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History · Lake Angelus

Lake Angelus was first counted by the census in 1930, and 21% of its homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1907 on and the census since 1930.

1930first census
0on the National Register
21%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: OmidGul · CC BY-SA 4.0
Quick answers

How Lake Angelus began

When was Lake Angelus founded?

1930

Lake Angelus first appears in the census in 1930.

First census: 27 in 19302020 census: 28796 years
Founding year: the first census.The full story ↓

What stands out about Lake Angelus’ past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Lake Angelus are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.Boom and bustPeaked at 573 in 1970; 287 people lived here in 2020.On the map since 19078 editions of the USGS map, 1907 to 1997. Watch Lake Angelus change.Old housesHalf of Lake Angelus’ homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lake Angelus’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Lake Angelus’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
People over time

Lake Angelus, census by census

010020030040050060019401960198020002020Peak: 573

Peaked at 573 in 1970; 287 people lived here in 2020.

10 censuses, 1930–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Lake Angelus’ Wikipedia page.

On the map

Lake Angelus on the map, 1907 to 1997

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Lake Angelus. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Lake Angelus on the 1907 USGS mapLake Angelus on the 1936 USGS mapLake Angelus on the 1943 USGS mapLake Angelus on the 1952 USGS mapLake Angelus on the 1968 USGS mapLake Angelus on the 1973 USGS mapLake Angelus on the 1983 USGS mapLake Angelus on the 1997 USGS map1907Pontiac sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Lake Angelus.

The story

How Lake Angelus came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lake Angelus.

Read it all →

In the early 1900s, a small community formed around the lake, then called Three Mile Lake. During the 1920s, the lake was renamed Lake Angelus by Mrs. Sollace B. Collidge as the original name stood for the distance from the eastern side of the lake shore to the western shore. The community was under pressure from nearby government establishments to be annexed. In 1929, however, a special state act of legislation was passed, granting Lake Angelus incorporation as a village. Lake Angelus became a city of its own in 1984.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

Be the first to add onePhotograph a print flat, in daylight, no flash.
Add from your album
Famous people

Famous people close to Lake Angelus

Nobody well known was born in Lake Angelus itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
David SpadeAmerican stand-up comedian and actor · b. 1964
Dita Von TeeseAmerican Egyptian burlesque dancer and model · b. 1972
Elizabeth ReaserAmerican actress · b. 1975
M
Martin KlebbaAmerican actor · b. 1969
C
Christine LahtiAmerican actress and director · b. 1950
Mike HenryAmerican voice actor and director · b. 1965
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Waterford Township1 historic placeB+Auburn HillsIts storyC−Pontiac16 historic placesA

Questions about Lake Angelus’ history

What year was Lake Angelus founded?

The Lake Angelus post office opened in 1930, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From Wikipedia, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.