McEwen Lake
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McEwen Lake is a 28-acre lake located near Alto. It is just west of Timpson Ave SE, between 52nd Street and 60th Street. The lake has public access from a short road off Timpson named McEwen Street. The lake has had an important place in history at least back to the days of the Odawa people.
It is known that an Odawa trail that began at Campau Lake, ran northeasterly to the Grand River at the mouth of the Flat River, to access the trading post of Daniel de Marsac and Cobmoosa’s Village. This trail ran past McEwen Lake. The lake provided an ideal place to camp and fish. This trail is visible on the 1855 plat map of Lowell Township but was gone by the 1863 plat map. Today the only parts of the trail that remain as a road include the little strip of Bancroft Avenue that goes south from Cascade Road, and the northern end of the trail which is today’s Lowell View Avenue. This trail angled from Bancroft right through Heidi’s Farmstand and Bakery (11999 Cascade Rd) to the corner of Alden Nash and 40th Street. Today the Lowell Area Historical Museum is able to partner with Heidi’s to bring Michigan History Days alive to third grade students as the students learn of the Odawa people right on the ground where they walked many years ago. In 1952 Emma Catherine (Graham) Brannan, who lived on the south side of the lake, made a rug for her stairway depicting landscapes of her neighborhood. In an interview she explained that the ‘Brannan Water Tower’ shown on her rug was a water tower supplied with water from McEwen Lake and was used to replenish the water supplies for the passing railroad steam locomotives. In the 1960’s the Lowell Moose Lodge would bring children out to McEwen Lake to fish and have fun. In 1963 there were over 117 children who participated in the fishing derby. The children were dropped off at the Lodge, then they were bused out to the lake. There were 30 boat loads of kids, with each boat containing at least one adult. The food consumed on that day included 40 pounds of hamburgers, 300 hot dogs and more than 400 bottles of soft drinks! The lake was named after Daniel McEwen and his family. Daniel was born in Scotland and immigrated here before 1840, as he is shown as voting in the 1840 election. In 1848 McEwen was one of the 25 men who met at Tim White’s tavern to organize and name the township of Lowell. Later he was a Justice of the Peace. McEwen Street has its own amusing history. Though the lake seems very private, with limited landowners around the lake, it is a public lake because of a very small public road. In 1912, the people in the area presented the Lowell Township Board with a petition to put in a public road to the lake because the current landowner there, where Timpson is the closest to the lake, was charging people a toll to access the lake. Everyone in the area was dependent on the lake for ice cut from the lake to fill their ice houses each year. The Board did purchase the strip of land and today this is a public road giving access to a very private lake. Not all have happy memories of the lake. Like most lakes, tragedy has invaded the peaceful waters. Those who’ve lost their lives in accidental drownings include Howard Raimer in 1930, Gordon Thompson in 1937, and Michael Blough in 1970. Eerily, all were 17 years old at the time of their deaths. The lake has watched the Odawa pass by on their trips to the trading post and to neighboring Odawa Villages, early settlers fishing and cutting ice, and children learning to fish. Today this serene lake hosts fishing and fun. Images: 1855 Plat Map with the Odawa trail highlighted Emma Catherine Graham Brannan Newspaper article featuring Francis Wakefield, a local Odawa man who lived near the lake and advocated for Odawa history and culture McEwen and Timpson street sign McEwen Lake today Historic pictures of McEwen Lake |
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