Almira Township was first platted and surveyed by government surveyors in about 1860 and it was in the next five years that people began moving here. Those who moved here had to live on the government-surveyed property for five years. If they “proved up” (as the attempt of living in this wilderness was called), they were given a government deed to their farm.

The first settlers came in the 1860’s. Addison “A. P. Wheelock family who settled on Ann Lake, the lake being named “Ann” after his estimable wife.  A. P. Wheelock was an influential man. He spoke five different languages and, because of his unique ability, was given a position in Hannah Lay’s old store because many foreign people were settling in Traverse at this time. He left his family at the edge of Ann Lake to “prove up” on his homestead. Wheelock also served as the first sheriff of Benzie County. The settlers arrived quickly and made an earnest effort to make themselves a home here. An unbroken and heavily timbered wilderness challenged the settlers, who were content to live in rudely constructed hovels, many of which were often covered with bark stripped from trees. It took many years of hard toil before the land held out promise of any material returns.

Almira Township, with more than 30 bodies of water, was formally established in 1864. The first township meeting was held at A. P. Wheelock’s home at which Harrison Abbe was elected as supervisor, Andrew Rosa as clerk, and A. P. Wheelock as treasurer.

In 1892, the first railroad (the Manistee & Northeastern) threaded its way through the eastern part of the township and the village of Lake Ann sprang up. Lake Ann was  incorporated in 1892. In a few years it had more than 800 residents and 100 buildings. By 1897, Lake Ann consisted of a general store, restaurant, hotel, drug store, meat market, saloon, livery barn and a depot. Activities centered around the Habbeler sawmill on the lakeshore (which employed 125 men) and the MNE railroad. The Grand Traverse Illustrated described Lake Ann as “a bright little town.      1901 Map

The first fire occurred on July 4, 1897 when Lake Ann was in competition with Traverse City as the metropolis of this area of Michigan with 1,000 inhabitants. It is not known whether the fire began in the engine room of William Habbeler’s sawmill or by a spark from a tug anchored near the shore.

Many of the businesses rebuilt only to be wiped out again by another fire in 1914. The third fire erupted in 1918; it was almost too much for the Village and Lake Ann was never rebuilt to its former status. The history of the area is relatively sparse for more recent years. One of the locally noteworthy periods during the last seventy-five years was during prohibition when some prominent Chicago families, operated whiskey distilleries in the Township. Some known “gangster” families had property at Harris Point and at what is now the Lake Ann Camp & Retreat during this period. Al Capone  had visited this area at that time.

Lake Ann is now a tiny, beautiful resort town with 268 residents. Almira Township, with a population of approximately 3,295 persons (including the Village), is now the largest municipality in Benzie County largely due to its proximity to Traverse City.