- Welcome To Shavehead Lake!

Welcome To Shavehead Lake

Photo courtesy of Mike Bosela - used with permission

Shavehead Lake is located in Porter township, Cass county, Michigan.  Just north of Elkhart, Indiana, the RV Capital of the world, and close to South Bend, the home of Notre Dame.  Our horseshoe shaped lake is 289 acres in size.

     Photo Copyright Aerial Graphics - used with permission  www.aerialgraphics.com

Shavehead Lake Features Abundant, Beautiful Wildlife!

 
Shavehead Turtles Tanning- Submitted by Terry & Diana Harbaugh- used with permission


"Frieda"- The Camp Deer taken by Camp Naturalist

 
Shavehead Ducklings! Photo by Mike Bosela

The Lake is spring fed, offers full sports, and great fishing!

   Photo courtesy of Mark Sipe - used with permission 

Photo by Tom Guyer- Ron Pusko fisherman

                    Photo courtesy of Mark Sipe - used with permission


Photo by Russ Fish- 10/1/2006  Click on the photo!

10/9/2006- Photo by Tom Geyer  The cool air and the warm water make for an intersting morning view!

Lake History

     Finally, exasperated beyond endurance, one of the settlers caught the Indian unaware and administered a severe beating, which had the effect of curing his depredations, but making him more sullen. He is described in his old age as being tall and erect, quite dark, and with not a hair on his head. Both a lake and a prairie bear his name.

     Several stories are told of the manner of Shavehead's death, but they can not be substantiated. One is that the old chief, while boasting of his part in the massacre at Ft Dearborn, Chicago, in 1812, was recognized by a surviving soldier, who followed him out of the village, and, it is supposed, murdered him. Another account states that after significantly saying that there was no longer game enough for both the Indian and the white man, he was killed by a white hunter who had been his companion on many hunting expeditions. The last and more probable story is that be died, enfeebled by age and poverty, and was buried in a hollow log in the forest.

     Settlers visited his grave and severed his head from his body, and his skull was said in 1889 to be in the collection of the pioneers of Van Buren County. One of Shavehead's sons died in prison under a life sentence for murder. See Coll. Mich. Pion. and Hist. Soc., v, 1884; XIV, 1890; XXVIII, 1900.

 http://clarke.cmich.edu/nativeamericans/mphc/biographies.htm

       Photo courtesy of Mark Sipe - used with permission

Come Visit us Sometime!

 

July 20, 2009 - Summer At Shavehead Lake

Summer at Shavehead Lake

(Sung to the tune of “The 12 Days of Christmas”)
Submitted by Judith Sweet 

On the first day of summer at Shavehead Lake we saw

A great blue heron overhead

On the second day of summer at Shavehead Lake we saw

Two sandhill cranes and a great blue heron overhead

On the third day of summer at Shavehead Lake we saw

Three hooting owls, two sandhill cranes and a great blue heron overhead

On the fourth day of summer at Shavehead Lake we saw

Four hummingbirds, three hooting owls, two sandhill cranes and a great blue heron overhead

On the fifth day of summer at Shavehead Lake we saw

Five guinea fowl

Four hummingbirds, three hooting owls, two sandhill cranes and a great blue heron overhead

On the sixth day of summer at Shavehead Lake we saw

Six redwing blackbirds, five guinea fowl

Four hummingbirds, three hooting owls, two sandhill cranes and a great blue heron overhead

On the seventh day of summer at Shavehead Lake we saw

Seven swans a swimming, six redwing blackbirds, five guinea fowl

Four hummingbirds, three hooting owls, two sandhill cranes and a great blue heron overhead

On the eighth day of summer at Shavehead Lake we saw

Eight finches flying, seven swans a swimming, six redwing blackbirds, five guinea fowl

Four hummingbirds, three hooting owls, two sandhill cranes and a great blue heron overhead

On the ninth day of summer at Shavehead Lake we saw

Nine robins worming, eight finches flying, seven swans a swimming, six redwing blackbirds,

five guinea fowl

Four hummingbirds, three hooting owls, two sandhill cranes and a great blue heron overhead

On the tenth day of summer at Shavehead Lake we saw

Ten doves a cooing, nine robins worming, eight finches flying, seven swans a swimming,

six redwing blackbirds, five guinea fowl

Four hummingbirds, three hooting owls, two sandhill cranes and a great blue heron overhead

On the eleventh day of summer at Shavehead Lake we saw

Eleven ducks a bobbing, ten doves a cooing, nine robins worming, eight finches flying,

Seven swans a swimming, six redwing blackbirds, five guinea fowl

Four hummingbirds, three hooting owls, two sandhill cranes and a great blue heron overhead

On the twelfth day of summer at Shavehead Lake we saw

Twelve geese a honking, eleven ducks a bobbing, ten doves a cooing, nine robins worming,

Eight finches flying, seven swans a swimming, six redwing blackbirds, five guinea fowl

Four hummingbirds, three hooting owls, two sandhill cranes and a great blue heron overhead

 J. Sweet  5/15/09

October 27, 2007 - Old memories of Shavehead Lake- from Sherman Van Lieu