In the early 1900s, trolleys made travel through the lakes of Oakland County easy, and people boarded or waited at platforms built for access to the track. The Detroit United Railway bought land from local farmers for the track and waiting platforms, but taxes on this property forced the railway to charge high fares that later contributed to the demise of the trolley system. At the place where Long Lake Road crossed over the parallel Grand Trunk and Detroit United Railway tracks, stairs like those people used to get on and off the trolleys remain. The rolling hills of Oakland County's lakes region were also famous for their apple orchards.