Apple Island is a 37-acre nature sanctuary at the center of Orchard Lake. Owned by West Bloomfield School District, it has officially been called Marjorie Ward Strong Woodland Sanctuary since 1970.
National Register of Historic Places
In . . . — — Map (db m174056) HM
Originally a gift from the glaciers, Apple Island is also a modern-day gift to West Bloomfield Schools from the Ward Family.
This 35-acre-jewel, located at the center of Orchard Lake, sparkles with 10,000 years of history and folklore.
. . . — — Map (db m174058) HM
A pleasant tradition, unsupported by history, says that Pontiac once lived on Apple Island here in Orchard Lake. This great Indian chief was born around 1720, probably in the Ottawa village on the Detroit River. A friend of the French, Pontiac was . . . — — Map (db m155747) HM
This rare 4,400 lb. conglomerate boulder is made of irregular-sized jasper pebbles cemented together over millions of years by a finer mix of quartz sand. Often called "puddingstones" (because the stones resemble a British Christmas pudding), . . . — — Map (db m174289) HM
Beautiful lakes and rolling fertile land
hold quite an attraction. Native Americans first lived in the woodlands among the waterways and trails. By 1820 settlers built roads and opened the land to farming, mostly growing apples and raising . . . — — Map (db m176372) HM
Emmendorfer House
William Gilmour began building this house in the 1830s. With two hidden chambers and a strategic location on an Underground Railroad route between Farmington and Pontiac, it is believed to have provided shelter for runaway . . . — — Map (db m155724) HM
This 150-pound cast iron bell was purchased for $15 in 1878 to call local children to Green School. Located at Green Road and Savoie Trail, the school was built on farmland donated by the Hartwell Green family, c. 1866. The bell is one of three . . . — — Map (db m176371) HM
Early settlers here were devout Christians, and from 1825 were served on occasion by itinerant preachers. Later Colin and Caroline Campbell had this chapel built on land donated by Peter Dow to accommodate the influx of summer visitors. It was . . . — — Map (db m155136) HM
Orchard Lake Schools
Orchard Lake School Historic District comprises eleven buildings constructed between 1858 and 1924. The oldest, a massive Romanesque Revival house resembling a Norman castle, was built in 1858 by one-time Michigan . . . — — Map (db m156488) HM
Two railways came together here.
The West Bloomfield Trail follows the path of the Grand Trunk Railroad, built through the region in the 1880s. If you were standing here in 1900, you also would see a light rail trolley line that ran along . . . — — Map (db m174212) HM
The Orchard Lake Museum has been an intersection
where paths cross and people meet. The first building here was a small tavern named the Orchard Lake House, built in 1857 for stagecoach travelers. Various owners rebuilt and . . . — — Map (db m105083) HM
Transportation transformed the landscape of rural West Bloomfield
as electric trolleys and automobiles appeared around the turn of the 20th century. Many people traveled here for the first time from Detroit and Pontiac, and . . . — — Map (db m105114) HM
The trolleys made it easy to travel
through the lakes of Oakland County. In the early 1900s people got off or waited at platforms that were built for access to the track. The Detroit United Railway (DUR) bought land from local . . . — — Map (db m105074) HM
To change directions, trolleys had to turn around.
At this location, at the back of what had been the parade grounds of the Michigan Military Academy, the Detroit United Railway (DUR) built a "wye." This Y-shaped track allowed . . . — — Map (db m105150) HM
Walter Flanders During his career, automotive pioneer Walter Flanders was considered a genius of production and management. He was one of the first men to develop the moving automotive assembly line in Detroit. In 1907 he implemented production . . . — — Map (db m173319) HM
