8. Goshorn Lake and Floating Bridge

Location: Lake Township, between 64th and 65th Streets

There were five Goshorn brothers from Pennsylvania who arrived in the early 1850s and settled on the shores of what was soon known as Goshorn Lake. The deep, oddly-shaped lake, nestled in the dunes north of Saugatuck, is well known for its steeply dropping off bottom. Along some of its shoreline, one step off the beach will put a small child over their head and in two broad steps an adult will need to swim. The lake lies directly across the shortest route from Saugatuck to Holland. In 1867 money was raised by taxes in both Laketown and Saugatuck Townships to built a floating bridge across the west arm of the water. By 1890 the logs that formed the causeway were so waterlogged that a passing wagon sank up to the axles, with the water nearly touching the bellies of the horses. The tattered bridge remained a fishing venue until 1915 when most of the structure was removed.