were named "Orion" and in the village near the intersection of M-24 and Flint Street. Lake Orion also had a

flag stop In public transport, a request stop, flag stop, or whistle stop is a bus stop, stop or train station, station at which buses or trains, respectively, stop only on request; that is, only if there are passengers or freight to be picked up or drop ...

, Rudds Station, on the MCC line east of the village near Clarkston and Kern Roads. Rudds Station served Rudds Mill, a milling operation on Paint Creek that produced wheat. The MCR line ran from

Detroit Detroit ( , ) is the List of municipalities in Michigan, most populous city in the U.S. state of Michigan. It is situated on the bank of the Detroit River across from Windsor, Ontario. It had a population of 639,111 at the 2020 United State ...

to Mackinaw City, and the Flint Division of the DUR line ran from Royal Oak to

Flint Flint, occasionally flintstone, is a sedimentary cryptocrystalline form of the mineral quartz, categorized as the variety of chert that occurs in chalk or marly limestone. Historically, flint was widely used to make stone tools and start ...

. With the automobile's increased popularity and the paving of M-24 in 1929, passenger service on the DUR ended in 1931, and track was scrapped during the 1940s for a World War II metal drive. Little remains of the corridor. The MCR line maintained passenger service until 1950, and freight service continued until the 1970s. The MCC track passed through

New York Central The New York Central Railroad was a railroad primarily operating in the Great Lakes and Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States. The railroad primarily connected greater New York and Boston in the east with Chicago and St. Louis in the Midw ...

and

Penn Central The Penn Central Transportation Company, commonly abbreviated to Penn Central, was an American class I railroad that operated from 1968 to 1976. Penn Central combined three traditional corporate rivals, the Pennsylvania, New York Central and the ...

and operated until 1976, when it was closed after acquisition by

Conrail Conrail , formally the Consolidated Rail Corporation, was the primary Class I railroad in the Northeastern United States between 1976 and 1999. The trade name Conrail is a portmanteau based on the company's legal name. It continues to do busine ...

. The original MCR rails and track east of M-24 were completely removed, and the line from the village south toward Rochester, now serves as the recreational Paint Creek Trail. The line from the village north to

Oxford Oxford () is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city and non-metropolitan district in Oxfordshire, England, of which it is the county town. The city is home to the University of Oxford, the List of oldest universities in continuou ...

exists now only as a narrow path, but still passes over the historic Indian Lake Road Stone Arch Bridge, a small

limestone Limestone is a type of carbonate rock, carbonate sedimentary rock which is the main source of the material Lime (material), lime. It is composed mostly of the minerals calcite and aragonite, which are different Polymorphism (materials science) ...

bridge constructed over Indian Lake Road in 1891. Lake Orion was also served by trains on the

Grand Trunk Western Railroad The Grand Trunk Western Railroad Company was an American subsidiary of the Grand Trunk Railway, later of the Canadian National Railway operating in Michigan, Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio. Since a corporate restructuring in 1971, the railroad ha ...

. The Polly Ann line ran from Pontiac to Caseville, passing through western Orion Township. Two flag stop stations served Lake Orion on the Polly Ann line. Eames Station was near the intersection of Joslyn and Silverbell Roads, and Cole Station was near the intersection of Joslyn and Clarkston Roads. A short section of the track was still in use as of 2014, operated by

Canadian National Railway The Canadian National Railway Company () is a Canadian Class I freight railway headquartered in Montreal, Quebec, which serves Canada and the Midwestern and Southern United States. CN is Canada's largest railway, in terms of both revenue a ...

specifically to connect the

General Motors General Motors Company (GM) is an American Multinational corporation, multinational Automotive industry, automotive manufacturing company headquartered in Detroit, Michigan, United States. The company is most known for owning and manufacturing f ...

