Hamburg Township near Pinckney in Livingston County, Michigan — The American Midwest (Great Lakes)
Chain of Lakes
Photographed By Joel Seewald, July 9, 2022
1. Chain of Lakes Marker
From 1883 to 1886, the Grand Trunk Western and Ann Arbor & Toledo Railroads laid tracks here. Soon after, the first hotels and resorts were built on the Huron River's Chain of Lakes. Throughout the early 1900s, people left the heat and industry of cities like Detroit and Ann Arbor to enjoy the area's water and natural beauty.
Between 1911 and 1924, the gasoline-powered McKeen Motor Car ran between Lakeland and Ann Arbor eight times a day. Called "The Ping-Pong," it seated 83 passengers.
When the economy boomed after World War II, better roads and more cars enticed people from places like northern Ohio to construct summer cottages in lower Michigan. Lakeland, located on Zukey Lake, was a popular destination.
Resorts & Hotels
Waters' Pavilion was located near the train depot. The Lakeland Hotel offered rooms and home-cooked meals.
Zukey Lake Tavern
Around 1920, brothers Maggie and Baldy Girard built the Zukey Lake Tavern along the hillside of the lake's north shore. Locals nicknamed it "The Dugout."
During prohibition, the Girard brothers converted the building to a grocery store and added a mechanics garage to repair visitors' cars. When the ban on selling alcohol ended in 1933, they re-opened the tavern. It once again became a popular
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The brothers often took a motor boat around the lake to pick up and drop off bar patrons.
Sportsmen Clubs
In the summer of 1882, Ann Arbor Savings Bank president Michael J. Fritz and former Ann Arbor mayor Warren E. Walker joined several others to form the Ann Arbor Sportsman Club. They built the first structure on Zukey Lake, a small wooden clubhouse.
As travel improved and word spread about this hunting paradise, other sports enthusiasts arrived. In 1888, the Oak Leaf Club erected a cottage and boathouse at Pettee's Grove.
Erected 2021 by Mike Levine Lakelands Trail, Michigan History Center, Michigan Department of Natural Resources.
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Industry & Commerce • Parks & Recreational Areas. A significant historical year for this entry is 1883.
Location. 42° 27.8′ N, 83° 50.842′ W. Marker is near Pinckney, Michigan, in Livingston County. It is in Hamburg Township. Marker is on Zukey Lake Tavern Drive, 0.2 miles west of Girard Drive, on the right when traveling west. Marker is on the Mike Levine Lakelands Trail. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Pinckney MI 48169, United States of America. Touch for directions.
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. The Big Chill (approx. 0.2 miles away); Trains Off Line
Hamburg Historical Society
2. Chain of Lakes Marker upper middle image
Waters' Pavilion. Lakeland, Mich.
3. Chain of Lakes Marker upper right image
Music and Dancing
Best equipped resort in the Valley. Motor boats, row boats and canoes for all. Passenger Boat Service through Michigan's most picturesque inland waterway. A two hours cruise of unsurpassed loveliness.
A Complete Outfitting Department for the Camper. Everything from Groceries and Meats to Shoestrings and Fish-hooks.
The Legends and Romance of the Lake County Told with Camera and Pencil, Charles A Ward 1922 [p. 64]
Hamburg Historical Society, July 9, 2022
4. Chain of Lakes Marker center image
Lakeland
Photographed By Joel Seewald
5. Chain of Lakes Marker center right image
The above picture is of the Steamer Prudence Potts, owned by J. W. Potts, and named after his (then) little girl. This was the first passenger boat ever run from Hamburg Junction (Now Lakeland) to Baseline Lake. Making her first trip through the chain of Lakes and down the Huron River to Baseline Lake on July the 30th, 1897. The passengers abroad [sic] were: Dennis Shields and wife of Howell, Mich.; John Rolason and wife of Howell, Mich.; Edward Walker and wife of Ann Arbor, Mich; Mrs. J. McClaron and daughter of Ann Arbor, Mich.; James Stanley and wife of Stockbridge, Mich.; Engineer Joseph Raferty; Captain J. W. Potts.
I am not now running a boat, but am offering camp sites for rent or sale, on very reasonable terms, to people who wish to avail themselves of the opportunity, now being offered to procure, a camping lot, in one of the best located inland summer resorts in Michigan. I have a lake frontage on three lakes, Zukey, Devils Basin, and Strawberry Lake. Come and investigate.
J. W. Potts, Lakeland, Mich.
The Legends and Romance of the Lake County Told with Camera and Pencil, Charles A Ward 1922 [p. 74]
I am not now running a boat, but am offering camp sites for rent or sale, on very reasonable terms, to people who wish to avail themselves of the opportunity, now being offered to procure, a camping lot, in one of the best located inland summer resorts in Michigan. I have a lake frontage on three lakes, Zukey, Devils Basin, and Strawberry Lake. Come and investigate.
Hamburg Historical Society
6. Chain of Lakes Marker bottom left images
Top: Maggie and Baldy Girard; middle: Baldy Girard moving dirt for the new Tavern.
Photographed By Joel Seewald, July 9, 2022
7. Chain of Lakes Marker
Marker next to the Mike Levine Lakelands Trail.
Photographed By Joel Seewald, July 9, 2022
8. Zukey Lake Tavern
Back of the tavern as seen from the marker on the Mike Levine Lakelands Trail.
Credits. This page was last revised on February 7, 2023. It was originally submitted on July 14, 2022, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan. This page has been viewed 193 times since then and 32 times this year. Photos: 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8. submitted on July 14, 2022, by Joel Seewald of Madison Heights, Michigan.
