Lake County (pop. 11,539) is east of Mason County. It’s one of 12 Lake counties in the U.S.

Lake County has about 80 lakes – many of them popular for fishing and boating.

The county seat of Lake County is the village of Baldwin (pop. 1,208).

Lake County Courthouse

Annual events in Baldwin include the Troutarama, which started in 1957, and the Blessing of the Bikes Festival, which started in 1972.

Thousands attend the Blessing of the Bikes.

Just south of Baldwin is the Shrine of the Pines, which has about 200 pieces of furniture that were hand-carved from eastern white pine by Raymond W. Overholzer.

Overholzer and friends built a cabin as a gallery space.

In the southeastern part of Lake County is Idlewild Historic District. From 1912 until the mid-1960s, it was a major resort area for African-Americans from throughout the Midwest – at a time when other resorts were off-limits to them.

As many as 25,000 people would visit in the summer.

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