Chief Pontiac

A pleasant tradition, unsupported by history, says that Pontiac once lived on Apple Island here 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 the British rule which began in 1760, and plotted its overthrow. In 1763 he led the Indians of the area in an attack on Detroit while other tribes, who were inspired by him, rose against the British in the West and overwhelmed every fort save Fort Pitt and Niagara. Pontiac's siege of Detroit failed. 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.