Chief Pontiac

A pleasant tradition unsupported by history says that Pontiac once lived on Apple Island in Orchard Lake. This great Indian chief was born around 1720, probably in the Ottawa village on the Detroit River. A friend of the French, Pontiac was angered by British rule beginning in 1760 and plotted its overthrow. In 1763 he led the Indians of the area in an attack on Detroit while other tribes inspired by him rose against the British in the West and overwhelmed every fort except Fort Pitt and Niagara. Pontiac's siege of Detroit failed, and with it this greatest of Indian uprisings also failed. In 1769 Pontiac was killed by another Indian in Illinois. He probably was buried in St. Louis, Missouri. The city of Pontiac was named in his honor.

Orchard Lake Village, Michigan · United States