~ What's in a Name? ~
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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.
Most posted items will enlarge by "clicking" on them.
"Clicking" on some color highlighted words may access additional information.
“What's in a name? That which we call a rose by any other name would smell just as sweet.”
Used by William Shakespeare in his play Romeo and Juliet to convey that...
the naming of things is irrelevant.
Used by William Shakespeare in his play Romeo and Juliet to convey that...
the naming of things is irrelevant.
Other Names For Walloon Lake; The Village and The Lake
(and associated place names)
Walloon Lake was once known as Bear Lake.
Before it was Bear Lake, however, the lake had an Indian name of Muhqua Nebis, which meant "bear" and "water".
The Village of Walloon Lake called "The Foot" was once known as Tolcott/Talcott.
(and associated place names)
Walloon Lake was once known as Bear Lake.
Before it was Bear Lake, however, the lake had an Indian name of Muhqua Nebis, which meant "bear" and "water".
The Village of Walloon Lake called "The Foot" was once known as Tolcott/Talcott.
Counties Surrounding Walloon Lake
Walloon Lake is surrounded by two counties... Charlevoix County and Emmet County.
Click HERE for information about the formation and names of Walloon Lake's surrounding counties.
Below are the names of the Northern Lower Michigan counties in 1840 AND 1843.
Click HERE for information about the formation and names of Walloon Lake's surrounding counties.
Below are the names of the Northern Lower Michigan counties in 1840 AND 1843.
Townships Surrounding Walloon Lake
Walloon Lake is surrounded by five townships... Melrose, Evangeline, Bay, Resort, and Bear Creek.
The name of the township in which the village is located, was named Melrose after an early surveyor Mel Rose.
The above township Melrose name was noted according to:
Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More...
The name of the township in which the village is located, was named Melrose after an early surveyor Mel Rose.
The above township Melrose name was noted according to:
Michigan Place Names: The History of the Founding and the Naming of More...
"In 1877 Melrose Township was set off from Evangeline by the [Charlevoix County] Board of Supervisors in the October session. There were 23 signers. The FIRST town meeting was appointed at the house of John T. Collins who lived between the Jones farmland and the railroad. It was held the FIRST Monday of April 1878. James A. Haskins, John A. Darrah, John Jones Jr. were appointed inspectors of the election."~ Mildred Burns, longtime Walloon Lake resident
History Overview Of Walloon Lake Beginnings
Walloon Lake, an inland lake with many miles of shore line, being the 26th largest lake in Michigan, was once known as Bear Lake. Before it was Bear Lake, however, the lake had an Indian name of Muhqua Nebis, which meant "bear" and "water". As early as 1841 Charles W. Cathcart [Catheart], had actually recorded the lake as Walloon Lake, but even after that, the lake continued to be called Bear Lake, verified by the above article. A Mr. Talcott had platted the village in 1884. So, Talcott was said to have been the name of the village on the lake, even after the lake's name was changed once again, finally to Walloon Lake.
Once the name of the post office was changed from Talcott to Walloon Lake on 22 September 1900, then the name of the village became Walloon Lake... it was then, as well, that the name of the lake changed from Bear Lake back to Walloon Lake.
The 1942 obituary for Alfred Elwood Hass, a pioneer resident, credits Mr. Hass with his efforts for changing the name of the lake from Bear Lake to Walloon Lake. Mr. Hass was prominent in the affairs of the village, having served as Postmaster, storekeeper, shipbuilder and owner of the water works. As a storekeeper having trouble with shipments because the village was then called Bear Lake like two other Michigan villages of the same name, Mr. Hass was instrumental in having the village name changed to Walloon Lake.
As stated in a book about Charlevoix County Ghost Towns relative to Talcott... In 1905 the population of Walloon Lake was 300, and it was noted as a summer resort by then, accessible by the G.R.&I. (Grand Rapids and Indiana) Railroad. Walloon Lake had then in 1905, 3 hotels, boarding house, depot and railway station, general stores, cottages, bath house, and The Eclipse Boat Works; manufacturers of small gasoline launches and clinker row boats. Also livery stables, ice cream manufacturer, photographer and school were noted. When Walloon Lake resident Pinky McCutcheon was only 12 years old, in 1954, the Village of Walloon Lake had 215 people. She counted the people herself by drawing a map with every house and noting the number of inhabitants in them. She also indicated the cats and dogs. Pinky recently, in 2022, joked that doing a village census, was something a 12-year-old might do in the Fall or Spring when not much was going on in Walloon Lake in those days!
