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OAKLAND TOWNSHIP — Cranberry Lake Farm Historic District will soon get some new signage, thanks to a placemaking grant from the Greater Metropolitan Association of Realtors.
Local Realtor Lana Mangiapane, who has been a commissioner on the Historic District Commission, sponsored the Greater Metropolitan Association of Realtors’ $3,250 grant for the improvements, which include six custom cedar signs.
“They are going to be placed in the historic district in locations that will tell a little bit of directions — where you might be traveling to — and we would like to incorporate the signage to include some of the history of the buildings and the importance of the beehives,” said Barb Barber, Oakland Township’s historic preservation planner.
Fred Oates & Sons made the new cedar signs using a template from a sign that had been located at the historic farm for many years.
“The signs had to be designed special to complement the historic farmstead and have the ability to showcase rotating signage templates, if needed,” Mangiapane said.
“And everyone has been asking about directional signs to locate the active beehives and trails to the lake.”
Barber said four beehives were moved to the park about 15 years ago for Preston Zale, who owned Popz Beez Honey.
“They were very healthy hives and could sometimes winter over. The bees are close to water from Cranberry Lake and close to all the apple trees at Cranberry Lake Farm. We planted 25 young apple trees in 2017, and they are now thriving thanks to our bees,” she said.
Troy Kilanowski’s Eagle Scout project created three more hives in the park in 2023. The seven total hives are about 40 feet from each other. After Zale moved, a new beekeeper, Dawn Gialanella, came on board. She will be offering workshops in 2026.
The new signs are expected to be installed in early spring.
“We are thrilled to have this opportunity to develop custom-made cedar signs to help navigate the 16-acre historic district and capture the history of the farmstead and buildings,” Historic District Commission Chairman David Phillips said in a statement.
Along with the signs, a cedar bench will be placed near the trail head for seating.
According to the township’s website, Cranberry Lake Park was purchased in 1996, and 22 additional acres were purchased using land preservation millage funds in August 2003. Located between Predmore Road and Romeo Road (32 Mile Road), the park includes 213 acres. The park’s trail system is connected to Addison Oaks County Park at Romeo Road as part of a primary east-west connector pathway in the township’s safety path and trail network.
Cranberry Lake Farm within Cranberry Lake Park is a 16-acre historic district. The historic district is the site of the Axford-Coffin Farm, a nationally recognized historic farmstead of 10 structures dating back to the 1840s that has been rehabilitated through the township’s Historic District Commission.
