Lyndon Township Supports Historical Marker Application

The Lyndon Township Board of Trustees put its support behind an application to have a historical marker be placed in recognition of the Wild Goose Country Club and Subdivision.

To demonstrate this after the board’s vote at their March 10 meeting, Lyndon Township Supervisor Pam Byrnes wrote up a letter of support for the Historical Marker Application for the Wild Goose Country Club and Subdivision.

“The Lyndon Township Board of Trustees unanimously voted to support this application to the State of Michigan’s Historical Marker Program,” the letter of support concluded. “The applicants, who are members of the Wild Goose Lake community, make a strong case for its historical significance as a unique opportunity for African Americans at a time when many other nearby lakes had racially restrictive covenants that prohibited property sales to non-Caucasians. As Trustees representing Lyndon Township, Washtenaw County, Michigan, we are grateful for this opportunity to add our enthusiastic support. The timing of application is especially significant as the Wild Goose Lake community approaches their 100^th anniversary in August of 2027.”

With applications such as this, letters of support strengthen the submission by demonstrating community backing, historical significance and local importance.

The township’s letter detailed some of the historical background with this application.

“A group of African American investors purchased land here in Lyndon Township to create Wild Goode Country Club (WGCC) in 1927 because African Americans were not allowed to golf, buy lake resort property, or experience outdoor recreation at many places in Washtenaw County.

To help finance the WGCC, investors platted the Wild Goose Lake Subdivision in Section 13, on the north shore of Wild Goose Lake in Lyndon Township that comprised 93 lots to be sold to buyers on land contract at an affordable price for African American working-class families.

WGCC offered a unique opportunity for African Americans to experience the outdoors and attend dances and other social gatherings. Descendants of the investors and of early lot owners still live in the community and describe the significant positive lifelong impact of growing up at Wild Goose Lake.”

Photo: A look at Wild Goose Lake in Lyndon Township. Photo by Lonnie Huhman