Keego Harbor

History

The first non-native settlers to the area arrived between 1825 and 1830. Cass Lake drew many wealthy residents to purchase land along the lake for vacationing. In 1890, a railway line was built through Keego Harbor to connect to Detroit and Pontiac, making the area much more accessible. At the turn of the century, a prominent Pontiac lawyer, Joseph E. Sawyer, purchased and platted land just to the southwest along Orchard Lake. He built a canal to connect the smaller Dollar Lake to Cass Lake and declared the area to be a harbor on the eastern edge of Cass Lake. He named the area Keego, which was a phonetic spelling of the Anishinaabemowin word "giigoonh" meaning "fish." The spelling Keego comes from the Henry Wadsworth Longfellow poem, The Song of Hiawatha. The community was originally part of West Bloomfield Township before incorporating as an independent city in 1955.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of , of which is land and (9.09%) is water. The small Dollar Lake and canal remain within the city of Keego Harbor. The city is on the eastern shores of Cass Lake and is surrounded by Sylvan Lake on the east, Orchard Lake Village on the southwest, Waterford Township on the north, and West Bloomfield Township on the south and northwest.

Race & ethnicity

Largest nearby schools

• Troy High School
  High · Troy · 2,094 students · 18.7:1 ratio
• West Bloomfield High School
  High · WEST BLOOMFIELD · 1,652 students · 16.7:1 ratio
• Bloomfield Hills High School
  High · Bloomfield Hills · 1,598 students · 15.5:1 ratio
• Clarkston High School
  High · CLARKSTON · 1,575 students · 19.9:1 ratio
• Rochester Adams High School
  High · ROCHESTER HILLS · 1,534 students · 23.6:1 ratio
• Walled Lake Northern High School
  High · COMMERCE TOWNSHIP · 1,485 students · 22.2:1 ratio
• Farmington High School
  High · FARMINGTON · 1,400 students · 16.3:1 ratio
• International Academy
  High · BLOOMFIELD HILLS · 1,351 students