More Lenawee Background Information
The word Lenawee comes from the Shawnee Indian word meaning "Indian". Lenawee County contains several cities and towns, with the largest being Adrian and the second largest being Tecumseh. Other
towns include Onsted, Hudson, Brooklyn, (home of Michigan International Speedway), and Britton.
While most of Lenawee County is still farmland, some industry has popped up, and the area in Lenawee known as The Irish Hills, is a very popular tourist destination.
There are over 50 lakes in the county, with the largest being Wamplers Lake. Built by the retreat of the glaciers which covered most of North America 10,000
years ago, this lake has been a recreation hot spot since the 19th century.
In the early 1960s, work was begun on digging what became known as Loch Erin, an artificial lake
that is over 600 acres in size. After several early developers went bankrupt, a large portion of the undeveloped land was purchased by a developer who reportedly put $250,000 down
in 1983 to purchase the south and western portions of the lake. While I can't recall what the exact purchase price was, I recall seeing in some old deeds that the total price was $2.2 million.
While this lake is shallow (average depth 7.5 feet), and has murky water, it is one of the cleanest lakes in the county due to the fact that the surrounding land would not perk. This meant that in order to build
homes on the lake, a sewer system needed to be installed. One of the first hybrid water treatment systems which combines a local sewage tank with a gray water treatment facility was then installed. After a slow start in the early 80's when
lake front lots could still be purchased for only $5000, real estate values on this lake have continued to soar. In 2005, I note several lakefront lots being offered
for over $160,000 each.
The northern part of the county is well known as "The Irish Hills", and includes many lakes which are perfect for summer fun. If you plan on vacationing in this area, be sure to bring your boats and boating supplies so that you can advantage of all this area has to offer. Local lakes (besides Loch Erin), include Wampler's Lake, Dewey Lake, Devil's Lake, and Killarney Lake. Therea also quite a few golf courses to enjoy including Devil's Lake Golf Course, Raisin Creek Golf Course, Wolf Creek Golf Club, and Lenawee Country Club so plan on bringing your golf equipment as well.
If you are considering visiting the County, whether for the NASCAR races held every summer at Michigan International Speedway, or just to go camping in one of the many private and public campgrounds
you may find your stay more interesting if you get some historical background from this web site.
Related sites and web pages of interest
1874 Cambridge Township Map - at Freepages
Lenawee County Government - Official site of Lenawee County Government
Len Connect - The Daily Telegram, the county's largest newspaper
Lenawee Intermediate School District - LISD Web site
Lenawee Chamber of Commerce
Lenawee County Library
Lenawee Genealogy - Michigan Genealogy on the web
Michigan: a History of the Wolverine State - description and book reviews at Amazon.com
Michigan History Books - 700+ books on Michigan history.
