History

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1900
An 1863 Civil War cannon was dragged through the mud and placed on the hill at Eagle Point. (The cannon is still on the hill in the lawn of the Walter's cottage.) There are no roads to the cottages on Eagle Point, rowboats or steamboats provide the only access. J.M. Studebaker set the first timed speed record in an automobile from South Bend to Diamond Lake, one hour and twenty minutes. A street leading to Park Shore from Cassopolis was constructed and paid for by subscription, two or three gates had to be opened and closed to get to the lake via this street. There were five resort hotels competing for the growing resort business; Forest Hall, Blink Bonnie Hotel, Diamond Lake Island Hotel, Shore Acres Hotel and Diamond Lake Hotel.

1902
Eagle Point Road was made, allowing access into Eagle Point from Brownsville Road. Captain Bartlett purchased the steamer CASSOPOLIS to go along with his other two steamers GLENN and SOUTH BEND, allowing him to corner the passenger steamboat business.

1904
Dr. Cyrus Funk launched a new 18 ft. steel boat powered by a two horsepower gasoline engine.

1905
The Blink Bonnie Hotel was sold, and closed a short time later. The grounds are platted as Sandy Beach. Electricity was brought into Sandy Beach under the influence of J. M. Studebaker. Windmills were replaced by electric power. An electric light line was extended from Cassopolis to light Park Shore Road all the way to the lake.

1906
Ben Birdsell built the cottage "Somerset" in Sandy Beach. Wood salvaged from a livery stable was used to build "Hain Villa", a fourteen-room resort hotel in Park Shore. Mrs. Hain employed a staff of 24 to maintain her lakeside resort.

1907
Jacob Woolverton purchased the Birdsell cottage "Somerset". (This beautiful old cottage in Sandy Beach is still in the Woolverton family and has been preserved in close to its original condition and decor by Hugh and Betty Lou Woolverton.)

1908
J. M. Studebaker bought the Blink Bonnie Hotel and then sold half of the building to Walter Bogue for $225 and the other half to James Leach. Mr. Bogue moved his half to his farm on the north side of M-60 and refurbished it for his family home. Mr. Leach moved his half to Shore Acres where it was incorporated into an expansion of his Shore Acres Hotel.

1909
The Carnegie Library was built on the west side of Broadway St. in Cassopolis. (This building is currently the Cass County Historical Library).

1910
American inventor Ole Evinrude produced the first portable outboard motor, a two horsepower gasoline powered model.

1911
The Diamond Lake Park Improvement Association was formed with a board of directors and seventy-seven members. The purpose of the Association was the improvement of conditions about the lake and the protection of fish. Two houses were razed in the process of improving Park Shore Rd. and made a direct route from Cassopolis to Park Shore. The Association built a long wide pier for the use of its members.

1912
The first Labor Day celebration was held on the lake with water sports and various contests. Suitable prizes were awarded. "Turk" McDermott, the World Champion Long Distance swimmer swam two complete rounds from Park Shore to the other end of the lake without stopping using his famous frog kick and the Australian Crawl. Kamp Kozy was platted and lots were offered for sale.

1913
A road to Kamp Kozy was opened past the Smith's red brick farmhouse at the curve in the road, and the first two cottages are built in Kamp Kozy. The hymn "The Old Rugged Cross" was completed and sung for the first time at a revival meeting in the nearby Village of Pokagon. The double-deck steamer SOUTH BEND caught fire and burned to the waterline off the north shore of the island.

1915
A regulation baseball field was built in Park Shore and named Yost Park. The "Cassopolis " team was good and did very well against semi-pro and local independent teams. Dissatisfied with the 18 mph speed of his father's boat, J.M. Studebaker Jr. launched a hydroplane, one of the first "fast" boats on the lake. Shore Acres Hotel completed large additions and added a dance hall.

1918
The Association built a dance hall near the "Association Pier" in Park Shore. The dance hall was a unique nearly round structure with outside benches on all but the side facing the lake, where people could sit during intermissions or kneel and watch the dancers inside. Dances were held on Thursday and Saturday nights for Association member families, and not open to the public or maintained for profit.

1919
Spring Beach was platted. The Shore received its name from the many natural springs found along the shoreline. The Diamond Island Hotel was closed.

1921
A nine-hole golf course was constructed on the grounds of the Forest Hall Resort Hotel. Two holes of the Diamond Lake Golf Course were on the north side of the seldom-traveled gravel road (M-60).

