AsylumLakePreserve

Once known collectively as "The University Farm", the University properties just east of Michigan 131 and south of Stadium Drive include the Colony Farm Orchard, the Asylum Lake property, and the Lee Baker Farm.

In 1887 the State of Michigan acquired property, including McMartin Lake, on the western edge of Kalamazoo Township to serve as the farmstead for the Michigan Asylum for the Insane, already established in Kalamazoo on Asylum Avenue (now called Oakland Drive). Eventually the adjacent Colony Farm property was also acquired. The property and lake would soon be called Asylum Farm and Lake.

Large 'cottages' were constructed on the Asylum Farm for patients, doctors and nurses. Paved walkways and sometimes underground tunnels provided convenient access to all the facilities for the Asylum staff and attendants. The Farm had its own power plant and sewer system as well.

During its years of peak activity, the Asylum Farm cultivated vegetable gardens and orchards, and raised hundreds of dairy cows, pigs, and poultry.

The State gradually closed down the Farm in the 1960's, and in 1975 deeded the property over to WMU. Since then University faculty and students have made valuable use of the land and resources for scientific research, while the walkways and paths were open to the community for recreation.

In the early 1990's WMU President Diether Haenicke and other community and University leaders proposed developing the University Farms - Asylum Lake, Colony Farm, and Lee Baker Farm - as a research and technology park. The intent was to generate an economic engine for the area as well as for the University to cultivate research and economic ties with business and industry. This proposal was soon dropped. Although heavily researched and documented, the local neighborhood associations opposed the change, and it was vigorously opposed by those wishing to maintain the land for passive recreation. There was also strong support for returning the land to its pre-farming vegetation, with large stands of oaks and fields of prairie grasses.

In 1998 WMU President Elson S. Floyd made the decision to develop the Lee Baker Farm for a new College of Engineering building and a business, technology and research park. An agreement with the City of Kalamazoo allowed part of the Lee Baker Farm to be rezoned for business and light industry, while the University agreed to set the Asylum Lake property aside for passive recreation and would not develop it for other uses.

An Asylum Lake Focus Group was organized in 1999 to create the goals, operating parameters, and documentation for the new Asylum Lake Preserve. The Focus Group, initiated and supported by Vice President Robert Beam, was chaired by Fred Sitkins, Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. A variety of constituencies were represented, including local environmental and conservancy groups, WMU faculty and researchers, neighborhood groups, and the City of Kalamazoo. A Positions Statement was drafted and approved in 1999 and later presented to the WMU Board of Trustees. Early in 2004 the final documents, The Asylum Lake Preserve Management Framework and the Declaration of Conservation Restrictions, were presented to the WMU Board of Trustess. In the fall of 2004 the Asylum Lake Management Committee was formed. It will be administered through the University's Landscape Services under Vice President Beam.

	Once known collectively as "The University Farm", the University properties just east of Michigan 131 and south of Stadium Drive include the Colony Farm Orchard, the Asylum Lake property, and the Lee Baker Farm. In 1887 the State of Michigan acquired property, including McMartin Lake, on the western edge of Kalamazoo Township to serve as the farmstead for the Michigan Asylum for the Insane, already established in Kalamazoo on Asylum Avenue (now called Oakland Drive). Eventually the adjacent Colony Farm property was also acquired. The property and lake would soon be called Asylum Farm and Lake. Large 'cottages' were constructed on the Asylum Farm for patients, doctors and nurses. Paved walkways and sometimes underground tunnels provided convenient access to all the facilities for the Asylum staff and attendants. The Farm had its own power plant and sewer system as well. During its years of peak activity, the Asylum Farm cultivated vegetable gardens and orchards, and raised hundreds of dairy cows, pigs, and poultry. The State gradually closed down the Farm in the 1960's, and in 1975 deeded the property over to WMU. Since then University faculty and students have made valuable use of the land and resources for scientific research, while the walkways and paths were open to the community for recreation. In the early 1990's WMU President Diether Haenicke and other community and University leaders proposed developing the University Farms - Asylum Lake, Colony Farm, and Lee Baker Farm - as a research and technology park. The intent was to generate an economic engine for the area as well as for the University to cultivate research and economic ties with business and industry. This proposal was soon dropped. Although heavily researched and documented, the local neighborhood associations opposed the change, and it was vigorously opposed by those wishing to maintain the land for passive recreation. There was also strong support for returning the land to its pre-farming vegetation, with large stands of oaks and fields of prairie grasses. In 1998 WMU President Elson S. Floyd made the decision to develop the Lee Baker Farm for a new College of Engineering building and a business, technology and research park. An agreement with the City of Kalamazoo allowed part of the Lee Baker Farm to be rezoned for business and light industry, while the University agreed to set the Asylum Lake property aside for passive recreation and would not develop it for other uses. An Asylum Lake Focus Group was organized in 1999 to create the goals, operating parameters, and documentation for the new Asylum Lake Preserve. The Focus Group, initiated and supported by Vice President Robert Beam, was chaired by Fred Sitkins, Professor of Industrial and Manufacturing Engineering. A variety of constituencies were represented, including local environmental and conservancy groups, WMU faculty and researchers, neighborhood groups, and the City of Kalamazoo. A Positions Statement was drafted and approved in 1999 and later presented to the WMU Board of Trustees. Early in 2004 the final documents, The Asylum Lake Preserve Management Framework and the Declaration of Conservation Restrictions, were presented to the WMU Board of Trustess. In the fall of 2004 the Asylum Lake Management Committee was formed. It will be administered through the University's Landscape Services under Vice President Beam.
Click to view 1965 map of Asylum Farm Click here to see the Asylum Lake aerial photos, taken in 1998. (100K) The map below shows the orientation of each of the photos. Click to view 1825 land survey. Kalamazoo Nature Center Survey Land Use Report, 1983 WMU Department of Georgraphy
Additional information about the Asylum Lake and related areas can be found at http://www.wmich.edu/asylumlake/