Sylvan Lake, called "The Prettiest Little City in Michigan," took its name from words meaning "wooded shady lake" and was valued for its natural beauty. A trip there offered people a new attitude on life, and after the 1890s trolleys and automobiles brought visitors to Tower Beach on the Telegraph Road side of the lake for slide rides, picnics, fishing, and swimming. In the 1940s, marshy lakefront property on the south side of the lake was filled to create Ferndale Beach and Park for the enjoyment and growth of the community.