In 1877, a post office was opened between the 'sister' lakes of Round and Crooked, thus the name. Crooked Lake had an excursion steamboat operating until 1903! With changes from man and nature, Crooked Lake became 'separated' into Big and Little with the addition of a bridge and later the 'tube' on 95th Street.

Folks have been coming to enjoy our area since 1876 when Nelson Decker opened a blacksmith shop and made the all-day horse and buggy trip to Benton Harbor to meet the ferry from Chicago.

The 'Big Name Bands' appeared here in the summer of 1928, after Charles and Harry Adams built the Ramona Dance Hall. 

Click here  for photos and historical information about the Ramona

With growing popularity, The Melody Gardens Dance and Roller Rink opened to enthusiastic crowds, and in 1933, Carl Timmons opened a gas station and a bicycle shop.

Lions Park on 95th Street used to be the site of the famous Rendevous Race Track, attracting many of the Indianapolis 500 race drivers of the 40's, including Tony Bettenhousen and Johnny Parson.

More recently, during the summer of 1964 there were some reported sightings of a "bigfoot" type animal which was dubbed The Sister Lakes Monster. The incident attracted hundreds of curious folks from the local area and as far away as Ohio, Indiana and Chicago according to news reports. The local Sheriffs Dept. attempted to patrol the area in hopes of spotting the creature, but instead, spent the majority of their time corralling monster hunters and sending them on their way. To see some old news photos and articles click here.

Discover the many fascinating historical details of the area including Indian tribes (Chief Doe-Wah-Jack), our early settlers, stage coach trails and MORE!