The outline of Walloon Lake is very irregular and its shoreline measures 29 to 30.5 miles. The lake is approximately nine miles in length with an area of about 4320 acres. The depths of the lake vary to a maximum of 100 feet, and an average depth of 29 feet. Walloon Lake is fed by springs and rainfall so the water is clear and cold, with just a few small streams, like Schoof's in the North Arm and Fineout in the South Arm, feeding into the lake. The northern end of the West Arm of Walloon Lake lies only about a mile from Little Traverse Bay, but with no outlet there, and only the wetlands of Mud Lake (name changed to Mill Pond in 2022), feeding in at that end of Walloon Lake. Walloon Lake is higher, by about 80 to 100 feet, than Lake Michigan, so it empties near "The Foot" of Walloon Lake, over a dam, via Bear River which winds its way for about 14 to 15 miles into Lake Michigan in downtown Petoskey. Walloon Lake, in general, runs in a NW-SE direction. That dam invoked many disputes especially in the early 1900s because the dam determined the lake's levels either to the liking of the lake landowners, or of the business persons who used the river for running their logs into the Petoskey mills. Finally, the dam disputes were settled in 1916 by the District Court, so now the dam is owned and maintained by Melrose Township.
A 7 September 1963 Petoskey News Review article written by Jim Doherty told a different number of acres than the 4320 acres mentioned above. Jim Doherty wrote: "Of the 5,487 acres of Walloon Lake, 1864 acres are in Emmet county and 3,623 in Charlevoix County." His information was from a survey made by Dr. C.R. Humphrys, Michigan State University resource development researcher.
Once the name of the post office was changed from Talcott to Walloon Lake on 22 September 1900, then the name of the village became Walloon Lake... it was then, as well, that the name of the lake changed from Bear Lake back to Walloon Lake.
The 1942 obituary for Alfred Elwood Hass, a pioneer resident, credits Mr. Hass with his efforts for changing the name of the lake from Bear Lake to Walloon Lake. Mr. Hass was prominent in the affairs of the village, having served as Postmaster, storekeeper, shipbuilder and owner of the water works. As a storekeeper having trouble with shipments because the village was then called Bear Lake like two other Michigan villages of the same name, Mr. Hass was instrumental in having the village name changed to Walloon Lake.
As stated in a book about Charlevoix County Ghost Towns relative to Talcott... In 1905 the population of Walloon Lake was 300, and it was noted as a summer resort by then, accessible by the G.R.&I. (Grand Rapids and Indiana) Railroad. Walloon Lake had then in 1905, 3 hotels, boarding house, depot and railway station, general stores, cottages, bath house, and The Eclipse Boat Works; manufacturers of small gasoline launches and clinker row boats. Also livery stables, ice cream manufacturer, photographer and school were noted. When Walloon Lake resident Pinky McCutcheon was only 12 years old, in 1954, the Village of Walloon Lake had 215 people. She counted the people herself by drawing a map with every house and noting the number of inhabitants in them. She also indicated the cats and dogs. Pinky recently, in 2022, joked that doing a village census, was something a 12-year-old might do in the Fall or Spring when not much was going on in Walloon Lake in those days!
