Originally set off in 1840 and first named Aishcum after a well-known Potawatomi chief, the county was renamed Lake in 1843. For three decades it remained attached to neighboring counties until 1871, when settlement was sufficient to warrant organization. Baldwin, the county seat, was settled in 1872. The county's forests helped make Michigan a leading lumbering state, and farming and the tourist industry are the chief activities. Wild life is abundant.