On April 11, 1884, the first recorded planting of brown trout (Salmo fario) in the United States was made into the Pere Marquette River system by the Northville, Michigan, Federal Fish Hatchery. The trout eggs from which the planting of 4,900 . . . — — Map (db m182799) HM
On East Tenth Street at Michigan Avenue (State Highway 37), on the right when traveling west on East Tenth Street.
This county was originally set off in 1840 and first named Aishcum after a well-known Potawatomi chief. In 1843 the name was changed to Lake. For three decades it was attached to neighboring counties until 1871 when settlement was sufficient to . . . — — Map (db m106842) HM
On Lake Drive at Essex Drive, on the right when traveling north on Lake Drive.
Daniel Hale Williams Despite prevailing racial discrimination during the early twentieth century, Daniel Hale Williams, an African American, was a leading Chicago surgeon. In 1891 he founded Provident Hospital as a training hospital for black . . . — — Map (db m182803) HM
On Paradise Path at East Wilson Drive, on the right when traveling south on Paradise Path.
Herman & Lela Wilson In 1915 Herman and Lela Wilson came to Yates Township with twenty-five people from Chicago to inspect the real estate that would become the African American resort of Idlewild. The Wilsons promoted and sold property in . . . — — Map (db m182800) HM
On U.S. 10 at South Broadway Street, on the right when traveling east on U.S. 10.
Prior to 1964, segregationist policies limited African Americans’ options for where to spend vacation time. In 1915 white developers, Adelbert and Erastus Branch of White Cloud and Wilbur Lemon and Alvin Wright of Chicago, established a summer . . . — — Map (db m182804) HM
On Lake Drive at East Glade Street, on the right when traveling north on Lake Drive.
In 1920 Idlewild’s founders, Wilbur Lemon, Alvin Wright, and brothers Erastus and Adelbert Branch, joined William Jennings to form the Idlewild Lot Owners Association (ILOA). The ILOA was responsible for public improvements and maintenance of the . . . — — Map (db m182802) HM
On Hickory Boulevard near South Broadway Street, on the right when traveling east.
Idlewild: A Black Eden
Legalized racial segregation and Jim Crow laws in the United States led to the
growth of Idlewild. In 1912, Idlewild was one of the only places in the nation where blacks could own land and vacation. It quickly became . . . — — Map (db m182990) HM
On Martin Luther King Avenue, 0.1 miles west of Northrup Road, on the left when traveling west.
The Island
The Island, once accessible only by footbridges, was the center of life at Idlewild from the 1910s into the 1960s. Early advertisements for the resort described Island Park as having a beautiful bathing beach and a small "parlor" . . . — — Map (db m182805) HM
