The Boats of Lake Orion

The Boats of Lake Orion. . , Boats played an important role in the development of Orion as a resort destination. The largest excursion boat, the "Chautauqua" (later widened and renamed the "City of Orion") was a double decker vessel that could accommodate 300 passengers. On weekends passengers could enjoy and dance to the music of an orchestra as it cruised around the lake. Other large boats also hauled freight, passengers and groceries to locations on the lake. Passenger boats had regular routes around the lake, picking up and dropping off passengers at docks at Park Island, the Main Landing (now Green's Park) hotels and many others. If a passenger wished to be picked up at one of the docks, they would raise a flag to alert the launch pilot. , , Mail Delivery by Boat , In 1905 the US Post Office designated Lake Orion as the site of the first Marine Postal Service in the country. Mail was delivered to cottages by boat. In the early days, the cottages on the lake did not have addresses. To send a letter to a cottage, one simply wrote the name of the cottage on the envelope! The mail was then delivered to mailboxes which were mounted on the end of the docks. , , Benaway's Boat Delivery Benaway's Boat Delivery delivered groceries to cottages around the lake. There were many different boats delivering and giving tours around early 20th century. Even a STING BARGE collected waste from outhouses. - Circa early 1900's , , Have to maintain "A Clean Resort for Clean People". , Brochure image caption: The folded brochure was mailed to cities like Detroit enticing people to vacation in "Beautiful Lake Orion". - Circa 1915. , , Top right image caption: Venetian parades a midsummer favorite stared in the 1930s. Owners would decorate their boats and line up around the lake. Onlookers would line the shores to check out these meticulously decorated boats.