Orion Assembly Orion Assembly is an automotive assembly plant in Orion Township, Michigan, United States, owned and operated by General Motors. From late 2025, the plant is slated to assemble the Chevrolet Silverado EV and GMC Sierra EV battery electric p ...

plant with the CN main line in Pontiac, but all track north of Orion Assembly was eliminated and removed by 1985. In 1993, a Rails to Trails federal grant was awarded and matched by the

Michigan Department of Natural Resources The Michigan Department of Natural Resources (DNR) is the agency of the state of Michigan founded in 1921, charged with maintaining natural resources such as state parks, state forests, and recreation areas. It is governed by a director appoint ...

, providing more than $728,000 to purchase the right-of-way from Grand Trunk. The corridor now serves as the recreational Polly Ann Trail, connecting Lake Orion with

, Addison Township, and

Leonard Leonard or ''Leo'' is a common English language, English masculine given name and a surname. The given name and surname originate from the Old High German ''Leonhard'' containing the prefix ''levon'' ("lion") from the Greek wikt:Λέων#Greek, Λ ...

Amusement park

Lake Orion was an amusement destination for residents of

in the first half of the century. The addition of the

track in 1872 set the stage for Lake Orion as a major summertime resort for those traveling on the line, especially between Detroit and Flint. In 1874, several prominent citizens formed the Orion Park Association to capitalize on the growing number of travelers to the area. They developed a park on the shore of the lake (now Green's Park) near the train depot and operated a steam-powered boat for lake excursions and delivery to Park Island. Over time, the Park Island Amusement Park grew to include a

penny arcade ''Penny Arcade'' is a webcomic focused on video games and video game culture, written by Jerry Holkins and illustrated by Mike Krahulik. The comic debuted in 1998 on the website ''loonygames.com''. Since then, Holkins and Krahulik have establish ...

carousel A carousel or carrousel (mainly North American English), merry-go-round (International English), or galloper (British English) is a type of amusement ride consisting of a rotating circular platform with seats for riders. The seats are tradit ...

, souvenir booths, refreshment booths, lunch stands, dining rooms,

dance halls Dance hall in its general meaning is a hall for Dance, dancing, but usually refers to a specific type of twentieth-century venue, with dance clubs (nightclubs) becoming more popular towards the end of the century. The palais de danse was a term ap ...

, and a

wooden roller coaster A wooden roller coaster is a type of roller coaster classified by its wooden track, which consists of running rails made of flat steel strips mounted on laminated wood. The support structure is also typically made of wood, but may also be ...

named "The Thriller." The swimming beach on the north side of Park Island had both a men's and ladies' bathhouse, a waterslide, and numerous diving boards, the highest 42 feet above the water. Lake Orion was stocked annually with

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Wood * Bass or basswood, the wood of the tilia americana tree Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in th ...

, pickerel, and pike, and fishing tournaments and contests were held seasonally. Several double-deck boats, including the "City of Orion," offered lake excursions replete with bands and a dance floor on the upper deck. At night, Park Island was illuminated by strings of thousands of lights. Once a premier destination among vacationers, the park suffered through the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

and several fires, gradually losing business before closing in 1955. The park was owned by the Detroit Edison Company (via the purchase of a subsidiary, the Orion Power and Light company) from 1912 until closure. The island and park property were later purchased by a private real estate developer who built homes on the island in the 1960s. In many brochures and newspaper advertisements in the 1910s and 1920s, Lake Orion was advertised to potential travelers as the "Venice of the Middle West," "Paris of Detroit," and "Lake Orion, the One Best Resort".

Folklore

The story of the Lake Orion Dragon says that sometime in the 1800s, a group of local children played a prank by building a fake dragon and launching it on the lake. A number of people saw it and soon Lake Orion was known for its dragon. There are competing stories about who made it and how it was built, but most agreed that a Levi A. Wild was responsible. "That same year 894the Lake Orion 'dragon' made its entrance into Orion history. First seen by two ladies near the present Robert's Rondevoo cove, the animal grew in length as the story grew in listeners. What had started out as an average-sized lake monster was claimed by some to be at least eighty feet long. Detroit and other newspapers joshingly suggested, upon hearing of the behemoth, that Orion residents should 'drink more well-water in the future.'" The nickname of Lake Orion High School's sports teams (the Dragons) derives from this.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the village has a total area of , of which is land and is water.

