Name/Title
Ox-bow private lake legal casesEntry/Object ID
2021.18.30Scope and Content
Cover letter from attorney Stephen E. Sheridan and legal documents for case number 74/77174 CZ, People of the State of Michigan vs The Summer School of Painting at Saugatuck, Inc., and Mary K. Bettles., 1975
Typed notes bout the case, author unknown
Newspaper clippings:
"Ox-Bow Road Defined" by George R. Corsiglia, Commercial Record 27 Jan 1977
"Ox-Bow Road Ruled Public, But Not to Lagoon" Commercial Record 13 May 1977Context
Documents about long-going differences of opinion about how much of the land and water around Ox-Bow is private or public.Collection
Development, land, 1910 Ox-Bow, Transportation: highway and road infrastructureCataloged By
Winthers, SallyAcquisition
Accession
2021.18Source or Donor
Lane, Kit, familyDimensions
Dimension Description
maximum sizeWidth
8-1/2 inLength
14 inLocation
* Untyped Location
206 Lakes, River, Harbor, LighthouseRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Ox-Bow/Summer School of Art, Bettles, Mary Katherine 1910-1984, Sheridan, Stephen "Steve" E. c1948-, Old Harbor/Channel piers pre-1906/Ox-Bow LagoonCreate Date
March 25, 2025Update Date
March 29, 2025
![2020 PDF about this issue found by Chris Clark, March 2025: https://mymlsa.org/wp-content/uploads/2020/05/2020-Spring-Attorney-Writes.pdf
Natural Resources and Environmental Protection Act of 1994
324.30901 (g) "Public inland lake" means a lake that is accessible to the public by publicly owned lands or highways contiguous to publicly owned lands or by the bed of a stream.
My [Chris Clark's] conclusion:
If the public has a legal access point to a lake, then they may be on it. Oxbow lagoon is mostly bordered by public land, and on that land are several points where the public could put a canoe or kayak in. Hutchins Lake is largely surrounded by private property, but the township has a public launch spot.](https://d3f1jyudfg58oi.cloudfront.net/4124/image/9b16a540-0c8d-11f0-90ac-c56745d14a79-vHQyNhI.tn@2x.jpg)