There's a little known treasure in the heart of Leelanau County. It's called Vlack Park.

If you’re driving outside of Cedar on your way to Traverse City, you’ve probably seen the sign, "Joseph Vlack Memorial Park." Not many people think to stop by this quiet and scenic park.

The history behind the park goes deep. The Vlack family has been in the Cedar area for almost 100 years. Joseph C. Vlack came to area in the late 19th century and raised his family.

His son, Joseph Vlack, was born in Traverse City in 1877. He settled in Cedar City, which was named for the amount of cedar that was in the vicinity. Cedar City, or what is now known as Cedar, Michigan, was the home of the Sullivan Lumber Company. It was here that Vlack opened a meat market and made his living through this business. It was this business that was his greatest success. He traded as far as the eastern coast in places like Rhode Island.

He was also a banker for more than 40 years. He married a woman named Amanda Zemka in 1899, who was an Elk Rapids native. She gave him 5 children, 3 of who settled in the area.

In 1927, the Vlack family had a fire on their farm stead which burnt down nearly the entire estate, including the barn and the house. At that time, the cost of the estimated damage was nearly $10,000.

Vlack, who was fairly successful, rebuilt his entire barn and home quite quickly after the incident and business went on as usual.

When Vlack died in 1955, his wife donated 40 acres of what had been their farmland, to the local community. It was her idea that this donated land would become a memorial park. With in the park, there’s a small, 1.1 acre pond where the cattle used to cool off and drink. That pond is now used for fishing.

At one time the DNR planted trout in the pond, and more recently bluegills were planted for a kids fishing day.

The park is still open to visitors but remains a bit of a secret. There is no overnight camping allowed, but space is available for people to picnic and relax. The grounds are usually quiet, as the park is back from the road. There is a picnic table and some trails.