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History · Lake Leelanau

Lake Leelanau’s post office opened in 1924, and 24% of its homes were built before 1940

1 place in town is on the National Register. Below: 4 old photos and papers and maps from 1957 on.

1924first post office
1on the National Register
24%homes built before 1940
4old photos & papers
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Lake Leelanau’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Lake Leelanau began

When was Lake Leelanau founded?

1924

The Lake Leelanau post office opened in 1924, the earliest record of the town by name.

2020 census: 229102 years
Founding year: the first Lake Leelanau post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).The full story ↓

What stands out about Lake Leelanau’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 4 old photos are in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lake Leelanau’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo1 archive item has no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewTown of Lake Leelanau Civic bldg 8-96: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
The story

How Lake Leelanau came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Lake Leelanau.

Read it all →

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.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

By decade

Lake Leelanau, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1990s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1990s3 items
Town of Lake Leelanau Civic bldg 8-961996Town of Lake Leelanau Civic bldg 8-96Town of Lake Leelanau shop 8-961996Town of Lake Leelanau shop 8-96Town of Lake Leelanau store 8-961996Town of Lake Leelanau store 8-96
Date unknown1 to date
Lake Leelanau (CDP), MI locationDate?Lake Leelanau (CDP), MI location
Today2 recent
St Mary of the Assumption-Lake Leelanau2022St Mary of the Assumption-Lake LeelanauLake Leelanau (1)2021Lake Leelanau (1)
On the map

Lake Leelanau on the map, 1957 to 1983

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

Lake Leelanau on the 1957 USGS mapLake Leelanau on the 1983 USGS map1957Traverse City 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 Leelanau.

Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Lake Leelanau (CDP), MI location
Retake this viewLake Leelanau (CDP), MI location

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Lake Leelanau’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Lake Leelanau

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Lake Leelanau

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

See all →
Jeremy DaviesAmerican actor · b. 1969
B
Barry WatsonAmerican actor · b. 1974
Dan MajerleAmerican basketball player · b. 1965
David WayneAmerican actor · b. 1914
C
Craig ThompsonAmerican graphic novelist · b. 1975
William MillikenAmerican politician · b. 1922
Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Suttons Bay Township2 historic placesBLeland Township5 historic placesA−

Questions about Lake Leelanau’s history

What year was Lake Leelanau founded?

The Lake Leelanau post office opened in 1924, 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 Wikimedia Commons (6), Wikipedia and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.