Magician Lake

Sunrise on Magician Lake by Joyce Cole

WKFR Kalamazoo had a feature on some of Michigan’s oddly named lakes that links to my post on Lake Fanny Hooe on the Keweenaw Peninsula. Another lake on their list was Magician Lake near Dowagiac.   This is Magician Lake says in part:

The lake covers approximately 524 acres, is spring fed, has three islands (two accessible only by boat) and an outlet called Silver Creek. For the most part, it is a shallow lake (10-12 feet) with deep holes up to 60 feet deep. The lake is considered to be an “all sports lake” and is in the “excellent” category when it stands up to CLMP standards.

Magician Lake has a rich history that began in the late 1800s. People settled on the north and east shores and on one of the islands, starting up resorts known as Gregory Beach, Happyland, and Maple Island Resort Association. In even earlier days, it was inhabited by the Pokagon Potawatomi who gave it one version of its original name of Silver Lake. Because of its marl bottom that turned white every spring, as well as having springs which made it treacherous to cross with the winter ice, Native Americans also thought the lake to be superstitious or “magical”. Thus, the name evolved into Magician Lake. As with all names, there is also another theory that a group of “magicians” (probably vaudevillians) once lived at Happyland, an old-time resort, and entertained people in the area. Since this was the lake where magicians resided, it became known as Magician Lake.

Joyce took this photo back in August of 2012 and shares the set’s called “Where my feet take me”…….. ok, my arms actually took me out on the lake, but isn’t this a beautiful sunrise?! I just had to stop and soak it all in. See more in her Where my feet take me… gallery on Flickr.