Lake Ann, MI

Lake Ann is a Benzie County village on the north shore of the lake that shares its name, about ten miles west of Traverse City. The lake is part of the Platte River system, and the river continues west through Almira Township toward Lake Michigan. That water-and-woods setting is the first thing to know about the village; the second is that Traverse City handles many of the larger regional trips.

Addison P. Wheelock’s family was the first to settle on the lake, which he named for his wife, Ann. The village grew into a lumber town after the Manistee and Northeastern Railroad arrived in 1892, then organized in 1893 and incorporated in 1914. Sawmills, a depot, hotels, shops, and a lakeshore workforce once supported a much larger settlement. Fires in 1897, 1902, and 1918 destroyed much of the business district and ended the town’s first boom. Today Lake Ann Elementary and the Benzie Central and Traverse City school connections serve the area, while the lake, Platte River, and nearby woods keep the old logging-and-resort setting visible. The 2020 census counted 273 residents.