The outline of Walloon Lake is very irregular and its shoreline measures 29 to 30.5 miles. The lake is approximately nine miles in length with an area of about 4320 acres. The depths of the lake vary to a maximum of 100 feet, and an average depth of 29 feet. Walloon Lake is fed by springs and rainfall so the water is clear and cold, with just a few small streams, like Schoof's in the North Arm and Fineout in the South Arm, feeding into the lake. The northern end of the West Arm of Walloon Lake lies only about a mile from Little Traverse Bay, but with no outlet there, and only the wetlands of Mud Lake (name changed to Mill Pond in 2022), feeding in at that end of Walloon Lake. Walloon Lake is higher, by about 80 to 100 feet, than Lake Michigan, so it empties near "The Foot" of Walloon Lake, over a dam, via Bear River which winds its way for about 14 to 15 miles into Lake Michigan in downtown Petoskey. Walloon Lake, in general, runs in a NW-SE direction. That dam invoked many disputes especially in the early 1900s because the dam determined the lake's levels either to the liking of the lake landowners, or of the business persons who used the river for running their logs into the Petoskey mills. Finally, the dam disputes were settled in 1916 by the District Court, so now the dam is owned and maintained by Melrose Township.
A 7 September 1963 Petoskey News Review article written by Jim Doherty told a different number of acres than the 4320 acres mentioned above. Jim Doherty wrote: "Of the 5,487 acres of Walloon Lake, 1864 acres are in Emmet county and 3,623 in Charlevoix County." His information was from a survey made by Dr. C.R. Humphrys, Michigan State University resource development researcher.
Timeline of Walloon Lake Associated Names
24 DECEMBER 1841
The original 1841 documents of Walloon Lake can be accessed by clicking HERE for the
Bureau of Land Management General Land Office Records.
Bureau of Land Management General Land Office Records.
The local 1841 Walloon Lake area surveys were completed by John Mullett and Charles W. Cathcart/Catheart (Both spellings noted in various records/documents over the years). All portions of the lake were labeled as Walloon Lake on the FIVE plats below.
The record of Assension above for the parties associated with the survey plats above shows
E.B. Tolcott (marked with red star), as one of the FIRST with document of 15 August 1872.
A copy of the document associated with the summary above is shown below.
E.B. Tolcott (marked with red star), as one of the FIRST with document of 15 August 1872.
A copy of the document associated with the summary above is shown below.
The village has been referenced as both TOlcott or TAlcott in early years. The document above lends credence perhaps to the spelling being Tolcott. The 1901 Charlevoix Plat Book, however, has the entire village and the Post Office both labeled as Talcott as shown below. In 2024, one of the newer village businesses ceremoniously has been named The Talcott.
1879
1879 Map Section Below: Bear Lake identifies the body of water, with no reference to Walloon Lake.
Click HERE to access the entire map showing the Inland Route through the Chain of Lakes.
Click HERE to access the entire map showing the Inland Route through the Chain of Lakes.
1881
Article Below: A Grand Rapids, Michigan, company was named "Walloon Lake Manufacturing company". The location was on Bear Lake, or Walloon Lake, as it was called, at the head of the west arm, about four miles west of Petoskey where the neck of land between the land and bay is not more than three-quarters of a mile in width.... At that point of Bear Lake the company, several businessmen from Petoskey, would erect a saw mill and factory, and a tram railroad built from the factory, to the dock on the bay shore."
1885
Article Below: Even in 1885, Mr. J.H. Gardner who had been hired by Charles Cathcart/Chatheart was confident of the survey lines, and corners, that he ran in 1841
and shown in the survey maps at the top of this web page.
and shown in the survey maps at the top of this web page.
1889
Clipping Below: A new little steamer was placed on Bear Lake with Captain Holloway in command; running to all points on the Lake; was named the "Walloon".
1895
In July 1895, the handsome little excursion steamer "Walloon" was still entertaining passengers on Bear Lake. Only a month later in August 1895, some miscreant had bored an auger hole through the hull of the boat below the water line, and the Walloon sank. The sinking occurred on the West Arm while anchored for the night, so the water was pumped out, the hole plugged, and the popular little boat made her regular Bear Lake trips as usual.
1896
Article Below: In 1896 Charlevoix and Emmet counties were organizing townships, some of which surrounded Walloon/Bear Lake. Even Bear Creek Township was referred to as Bear Lake township.
1896 Map Below: The map of The Summer Resort Region of America labeled the lake as Bear Lake, located near Clarion, the nearest railroad depot.
1897
In 1897 Talcott became an official post office.
