Orchard Lake Museum is the home of Greater West Bloomfield Historical Society.
- Collection of area artifacts, historic photos and documents
- Research
- Open 2nd Sundays & 3rd Fridays, 1-4 pm and by appointment 248.757.2451
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
Gift Shop
Items are available during Open Houses. Some items are available at the Orchard Lake Village City Hall, Oakland County Pioneer and Historical Society, Orchard Lake Schools Campus, and West Bloomfield Town Hall.
History of the Orchard Lake Museum
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.