Great Lakes National Cemetery is the second national cemetery built in Michigan and the 122nd in the national cemetery system. Great Lakes National Cemetery is located approximately 50 miles northwest of downtown Detroit, in Holly Township, Oakland County. The cemetery borders Fagan Lake, and is located on a portion of a land grant from the Federal Government to Terrance Fagan in 1836. Historicall
y, the property served as farmland until it was acquired by the National Cemetery Administration in 2002. In the 20th century, the property was purchased by Bryson Dexter Horton, a Spanish-American War veteran-turned-industrialist who invented the "Square D" switch. Horton's invention dramatically improved electrical safety, by encasing the switch in steel and protecting users from the live electrical current. Horton constructed a small house on the property in 1927, and reportedly entertained such preeminent locals as Henry and Edsel Ford, who both hunted and fished there. Great Lakes National Cemetery was established in 2005, and the first burial took place on October 17 of that year.
