PIT LAKE TREK

PIT LAKE           (Marked with RED)              5 Miles

In 1900, the Lake Shore Michigan and Southern Railroad made plans to remove gravel from an area north of Long Lake in Steuben County, Indiana. The gravel was to be used to make new track beds in northern Indiana and southern Michigan. The removal of the gravel from this area is what make Pit Lake, which is on the Anthony Wayne Reservation. The excavation started in 1905 and was done with horse and scoops. The gravel went out in railroad cars which were now owned by the New York Central Railroad. 

Hungarians from the east were used as laborers and lived in barracks on Long Lake. The barracks were like a town in themselves. There are stories of fights every night, but the laborers stayed in their own area and didn’t disturb the local people. 

All top soil was scooped off and piled up to make what is now Hall’s Hill. As the horses that pulled the scoops died, they were buried under the top soil. Horse skeletons have since been found by Scouts in this area. 

In 1912, steam shovels on railroad cars were used in place of the horses and scoops. All sand washed from the gravel was washed into Long Lake until about 1916 when the State stopped this practice.

After 1916, the sands washed from the gravel was placed in a pile you now see south of Pit Lake. Water was hit in 1918, and the last gravel was taken by the railroad in 1927. 

We think you will agree this beautiful lake of ours had a colorful start. So, as you hike up the sand hill or around Hall’s Hill, let your mind go back. You may hear the sound of the skinners working the horses and scoops or the sound of the steam shovels and railroad trains coming and going with the gravel. You never know!