Walled Lake is a city in Oakland County in the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its so ...

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, ...

. A northwestern suburb of Detroit, Walled Lake is located roughly northwest of

downtown Detroit Downtown Detroit is the central business district and a Neighborhoods in Detroit, residential area of the city of Detroit, Michigan, United States. Locally, "downtown" tends to refer to the 1.4 square mile region bordered by M-10 (Michigan high ...

. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 7,246.

History

The town's name is said to have been given by the first American settler, Walter Hewitt, in 1825. Upon his arrival, he noticed what appeared to be a stone wall along the western bank of a nearby lake, possibly constructed by earlier

Potawatomi The Potawatomi (), also spelled Pottawatomi and Pottawatomie (among many variations), are a Native American tribe of the Great Plains, upper Mississippi River, and western Great Lakes region. They traditionally speak the Potawatomi language, ...

Indian tribes. Walled Lake was a village inhabited by

Ojibwa The Ojibwe (; syll.: ᐅᒋᐺ; plural: ''Ojibweg'' ᐅᒋᐺᒃ) are an Anishinaabe people whose homeland (''Ojibwewaki'' ᐅᒋᐺᐘᑭ) covers much of the Great Lakes region and the northern plains, extending into the subarctic and thro ...

and Potowatamie people until about 1830. It appears that these people had relocated from an earlier village in the area that is today Southfield. Resting spots along the

Underground Railroad The Underground Railroad was an organized network of secret routes and safe houses used by freedom seekers to escape to the abolitionist Northern United States and Eastern Canada. Enslaved Africans and African Americans escaped from slavery ...

, where

runaway slaves In the United States, fugitive slaves or runaway slaves were terms used in the 18th and 19th centuries to describe people who fled slavery. The term also refers to the federal Fugitive Slave Acts of 1793 and 1850. Such people are also called fre ...

could sleep and eat, were called " depots". One of these was the Foster Farmhouse (built in 1833) in Walled Lake, which served as a refuge for those making their way to freedom in

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its Provinces and territories of Canada, ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, making it the world's List of coun ...

. The Foster Farmhouse was located on Pontiac Trail near 15 mile road until 1997, when it was moved to Riley Park in downtown Walled Lake to avoid demolition. In the 1920s Herman chankush ordered the Walled Lake amusement park to be built. He died in 1928, but the park finally opened on memorial Day of 1929. It prospered for 39 years until competition with Edgewater Park and Boblo island led to its closure in 1968. In September 2022, a

QAnon QAnon ( ) is a far-right conspiracy theories in United States politics, American political conspiracy theory and political movement that originated in 2017. QAnon centers on fabricated claims made by an anonymous individual or individuals kno ...

adherent and local resident shot multiple members of his family before being killed by police.

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 city has a total area of , of which is land and is water. Walled Lake is north of the City of NoviFeighan, Maureen.
Obstacles curb cities' plans to merge services
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. ''

Detroit News ''The Detroit News'' is one of the two major newspapers in the U.S. city of Detroit, Michigan. The paper began in 1873, when it rented space in the rival ''Detroit Free Press'' building. ''The News'' absorbed the ''Detroit Tribune'' on February ...

''. April 3, 2009. Retrieved on December 3, 2015. and east of the City of Wixom.

Demographics

2010 census

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2010, there were 6,999 people, 3,347 households, and 1,771 families living in the city. 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 3,689 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 88.7%

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 ...

, 4.4%

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 ...

, 0.4% Native American, 2.8% Asian, 1.1% from other races, and 2.5% 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 3.9% of the population. There were 3,347 households, of which 25.4% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 34.4% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 13.7% had a female householder with no husband present, 4.8% had a male householder with no wife present, and 47.1% were non-families. 39.7% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.8% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.09 and the average family size was 2.82. The median age in the city was 39.4 years. 19.9% of residents were under the age of 18; 8% were between the ages of 18 and 24; 30.2% were from 25 to 44; 28.2% were from 45 to 64; and 13.8% were 65 years of age or older. The gender makeup of the city was 46.6% male and 53.4% female.

2000 census

As of the

of 2000, there were 6,713 people, 3,158 households, and 1,689 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 3,390 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 95.34%

, 0.73%

, 0.31% Native American, 1.70% Asian, 0.49% from other races, and 1.43% from two or more races.

or Latino of any race were 1.68% of the population. There were 3,158 households, out of which 26.2% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 39.0% were

living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 46.5% were non-families. 39.8% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.12 and the average family size was 2.88. In the city, the population was spread out, with 21.3% under the age of 18, 7.4% from 18 to 24, 36.8% from 25 to 44, 22.5% from 45 to 64, and 12.0% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 81.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $45,386, and the median income for a family was $55,420. Males had a median income of $45,420 versus $31,021 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the city was $24,199. About 2.9% of families and 5.0% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 5.9% of those under age 18 and 5.1% of those age 65 or over.

Government

Mayor

The mayor of Walled Lake is Linda Ackley.

City Council

The Council consists of seven members, including the mayor and a mayor pro tem, elected to four-year terms. Besides the mayor, current council members include: Casey R. Ambrose, Mindy Fernandes, Tamra Loch, Bennett Lublin, and John Owsinek. Mayor Pro Tem is Ryan Woods.

Federal, state, and county legislators

Police services

In February 2007 Walled Lake and Wolverine Lake agreed to share police services; Walled Lake took responsibility for dispatch services, and all police operations in Wolverine Lake were moved to Walled Lake. Since then Wolverine Lake has separated, having its own police station once again.

Education

The Walled Lake Consolidated Schools serves Walled Lake and has its district headquarters, the Educational Service Center, in the city.Map of Entire District
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Walled Lake Consolidated Schools. Retrieved on November 8, 2012. "Educational Services Center 850 Ladd Rd, Bldg D, Walled Lake 48390" The district's Community Education Center is also in Walled Lake. The schools within the city limits are Mary Helen Guest Elementary School and Walled Lake Elementary School. Most of the city is zoned to these schools. Portions are zoned to Meadowbrook Elementary School and Hickory Woods Elementary School. Portions are zoned to James R. Geisler Middle School, and portions are zoned to Sarah Banks Middle School. Most of Walled Lake is zoned to Walled Lake Western High School,Western H.S.
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Walled Lake Consolidated School District. Retrieved on November 8, 2012. while a portion of Walled Lake is zoned to Walled Lake Central High School.Central H.S.

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Walled Lake Consolidated Schools. Retrieved on November 8, 2012. Roman Catholic schools are under the

Roman Catholic Archdiocese of Detroit The Archdiocese of Detroit () is a Latin Church ecclesiastical territory, or archdiocese, of the Catholic Church covering the south-east portion of Michigan in the United States. The archdiocese consists counties of Lapeer County, Michigan, Lap ...

. St. William Catholic School ( K–8) is in Walled Lake.

Religion

St. William Church in Walled Lake includes Walled Lake in its service area.

References

External links

City of Walled LakeWalled Lake Schools

Walled Lake Central High School

Walled Lake Western High SchoolThe Oakland County
Extensive history and photos {{Authority control Cities in Oakland County, Michigan Metro Detroit Populated places established in 1954 1954 establishments in Michigan