1898
1898 Map Below: The Hand Book for Travelers Book identified the lake as Bear Lake
with no village noted; Clarion being the nearest railroad stop.
with no village noted; Clarion being the nearest railroad stop.
"In 1895 Mrs. Hass (A.E. Hass’ mother) established her boarding house in the village of Tolcott. In 1902 the railroad came in to Walloon Lake and things went in to high gear. Mr. A.E. Hass had a bowling alley called the Koneta. It had a little building attached, that was a barber shop. There was the Grund store (former A.E. Hass grocery). Ransoms, Shepard's Delicatessen, McManus bath house. The one sad note of this time was that the Clarion school burned. It was rebuilt in 1903 and is still standing the the same location that’s occupied by the one that was burned." ~ Mildred Burns, longtime Walloon Lake resident
Mrs. Hass' 1895 boarding house was named Walloon Hotel.
Article Below: Over the years, Mrs. A.E. Hass told the story that her husband was operating a store in the late 1890s and many of his freight shipments went to Bear Lake which was a village in the Manistee region. Mr. Hass negotiated with a congressman who was staying at this resort to change the name from Bear Lake to end the confusion. While looking at a railroad map he saw a little community in the vicinity of Eagle Island, then Hemlock Point, called Walloon. The name stuck with him so he turned in a petition to have the name changed. No mention was made that the lake already had been labeled Wallloon Lake on the 1841 survey. Nor was mention made that the 1841 survey had any connection of this vicinity on the lake called Walloon, although that could have been the case.
Mrs. Hass' 1895 boarding house was named Walloon Hotel.
Article Below: Over the years, Mrs. A.E. Hass told the story that her husband was operating a store in the late 1890s and many of his freight shipments went to Bear Lake which was a village in the Manistee region. Mr. Hass negotiated with a congressman who was staying at this resort to change the name from Bear Lake to end the confusion. While looking at a railroad map he saw a little community in the vicinity of Eagle Island, then Hemlock Point, called Walloon. The name stuck with him so he turned in a petition to have the name changed. No mention was made that the lake already had been labeled Wallloon Lake on the 1841 survey. Nor was mention made that the 1841 survey had any connection of this vicinity on the lake called Walloon, although that could have been the case.
Article Above: The Up-North Reflections supplement to the Petoskey News Review reported Mrs. Hass' explanation of the name of the village of Walloon Lake. The report below added that the Walloon Lake name had been chosen as "after a Belgian family, rumored to have settled the north end" [of the lake].
"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.
~ James C. Whitfield, Sr.
1899
Clipping Below: Mr. L.E. Slussar prefered to call that sheet of water by its old name of Walloon Lake, rather than Bear Lake.
1899 Train Schedule below "Trains for Walloon Lake, (formerly Bear Lake) will leave Petoskey..."
1900
Once the name of the post office was changed from Talcott to Walloon Lake on 22 September 1900, then the name of the village officially became Walloon Lake...
it was then, as well, that the name of the lake changed from Bear Lake to Walloon Lake.
it was then, as well, that the name of the lake changed from Bear Lake to Walloon Lake.
1901
1901 Plat Maps of Talcott Above and Melrose Township Below:
The lake was labeled Walloon Lake.
The village was labeled as Talcott with no mention of Walloon Lake Village.
The lake was labeled Walloon Lake.
The village was labeled as Talcott with no mention of Walloon Lake Village.
1907
1907 Map Below: The map with the lake labeled as Walloon Lake; including various resorts around the lake, and the railroad running right to the lake in The Foot area, but no label for the village.
1946 Letter to the Editor Below: The Origin of the name Walloon Lake still was being pondered.
~ Old Timers Tell Walloon Lake History ~
with local names addressed
with local names addressed
Also of interest, with the name of Walloon Lake once having been called Bear Lake or Muhqua meaning bear, is a section quoted from the "Correspondence of the Detroit Post, August 26, 1874" in an article titled "A Flying Trip to Mackinac and return--The North Shore of the Lower Peninsula of Michigan". It sheds light on the name of Bear Lake, as well as nearby Petoskey, originally known as Bear Creek because of the Bear Creek emptying from Walloon Lake into Little Traverse Bay of Lake Michigan. The article lends a flavor for life in the area in 1874.
