Oakland County is considered to have the largest number of inland lakes in the state with about 400 of those actually named and another equal or quite possibly larger number of smaller water bodies or ponds without names. Among the lakes, there are 10 that have the most noted depths.
Here’s a quick snapshot of the deepest lakes, according to state departments and federal records, along with a short background on each, according to a search of local historical records and online sources.
Cass Lake
Depth: 123 feet. Total size: 1,280 acres.
Location: Straddles Waterford Township and West Bloomfield Townshsip.
Background: Cass Lake, originally named Red Cedar Lake, was renamed after former Michigan Governor Lewis Cass, a noted politician who was appointed in 1813 to govern the Michigan Territory, a position he held until 1831 when he resigned to accept the position of the Secretary of War under President Andrew Jackson.
Maceday Lake
Depth: 117 feet. Total Size: 234 acres.
Location: Waterford Township.
Background: According to records of the Waterford Historical Society, Maceday Lake got its name because Mason “Mace” Day fished the waterway so often that locals started calling it Mace Day Lake, which was later changed to Maceday Lake.
Orchard Lake
Depth: 110 feet. Total size: 795 acres.
Location: City of Orchard Lake Village.
Background: The lake is noted for its 35-acre Apple Island which was first inhabited by Indians and was later owned by a number of White settler families and individuals, some of whom actually lived on the island. The last such owner, Marjorie Ward Strong, deeded the island to the West Bloomfield School District to be used as an educational center, now known as the Marjorie Ward Strong Woodland Sanctuary, which contains some 400 species of trees, many of which are rare in Oakland County. Tours of the island are available. When White settlers started arriving in the area they turned to farming and some 30 apple trees. Hence the name of the island and the lake itself.
Union Lake
Depth: 110 feet. Total size: 465 acres.
Location: Commerce Township and West Bloomfield Township.
Background: From a surface area standpoint, this is the tenth largest lake in Oakland County. The name of the lake was derived from the unincorporated area referred to locally as Union Lake, which comprises parts of West Bloomfield Township, Commerce Township, Waterford Township and White Lake Township. Long-time locals still refer to the geographical area as Union Lake, which has a small business district along two major roads.
Walnut Lake
Depth: 101 feet. Total size: 233 acres.
Location: West Bloomfield Township.
Background: Historical records don’t address how the lake gots its name but it was likely derived from the fact that in the 1820s the township was noted for its acres of forest that included Pine trees and Black Walnut trees.
Van Norman Lake
Depth: 90 feet. Total size: 66 acres.
Location: Mostly Independence Township and a part of Waterford Township.
Background: Originally a small pond, the lake’s formation involved building a dam of the Clinton River in the late 19th century. The waterway was originally called the Mill Pond but was later named after Zenas Harvey Van Norman who owned the entire northern shore of the lake from 1867 to 1916.
Pine Lake
Depth: 90 feet. Total size: 395 acres.
Location: West Bloomfield Township
Background: In terms of naming, local records are not available so one has to assume that, like Walnut Lake in the township, that it got its name in the 1820s as settlers arrived and started clearing land for roads and farming in an area of pine tree forests.
Lake Angelus
Depth: 88 feet. Total size: 477 acres.
Location: City of Lake Angelus. Bordered by Auburn Hills, Pontiac, Waterford Township.
Background: According to Wikipedia, the inland lake was first called Three Mile Lake which is the distance from the eastern shore of the lake to the western shore. In 1929, the area incorporated to ward off annexation attempts and became a city in 1984. In the 1920s, the waterway was given its current name by Mrs. Sollace B. Collidge, some say for religious reasons.
Loon Lake
Depth: 73 feet. Total size: 243 acres.
Location: Waterford Township.
Background: Records on the development and naming of Loon Lake could not be located. An educated guess would be that it was named at some point after the Common Loon, slightly larger than a duck, a water bird that inhabits Michigan.
Silver Lake
Depth: 73 feet. Total size: 101 acres.
Location: Waterford Township.
Background: Silver Lake was home to the first farm in Oakland County in 1818 owned by the Williams family. In 1821 the first school in Oakland County, with seven students, was established in Oliver Williams’ sheep barn on Silver Lake. Not much is known for his reasoning but Oliver Williams gave the waterway the name of Silver Lake.
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