Apple Island (Michigan)

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Apple Island is a 35-acre island in the middle of Orchard Lake in Orchard Lake Village, Oakland County, Michigan. It formed about 10,000 to 12,000 years ago during the last ice age. The island is home to more than 400 plant species, including many rare varieties in the area. An archaeological site on the island shows evidence of Native American use long before Europeans arrived. Today, the West Bloomfield School District runs the island as an educational nature center.

Geography and nature
- The island is roughly three-eighths of a mile long and a quarter mile wide. Its highest point is about 31 feet above the lake’s level.
- Apple Island Sanctuary contains every major ecological system found in southeastern Michigan, based on local scientific surveys.

Archaeology and history
- Native Americans used Apple Island for centuries, and the land was ceded to the United States in the Treaty of Detroit in 1807.
- In the 1930s, a French-made spun pewter bowl filled with wampum was found on the island and is now in the Cranbrook Collection. It suggests early European-Native American connections.
- Archaeological digs in 1997, 2000, and 2008 uncovered pottery and stone tools, but researchers could not prove local pottery production or a continuous, single occupation. The finds indicate varied use by different groups over time and possible contacts with Europeans.
- Local folklore mentions a burial of Ottawa Chief Pontiac on the island, but limited testing in 2008 found no clear evidence of a ceremonial mound and suggested the feature might be a natural landform.

Ownership and present status
- The island’s ownership changed hands several times in the 19th century, with owners including James Galloway (1827), William Dow (1847), John Coats (1851), and Colin Campbell (1856). Early residents planted gardens and orchards, and the island had few modern amenities.
- In 1970, after the Ward family owned the island, it was conveyed to the West Bloomfield School District to be used as an educational nature center.
- Apple Island was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 2018 as the Apple Island Archaeological Site (NRHP reference number 100002685).

Other notes
- The island’s name and its connection to the area’s history reflect a long history of Native American habitation and later European settlement. The term “apple place” influenced the naming of Orchard Lake and the surrounding area, though the exact original Native American name for the island remains unclear.