"Leaving Detroit on the afternoon of the 17th, via Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan Railroad, we were joined at Ionia by a few friends, and after ten hours' rest in a Pullman sleeper, we found ourselves at Petoskey, the terminal railway station on the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railway, where close connections are made with steamers for Mackinaw.
The location of this small village is, to the tourist at first sight, an uninviting one, being situated in a dense wilderness, and inhabited mostly by Indians. There are but few white families in the place, who have since the completion of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, built up a few frame dwellings of an inferior construction. The place derives its name from an old Indian residing here named Petoskey, which translated means, 'Elk Killer.' 'Muhquhba,' which means 'Bear,' is the name of an old Indian chief quartered here, and who formerly reigned 'Big Injun' over the Ottawa tribe, and whom we had the good fortune to meet and talk with, through an interpreter. He says he is seventy-five years of age - cannot speak a word of English, but his family, comprising twelve sons and two daughters, all speak the English language fluently. He is not now regarded as 'chief,' but in a moral and intellectual sense he still reigns supreme. He is an ardent and devoted member of the Methodist Church, and exercises a good influence over most of the Indians in this county."
By 19 June 1885 the "Death of Ignatius Petoskey The Chippewa Chief" was printed in the Petoskey newspaper Emmet County Democrat. For whatever reason, the translation of Pe-te-se-ga had been romanticized from "Elk Killer" to "Rising Sun". "By his knowledge and consent, the spelling and pronunciation was slightly changed, and Petoskey has from that time been recognized by the family as their name." Although Chief Petoskey had been born in 1787 on the banks of the Manistee River, near where Manistee, Michigan, now stands, he spent most of his life in Petoskey, nearby to the area of Walloon Lake. A large boulder was set to mark Chief Petoskey's gravesite in Greenwood Cemetery in Petoskey, Michigan.
"Leaving Detroit on the afternoon of the 17th, via Detroit, Lansing and Lake Michigan Railroad, we were joined at Ionia by a few friends, and after ten hours' rest in a Pullman sleeper, we found ourselves at Petoskey, the terminal railway station on the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railway, where close connections are made with steamers for Mackinaw.
The location of this small village is, to the tourist at first sight, an uninviting one, being situated in a dense wilderness, and inhabited mostly by Indians. There are but few white families in the place, who have since the completion of the Grand Rapids and Indiana Railroad, built up a few frame dwellings of an inferior construction. The place derives its name from an old Indian residing here named Petoskey, which translated means, 'Elk Killer.' 'Muhquhba,' which means 'Bear,' is the name of an old Indian chief quartered here, and who formerly reigned 'Big Injun' over the Ottawa tribe, and whom we had the good fortune to meet and talk with, through an interpreter. He says he is seventy-five years of age - cannot speak a word of English, but his family, comprising twelve sons and two daughters, all speak the English language fluently. He is not now regarded as 'chief,' but in a moral and intellectual sense he still reigns supreme. He is an ardent and devoted member of the Methodist Church, and exercises a good influence over most of the Indians in this county."
By 19 June 1885 the "Death of Ignatius Petoskey The Chippewa Chief" was printed in the Petoskey newspaper Emmet County Democrat. For whatever reason, the translation of Pe-te-se-ga had been romanticized from "Elk Killer" to "Rising Sun". "By his knowledge and consent, the spelling and pronunciation was slightly changed, and Petoskey has from that time been recognized by the family as their name." Although Chief Petoskey had been born in 1787 on the banks of the Manistee River, near where Manistee, Michigan, now stands, he spent most of his life in Petoskey, nearby to the area of Walloon Lake. A large boulder was set to mark Chief Petoskey's gravesite in Greenwood Cemetery in Petoskey, Michigan.
As shown on 2024 maps it is Highway 75 which runs through the Village of Walloon Lake; The Foot.
In the beginning this was called the Springvale-Boyne City Road (the state road).
In the beginning this was called the Springvale-Boyne City Road (the state road).