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History of the Orchard Lake Museum

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A small tavern served stagecoach travelers here in 1857. It was called Orchard Lake House and, eventually, Orchard Lake Hotel. There were dances and moonlight rides for 25 cents on the steamer ship Pride of the Lake. In the early 1900s, visitors arrived by interurban train. In 1938, the hotel was replaced by a smaller building, which was the Orchard Lake Village City Hall and Police station until 1987. That same year the building became Orchard Lake Museum, home of Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society.

After being closed for 18 months due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the Orchard Lake Museum reopened in September 2021 with two events for the business/civic community and the general public. Volunteers worked during the closure to completely renovate and redesign the galleries. All new gallery exhibits walk visitors through our past in chronological order, and all new outdoor exhibit panels highlight 12 outdoor exhibits.

Exhibits

Current Orchard Lake Museum Exhibits include:

  • Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society and Orchard Lake Museum
  • Natural Features
  • Native Americans
  • French Fur Traders
  • Food & Farming
  • Apple Island
  • Michigan Military Academy
  • Evolution of Transportation
  • Camps & Resorts
  • Sports & Recreation
  • West Bloomfield Schools
  • First Responders
  • Notable Greater West Bloomfield Connections
  • Frances Gadd Gallery, which includes exhibits on the four communities served by GWBHS

Items permanently on display include:

  • 17th-century dugout canoe from Cedar Lake in Oxford, Michigan. It was carbon-dated in 1959 to c. 1684.
  • The Keego Theater neon sign, a part of the Keego Harbor downtown landmark for more than 60 years
  • Horse-drawn doctor’s carriage, used to make house calls in the early 1900s. Newly restored in 2023.
  • Sword belonging to Michigan Military Academy Cadet James Purdy, Jr. of Mansfield Ohio
  • A three-story octagonal wooden birdhouse from architect Albert Kahn’s summer home on Walnut Lake

Collections

Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society welcomes access to our collection files for teaching, research, analysis, publication, exhibition, and artistic endeavors. More information about submitting a research request may be found here. You can also search our digital collections containing more than 3,000 records about:

  • City of Keego Harbor
  • City of Orchard Lake Village
  • City of Sylvan Lake
  • West Bloomfield Township
  • Apple Island
  • Hotels, Motels and Inns
  • Michigan Military Academy
  • Police and Fire Departments
  • Restaurants
  • West Bloomfield Schools
  • Sailboats and Iceboats
  • And more!

Find educational videos on our YouTube channel.