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(pronounced OR-ee-un) is a village in Oakland County in the U.S. state of Michigan. The population was 2,715 at the 2000 census. "Lake Orion" is often used to describe both the village and the much larger Orion Township, of which the village is a part.
The village and township are home to Lake Orion High School, Bald Mountain State Park, Indianwood Golf and Country Club, Canterbury Village, The Scripps Mansion, and a General Motors manufacturing plant.
Lake Orion originated as a resort town and over time has incorporated elements of a bedroom community.
The township of Orion was approved by the Michigan Territory in 1835, the same year it applied for statehood. Jesse Decker became the first Supervisor of Orion, with a salary of $2.00 a year. Another settlement nearby, New Canadaigua, was absorbed by Orion. This land later helped Orion to establish its first public school in 1859. Orion, already well-established, was platted and chartered, also in 1859. In 1862, a fire ravaged Orion, destroying everything. Despite this, the town was rebuilt. The railroad that was built in Orion paved the way to mass development in 1872. The great resort era soon followed after another incredible recovery from a fire in 1874. Orion became well known when lumberjacks bringing lumber to Detroit would bunk there, and when Lapeer Road, a highway running through Orion, was paved in 1929, permanent residents moved in.