~ WALLOON LAKE PUBLIC BEACH ~
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Please do not copy the photos on this site, many of which have been submitted by private individuals...
just come back and visit the site often to view the photos.
The design and compilation of the text and photos on this site are copyrighted 2014.
just come back and visit the site often to view the photos.
The design and compilation of the text and photos on this site are copyrighted 2014.
Late 1880s
1890
1905
"The Bath House was quite popular in the summer for those who came over from Boyne and Petoskey, neither of which had nice sandy beaches. Somewhere in time the name was changed to ‘Bear Lake’ [from Talcott] but a confliction arose as there was already a Bear Lake down by Traverse City so shortly it was changed again to Walloon Lake, to honor the west arm settlers who turned out to meet ‘King’ Strang when he and his band came over from Beaver Island and were said to have fought ‘like Wallooners’, a Belgian group. At any rate ‘King Strang’s bunch never were able to settle on the mainland."
~ James C. Whitfield, Sr.
Photo Below: Accompanying text stated:"While bathing on our area lakes is a great pastime during our current heat wave, it was much the same back in 1892-93 when these adventurous swimmers braved the waters of Walloon in front of their beach house. Swimsuits back then were made of wool, not the Nylon of today, and covered much more of the body. After a swim, it probably took a couple of days for the swimsuits to dry out enough so a person could go back into the water for another swim."
This bathhouse offered three dressing rooms, and a half dozen bathing suits.
Does the little "half-house" on the far side of the road, in the third photo above appear to be the same little slant-roofed building on the right in the photo below, possibly having been moved to the beach side? Contact Karla Howard Buckmaster with more information please.
This bathhouse offered three dressing rooms, and a half dozen bathing suits.
Does the little "half-house" on the far side of the road, in the third photo above appear to be the same little slant-roofed building on the right in the photo below, possibly having been moved to the beach side? Contact Karla Howard Buckmaster with more information please.
Photo Below: The little white house at the far left appears to be the same as the white house in the photo above. This long bath house directly on the beach was "erected by W.L. McManus Lumber Company at the turn of the century, and burned a few years after this 1906 picture was taken. The Lumber Company also owned the present bathing beach, park and river area." Another source stated Harry Simpson "Harry" Jordan, a successful Grand Rapids furniture businessman had the huge Sand Beach Bathhouse shown below built on the beach. The bathhouse featured 30 rooms for swimmers to access dressing rooms and bathing suits, or even a hot bath for 25¢. First Mrs. Thomas Belding leased, and ran the business, followed by Carl Rofe and Charles Slater. The open beach now occupies the space of the bathhouse, followed with its destruction in its 1906 fire.
Does the cottage style house on the far side of the road, in the photo above appear to be the same structure as later becoming the village post office, and later an antique store? Contact Karla Howard Buckmaster with more information please.
In about 1900, Henry Jordan who had his Moira Hill home just up the road from the Walloon Lake public beach, built the 30-room Sand Beach Bathing House Mrs. Thomas Belding operated, through a lease, the new Sand Beach Bathing House. In 1903 the bath house was leased to Carl Rofe and Charles Slater. On 23 May 1906 the bath house burned while it was then owned by McManus and Thomas Birkett. It is unclear how long McManus and Thomas Birkett owned the bath house property because in the 1907 Resort Guide as shown below, the New Bath House was listed as being "Merrill's New Bath House".
J. Russell Thomson's 1907 RESORT GUIDE on page 51 published the following advertisement below
about Merrills' New Bath House right on the beach, and also an advertisement of Fern Cottage.
Two Photos Above and Below: The dock and the diving and observation platform have been noted as located on Merrill's bathing beach, and belonging to Merrill's Boat Livery.
The 6 July 1910 Petoskey Evening News stated:"Bathers will be able to enjoy the usual features at Merrill's bath house the slide, spring board, etc. being in readiness to be put in place as soon as possible. It is probable that new bathing suits will be purchased by the management in a short time." |
Is that the diving tower seen through the leaves of the tree?
The public raft was so much fun!
The public raft was so much fun!
1949
Donations provide a raft at Walloon Lake Bathing Beach
Donations provide a raft at Walloon Lake Bathing Beach
Several beach photos above, and below left, show the log style benches on the Walloon Lake Community Beach. In the photo below left Beth and sister Margaret Tillapaugh sat on one of the log benches with the bath house in the background across the road. Margaret (on the right) married Chuck Sherk. In the photo below right, Margaret stood in front of her brother Ken Tillapaugh on Walloon Lake Community Beach at The Foot.
1949
Walloon Lake Beach Fund to make improvements to the beach ad park.
Walloon Lake Resident Dr. Dean C. Burns was one of the early contributors.
Walloon Lake Beach Fund to make improvements to the beach ad park.
Walloon Lake Resident Dr. Dean C. Burns was one of the early contributors.
Civic groups contributed to the Walloon Lake Beach Fund.
The three photos below were submitted from the Collection of Louisa Taylor and were taken the same day in July 1960 as the photo above. The backgrounds of the photos show the quonset with docks, and also the Sail Inn Grill restaurant where it was located directly next to the beach. The grill had a beachside small serving window. The beach people parked their vehicles directly beside the beach right on the edge of M-75. This tree that provided often-welcomed shade at this time, no longer stands on the Walloon Lake Community Beach in 2014.
The two photos below were submitted from the Collection of Louisa Taylor and were both taken in 1961. In the background of the photos can be seen the dock system near the quonset, a sailfish ready to go into the water, and the community provided raft in the distance. The raft always presented fun activities... a special place to learn to make a backward dive or a frontward dive, to lie and get a tan (or sunburn), and to visit with other swimmers.
During the years that I was hanging out at the beach at Walloon Lake, Ken Klumpp was using the waters of Walloon Lake as a training grounds. Ken says he "got ready for Petoskey High School football by playing and running in knee deep water at 'The Foot'."
~ Karla Howard Buckmaster
Photo Below: Walloon Lake Neptune Water Show
L>R: Tom Gratsch, Bob Biellias, ?, Iv Burns, ?, David Burns
L>R: Tom Gratsch, Bob Biellias, ?, Iv Burns, ?, David Burns
Two Photos Below: A Full Beach
Three Photos Below: After Walloon Lake has frozen over, the fishermen with their ice shanties appear. Also, the ice usually gets strong enough to support snow mobiles, as witnessed from the snow mobile tracks in the photo way below right... these tracks took off right from the Walloon Lake Public Beach site. Beware, however, the ice is not always strong enough to haul a house across the ice, as happened when movers had a large house sink through the ice near Jones Landing on the North Arm in February of 1994 (See Article Below).
Play the slideshow below of the Walloon Lake Village Beach views taken on 20 November 2013... LATE Fall waters and sky!
Play the slideshow below of the Walloon Lake Village Beach views taken on 8 February 2014... LATE Winter ice and sky! Only a narrow cut is made through the TALL snowbank in front of the beach... wide enough to walk through or to drive a snowmobile through to access the beach.
Panarama below from the Dam Outlet on the left to The Shores Condominiums on the right...