Lake Leelanau, Michigan

How Lake Leelanau is governed

Lake Leelanau appears to be an unincorporated community or a census-designated place, so it may have no city government of its own — services usually come from Leelanau County and its elected officials. The chart below is a generic template; readers can correct it if Lake Leelanau does have local officials.

Form of government not yet listed.

0 of 14 positions listed. Gray dashed boxes are placeholders waiting for a name.

• Mayor

  Executive

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  The city's chief elected official. Presides over the executive branch, proposes the budget and represents the city.

  • City Manager / Administrator

    Executive

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    The professional administrator who runs day-to-day operations (in some cities appointed by the council instead of the mayor).

    • Police Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the police department.

    • Fire Chief

      Administration & departments

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      Leads the fire and emergency services department.

    • Public Works Director

      Administration & departments

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      Streets, water, sewer, and city buildings.

    • Finance Director

      Administration & departments

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      The budget, taxes, and city accounts.

    • Planning & Zoning Director

      Administration & departments

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      Land use, zoning, building permits.

    • Parks & Recreation Director

      Administration & departments

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      Parks, programs, and public facilities.

• City Council

  Legislative

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  The elected body that passes ordinances, sets the tax rate and approves the budget.

  • City Clerk

    Administration & departments

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    Keeps the official records, runs meeting agendas and, often, local elections.

  • City Attorney

    Administration & departments

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    The city's lawyer; advises officials and prosecutes ordinance violations.

  • Boards & Commissions

    Legislative

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    Citizen advisory bodies, such as planning, zoning appeals and library boards.

• Municipal Court

  Judicial

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  Hears traffic, ordinance and other minor cases.

  • Municipal Judge

    Judicial

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    Presides over the municipal court.

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Population over time

From 253 in 2010 to 229 in 2020 (−9.5%).

History

The Native Americans who first inhabited the area called this land ke-ski-bi-ag, which means "narrow body of water," and called the lake itself lee-lan-au, which means "delight of life". Henry Rowe Schoolcraft, an Indian agent for the territory, was credited with formally naming the county, and is said to have used Leelinau as a character in his writing. See Leelanau County for a more complete discussion of the etymology of the name.

Scholars have established that "Leelinau" was first one of the pen names used by his wife Jane Johnston Schoolcraft in writings for the Literary Voyager, a family magazine which she and her husband wrote together and circulated among friends in the 1820s. Jane Johnston was of Ojibwa and Scots-Irish descent, and wrote in Ojibwe and English. While her writing was not published formally in her lifetime (except as Schoolcraft appropriated it under his own name), Jane Johnston Schoolcraft has been recognized as "the first Native American literary writer, the first known Indian woman writer, the first known Indian poet, the first known poet to write poems in a Native American language, and the first known American Indian to write out traditional Indian stories." In 2008 Jane Johnston Schoolcraft was inducted into the Michigan Women's Hall of Fame.

As French settlers began arriving from Canada in the middle of the nineteenth century, the settlement became known as "Le Naro", owing to its location near the narrows. The narrows connect North and South Lake Leelanau. The early settlers called the river and the lake "Carp Lake", a term still used by some locals.

In 1854, a dam was built on the Leland River, near the northwest end of Lake Leelanau, raising the water 12 feet (3.7 m) and substantially increasing the size of the lakes. The Schaub family came in 1855 and took up farming; they planted the first vineyard in Leelanau County, and wine was sold locally and shipped to other markets such as Detroit and Ohio. In 1867, a fur trader named Andre de Beloit tried in vain to drill for oil. He hit an artesian spring which still gushes today at nearby Fountain Point resort.

On May 10, 1871, the first post office was established as "Provemont", a name believed to be derived from the word "improvement". On March 31, 1924, the village and post office adopted the name "Lake Leelanau".

In 1887, a Catholic school was built named St. Mary of the Assumption. The original two-story wooden building later burned down, and a brick building was erected in 1928 next to where the former building had stood.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

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