Carp Lake Area History

Carp Lake History
The Township of Carp Lake, located 8 miles southwest of the Straits of Mackinac, was created in 1879. Most of the forest was later decimated to provide construction materials for the development of large cities in the lower Midwest.

The township was named after the 1900 acre lake on the east side. The small village grew up around a lumber mill, which used the lake and river to transport floating timber to mills on the shores of Lake Michigan.

Since farming often proved difficult due to the short growing season and rocky, sandy soil, harvesting of trees was the main industry in the are and continues to this day, though on a smaller scale. There are large areas of Carp Lake Township that provide wildlife habitat, conservation, and watershed protection.

Cross Village History
Before his death in 1675, the famous French Jesuit, Father Jacques Marquette, planted a huge white cross on the bluff overlooking Lake Michigan. Many Native American tribes met at this cross around tribal council fires. Cross Village then became known as the "Land of the Cross," otherwise called by the white man of the time as "Land of the Crooked Tree." A replica of the huge white cross stands at the edge of the bluff and is visible off the shore, far into Lake Michigan.

Emmet County was reorganized in 1855 and one of the four new townships created by the State was "La Croix," which officially changed its name to Cross Village in 1875.

Fun fact: The Cross Village area is a protected nesting ground for the endangered piping plover.

If you have new or updated information about Carp Lake history, please contact us.