About Woods Lake

History

Woods Lake is a living memory of the great glaciers that receded thousands of years ago. Like most of Michigan's lakes, it is a kettle lake: as a glacier carved its way through the land, it left behind a chunk of ice that became buried in meltwater sediment, ultimately leaving a "kettle" (depression) behind as the ice melted and the sediment sank. The lake was born when groundwater filled the kettle.

Various peoples resided in the Michigan region for thousands of years. The Potawatomi tribe was most prevalent in the Kalamazoo area in the late eighteenth and early nineteenth centuries, when non-native settlers began to enter the area. Subsequent decades saw more land purchases, treaties, and migrations broadly representative of US territorial aims and policies in the period.

In the late nineteenth and early twentieth centuries, Woods Lake and the surrounding land played host to a number of recreational establishments, including Oakwood Amusement Park, "Kalamazoo's Coney Island". However, the lake's days as an entertainment hub drew to a close as automobile ownership accelerated and the post-WWI population sought adventure further from the city.

Today, most of Woods Lake is surrounded by private residences. Woods Lake Park and Kensington Park provide public access for swimming, boating, and fishing.