(Fifth in a special series on farms in Orion Township). This is part one of two installments…
John P. Kelly was born Aug. 7, 1830 in the town of Sparta in Livingston County, New York.
At less than one year of age, he moved with his parents from New York and settled on land that is now part of the city of Pontiac.
In November of 1857, he was married to Jane A. Ballou of Pontiac. Two children were born to them, Lucien B. and Florence M.
In 1866, the Kelly family purchased a farm in the southwest corner of Orion Township. In 1875, they purchased a farm of over 200 acres in Orion Township, which ran from Square Lake east to the shore of Lake Orion.
This farm would remain in the Kelly family for 90 years.
Son Lucien B. Kelly joined his father in running the farm. He married Sylvia Nelson of Oakland on June 10, 1891. They had one child, Homer J. Kelly.
The Kelly family built a large farmhouse on the east shore of Square Lake in the early 1880s. At that time, Heights Road ran close to the shore of the lake and the farmhouse was on the east side of the road, with the barns behind it.
The farm was known as ‘Lakeside Farm.? The house still exists on the west side of Heights Road, at 1291 Heights Road. Over the years, the barns have been demolished.
Mrs. John P. Kelly died in 1886 at the age of 50 years. Her husband John P. died in 1910 at the age of 80 years. Both died at the family home on Square Lake and the funerals were conducted from the house.
While continuing to run the family farm, Lucien B. Kelly became a transitional figure, developing some of his farmland for summer resort purposes.
In 1925, he sold 40 acres on Joslyn Road for development of the Indianwood Golf and Country Club.
Earlier, in 1915, he had subdivided 20 acres of the Kelly property on Lake Orion for summer cottages. He constructed a causeway out to Kelly’s Island. This formed what today would be the south side of Dollar Bay at the end of Shady Oaks Drive.
The Kelly property also included much of the north side of Dollar Bay, along with Pine Tree Road today. At the turn of the century, this area was referred to as Locust Point.
In 1930, Lucien B. Kelly developed the east shore of Square Lake into a popular park, ‘Kelly’s Park,? featuring a swimming beach with a bathhouse and snack bar, picnic grounds, ball fields and a campground.
At the height of the season, it would attract hundreds of people per day.
Mr. Kelly was also active in public affairs for many years, holding various local offices, including Justice of the Peace of Orion Township.
Lucien B. Kelly died at the Kelly Farmhouse on Feb. 24, 1939 at the age of 82 years. He was preceded in death by his wive Sylvia Nelson Kelly in 1927.