1922
Ralph Samuelson invented water skiing at Lake City, Minnesota. A cable was laid for a barge between Shore Acres and the Island, but the distance was apparently too great and too treacherous because the project was abandoned.

1923
The Pioneer Society of Cassopolis built The Log Cabin Museum on Stone Lake. Exhibits were moved from the Court House to the new museum. The Lowitz family purchase the Gar Wood designed and built racing hydroplane "Miss Chicago" and launch her on Diamond Lake, this caused quite a stir among the local populace, as hundreds of people come to Park Shore where she was docked.

1924
Diamond Lake's Leigh Wade was pilot of one of three U.S. Army Air Service planes to complete the first around the world flight.

1925
E.J. Kloss purchases the Island and it was platted for sale as residential lots. Howell Point was platted. Construction of a bridge to the southeast side of the Island was started and many large pilings are driven before lake residents band together to halt the project.

1926
Diamond Shores was platted. Forest Hall closes operations as a resort hotel but remained in use as the clubhouse for the Diamond Lake Golf Club. The VIGILANT absorbs THE NATIONAL DEMOCRAT leaving just one weekly newspaper in Cassopolis.

1927
A dam was constructed by the Diamond Lake Association at the outlet of Diamond Lake that fixed the lake level at 852.25 feet above sea level.

1928
Park Shore was platted. E. L. Lowitz built the nine-hole Park Shore Golf Course with the help of farm hands. The Club House had showers, which was quite a luxury.

1930
The Howell Estates Development Co. was formed to develop the 80-acre tract at Howell Point.

1931
The large pilings remaining from the aborted bridge project, an eyesore for several years, were removed. They had been sticking up out of the water 10 to 15 feet.

1933
Hain Villa, one of the last two resort hotels closed. Ed Yost purchased the property and converted it into four apartments.

1934
The derelict hull of the old steamboat SOUTH BEND, left on the northeast side of the Island where it sat for many years, was towed out to deep water and blown up with dynamite.

1935
The Forest Hall Resort Hotel was torn down and wood from the building was used to construct a new clubhouse for the Diamond Lake Golf Club. A round of golf cost 25 cents.

1938
The new Diamond Lake Yacht Club was formed at a meeting on the front lawn of Joe Geary's summer home with 48 members. Horace Fox was elected as the first Commodore with the objective of promoting sailboat racing and good fellowship among its membership. The Anchorage Inn, which was formerly the Diamond Lake Hotel in Park Shore mysteriously exploded and burns just before the 4th of July. Children lit their firecrackers from the smoldering embers. A severe storm suddenly struck during a Sunday DLYC race capsizing all 18 sailboats and causing some masts to break. Fortunately no one was seriously injured.

1943
The Bidwell family purchased the old Hutchings Landing site in Park Shore and built a new store which they operate in conjunction with a dock, boat rental and picnic area. The Michigan Central railroad tracks were abandoned and the rails are taken up to provide steel for the war effort.

1945
N.L. LaMunion purchases the marshy southeast side of the Island and has two canals dug. The digs from the canals are used to fill the marshy areas. He purchases 10 Army barracks and has them ferried to the Island to be sold as summer cottages. Four rooms are detached from the Studebaker cottage and moved to the Island on two barges pulled by a single powerboat. (Wood was scarce after WWII).

1946
The ferryboat DIAMOND ISLAND QUEEN operated between Eagle Point and the Island. It took six minutes to cross the 1100 feet of open water and was guided by a cable. The first marina on the lake was opened in Shore Acres and was called Clapper's Marine Hospital. Wade's Addition was platted

1947
The Diamond Lake Yacht Club opened its first clubhouse in the former Clappers Marine Hospital sales office after remodeling and refurbishment. Cassopolis's Edward Lowe developed his cat litter box filler product called "Kitty Litter".

1948
Geneva Shores was platted and named after the lost village of Geneva. Clapper's Marine Hospital was sold to "Cap" Purdy and the name was changed to Purdy Marine Company. Thorpe Marina was opened on the south side of the Island with gas pumps, dock space, boat hoist, warehouse and picnic area.

1950
Diamond Cove was platted. Diamond Lake had the largest registered Snipe fleet in the world with 45 sailboats. The DLYC Nipper fleet was introduced with nine sailboats.