Lake Orion

Lake Orion (less commonly known as "Orion Lake") is a medium-sized inland lake, with area of 506 acres. It has a maximum depth of 80 feet and an average depth of 16 feet. The lake is located within the Village of Lake Orion and Orion Township. It is the eighth largest lake by area in Oakland County. The current area of the lake was formed by a collection of smaller lakes over time, beginning with the damming of Paint Creek in the 1830s. Canals have also been dredged to maximize lake frontage. There is a public access boat launch on the northern side of the lake. It is administered by the

Islands

There are several islands in Lake Orion, some of which feature seasonal and year-round residences. The largest islands, Bellevue and Park, are connected to the mainland by two-lane bridges and are populated year-round. Most boats can pass under the Bellevue Bridge, which has a clearance of 9.6 feet. The Park Island bridge has a lower clearance that allows only canoes, kayaks and rowboats to pass underneath. The remaining islands are reachable only by watercraft. Victoria Island is the third largest island, and is home to several seasonal and year-round homes. A smaller island, Paint Island, was home to a single residence from the 1850s to the 1950s. Little remains of the island due to erosion save for a solitary tree, and the shallow waters can be a hazard to boaters. Sweet's Island is home to the Lake Orion Boat Club, and features a private boathouse and docks for LOBC members. Romance Island is home to a single cottage, Preston Island to two seasonal cottages, Dot Island to one seasonal cottage and Armada Island to four seasonal cottages. The residences on all islands except for Bellevue and Park require the use of watercraft to travel to and from the mainland.

Demographics

''The demographics below are for the village only. Refer to Orion Township for the demographics of the entire township.''

2010 census

As of the census of 2010, there were 2,973 people, 1,304 households, and 709 families residing in the village. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 1,483 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the village was 94.2%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.6%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.2% Native American, 1.1% Asian, 0.9% from other races, and 2.0% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 3.5% of the population. There were 1,304 households, of which 27.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.0% were married couples living together, 10.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 3.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 45.6% were non-families. 38.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.19 and the average family size was 2.93. The median age in the village was 41.2 years. 20.6% of residents were under the age of 18; 7.8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 27.9% were from 25 to 44; 27.5% were from 45 to 64; and 16.2% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the village was 47.5% male and 52.5% female.

Government

As a village, Lake Orion is provided assessing, counties and school districts tax collecting and elections administration for county, state and national by Orion Township. The Village of Lake Orion is a Michigan home rule village with a council-manager form of government. The village is governed by a local charter adopted by village electors. The village's legislative body is its village council, comprising a President and six council members. The village council appoints a Village Manager to serve as the Chief Administrative Officer of the government responsible for the management of the village's daily operations and oversight of all departments. Current Village Manager Darwin McClary was appointed in November 2022 after having previously served as Manager from 2013 to 2017. Lake Orion is served by the Lake Orion Community Schools

school district A school district is a special-purpose district that operates local public Primary school, primary or Secondary school, secondary schools or both in various countries. It is not to be confused with an attendance zone, which is within a school dis ...

Notable people

This list includes people from Orion Township and the Village of Lake Orion * Hunter Hartsoe, former professional hockey player * Scott Amedure, ''

The Jenny Jones Show ''The Jenny Jones Show'' is an American first-run syndicated talk show that was hosted by Jenny Jones. The show ran for twelve seasons from September 16, 1991, to May 21, 2003, in which it broadcast over 2,000 episodes. Taped at the NBC Towe ...

