Corey Lake was named after one of its first settlers, John Corry. Why the name of the lake has changed, we’re unsure.

This lake was once the hunting grounds of Chief Sangamon and his tribe of Indians.

Encounters with the Indians, wild bears, deer, and wolves made for some interesting stories and tales of this area. Local timber wolves were quite vicious and killed numerous pigs and calves.

One story goes that a local farm boy came upon a rustling noise near the cattle. It appeared as a big dark bush and when it growled the boy shot and killed the bear keeping its cubs as pets.

The Grand View Hotel and the Richelieu Lodge were 2 places where tourists stayed to spend a weekend on the lake.

2 camps exist on the shoreline of 1/3 of the lake: Camp Eberhart and Camp Wakeshema. The large YMCA Camp Eberhart was created in around 1910, while the other YMCA Camp Wakeshma was created around 1911. Mr. Chris Wilhelm, the former Sturgis Mayor was the first Chairman of Camp Wakeshma and is currently deceased.