Property Owners' Association
Higgins Lake History and Formation Since Ice Age added under “Member News & Info” tab. Click Here.
Higgins Lake has a long a storied history, having originated after the last ice age left the state many thousands of years ago. Attached, below, are several documents you may click on to help in expanding your knowledge of our beautiful lake. The first of these documents is a brief history of the lake as prepared by Board member Bruce Carlton:
A Brief History of Higgins Lake
Below are two additional documents that provide more of a science-based introduction on the formation of Higgins Lake. The first is a recent article on “Glacial Lake Roscommon” that appeared in the July 5, 2018 issue of the Houghton Lake Resorter newspaper. This article discusses recently discovered evidence that the area including Higgins Lake, shortly after the last Ice Age ended, was once part of a much larger and deeper lake that may have covered an area greater than the entire Roscommon County. Following this is a 1921 Report published by the State of Michigan Geological and Biological Survey. The discussion of Higgins Lake begins on page 18 of this report and it describes the geological formation of lake, providing factual information on the lake’s level over the thousands of years after the Ice Age ended. At one point in time, many thousands of years ago, the lake level stabilized at 16 feet above today’s level. As the ground continued to rebound without the weight of a mile or more thickness of ice covering it, the lake level stabilized again at about 8 feet above today’s level, and later on it stabilized at 2 feet above today’s level.