'' guest and murder victim * Wyatt J. Gibson, American pair skater * Trevor Blaylock, United States Marine Corps Forces Special Operations Command * Christopher Bowman, U.S. Winter Olympian, National Champion, World Medalist champion figure skater * William Broomfield, former congressman * Pat Caputo,

sportswriter Sports journalism is a form of writing that reports on matters pertaining to sporting topics and competitions. Sports journalism has its roots in coverage of horse racing and boxing in the early 1800s, mainly targeted towards elites, and into t ...

for ''

The Oakland Press ''The Oakland Press'' is a daily newspaper published in Oakland County, Michigan with headquarters in Troy. It is owned by 21st Century Media, with which its parent company merged in 2013 after filing for bankruptcy. The local historical society ...

'', radio personality at WXYT-FM * Rolla C. Carpenter, engineer, academic, writer * Dave Collins, former professional baseball player, former coach at Lake Orion High School * Barbara Ann Crancer, associate circuit court judge, daughter of Jimmy Hoffa * Nicole Curtis, host of DIY and HGTV's home renovation show ''Rehab Addict'' *

Matthew Dear Matthew Dear (born April 4, 1979) is an American electronic music producer and DJ. History Texas-born Dear moved to Michigan as a teenager, where he was inspired by the sound of Detroit techno. Dear met Sam Valenti IV at a party while attendin ...

, musician * Andrew J. Feustel,

NASA The National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA ) is an independent agencies of the United States government, independent agency of the federal government of the United States, US federal government responsible for the United States ...

astronaut An astronaut (from the Ancient Greek (), meaning 'star', and (), meaning 'sailor') is a person trained, equipped, and deployed by a List of human spaceflight programs, human spaceflight program to serve as a commander or crew member of a spa ...

* Frontier Ruckus, art-folk band * Tom Gillis, professional golfer * Jeff Heath, professional football player * Frederick Henderson, former CEO of

* James P. Hoffa, International Brotherhood of Teamsters President, son of Jimmy Hoffa * Jimmy Hoffa (family summer home), former International Brotherhood of Teamsters President * Zak Keasey, former professional football player * Scott Kowalkowski, former professional football player * Mickey Lolich, former professional baseball player and donut shop owner * James Marcinkowski, politician, attorney, former

CIA The Central Intelligence Agency (CIA; ) is a civilian foreign intelligence service of the federal government of the United States tasked with advancing national security through collecting and analyzing intelligence from around the world and ...

case officer * Chris "Hot Wings" Michels, syndicated radio show host * Jamie Milam, professional hockey player * Troy Milam, professional hockey player * Frank Novak, former NFL coach * Shannon Pettypiece, White House correspondent for Bloomberg LP * Raymond Plouhar,

staff sergeant Staff sergeant is a Military rank, rank of non-commissioned officer used in the armed forces of many countries. It is also a police rank in some police services. History of title In origin, certain senior sergeants were assigned to administr ...

USMC The United States Marine Corps (USMC), also referred to as the United States Marines or simply the Marines, is the maritime land force service branch of the United States Department of Defense. It is responsible for conducting expeditionary ...

* William Edmund Scripps, newspaper magnate * Rich Strenger, lawyer, former professional football player * Rod Taylor, former professional hockey player * Ron Tripp, World sambo and

judo is an unarmed gendai budō, modern Japanese martial art, combat sport, Olympic sport (since 1964), and the most prominent form of jacket wrestling competed internationally.『日本大百科全書』電子版【柔道】(CD-ROM version of Encyc ...

champion; president of USA Judo *

Cynthia Watros Cynthia Michele Watros (born September 2, 1968) is an Americans, American actress recognized for her roles in both daytime and primetime television. In 1994, she was cast in the regular role of Annie Dutton on ''Guiding Light'', which earned her ...

, actress * Mike Weger, business owner, real estate developer, former professional football player * Della Woods, drag racer

References

External links

*
Village of Lake Orion Downtown Development Agency

Orion Township Public Library

Lake Orion Community Information Network

Orion Neighborhood Television
{{authority control Villages in Oakland County, Michigan Villages in Michigan Metro Detroit Populated places established in 1825 1825 establishments in Michigan Territory