Connecticut Water Trails Association
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Connecticut Water Trails Association |
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Connecticut Water Trails Program Connecticut Water Trails Candlewood Lake
Site Location:
Basic Information: Candlewood Lake — Connecticut’s largest at 5,420 acres, with 72 miles of shoreline Candlewood Lake, 8.4 sq mi (21.8 km²), is
located in Western Connecticut. It is formed behind a power dam south of
the Rocky River's junction with the
Housatonic River. Along its 86-mi (106
km) shoreline are five-star tourist resorts and recreational facilities
such as golf courses, beaches, and marinas. The lake is used year round
although tourists primarily come during the summer months for fishing,
boating or golfing. The lake is bordered by 5 towns:
Brookfield,
Danbury,
New Fairfield,
New Milford, and
Sherman.
The lake is around 40 feet (12 m) deep in most
places, with some deeper areas that are 80 feet (24 m). Because of the
silt kicked up by boats and the problem with water weeds and algae, the
visibility in the lake is around 5-20 feet.
Type: Lake Water Type: Fresh Season:
Site Contact Information:
Site Coordinates:
Longitude:
°W
Latitude
Location Map:
USGS Quadrangle: New Milford and Danbury
Driving Directions:
Boat Launch Information:
ADA Access: Site Description: Environment: Additional Info:
Candlewood Lake - The Facts
Candlewood Lake Length:
16 miles
Candlewood Lake Width:
500 feet -
3.2 miles
Maximum Depth:
Between 80-90 feet
Average Depth:
40 feet
Shore Line Length:
85-109
miles
Surface Area:
8.4 Square Miles
Acres:
5,420
Elevation:
400+ feet Candlewood Lake Watershed Area: 25,000 miles Candlewood Lake Dams: Candlewood Lake Dam
Longitude
73.43790
°W
Latitude
41.57676
Candlewood Lake Islands:
Longitude:
73.457337
°W
Latitude
Longitude:
Longitude:
Longitude:
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Longitude:
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Site History:
Candlewood Lake was created in the 1920s.
Inhabitants were relocated elsewhere, but many of the buildings were
left standing and some farming equipment was left behind. The roads were
not torn up before the valley was flooded. Scuba divers can investigate
buildings from that era, following the roads underwater, and discover
artifacts from that era onwards. Some of the notable underwater finds
are model Ts, plane wreckage from small craft that have hit the lake
since then, and covered bridges from that era. On July 15, 1926,
Connecticut Light and Power Company's board of directors approved a plan
that would be unique: The first large-scale operation of pumped storage
facilities in the United States. By creating the lake and pumping it
full of water from the Housatonic River then letting the water pour down
an immense pipe called a penstock and into a turbine, the utility could
produce electricity.
Starting in late July, 1926, nearly 1400 men
labored to create Connecticut's largest body of water. About 500 men
from Maine and Canada, hand-felled 4,500 acres (18 km²) of woodland,
burning the lumber in massive bonfires - reminiscent of Indian campfires
that once burned in the valley centuries earlier. Several dams were
built. The largest, at the north end of the valley, measured 952 feet
(290 m) wide and 100 feet (30 m) high upon completion. Nearly two years later on February 25, 1928
the first pumping operation began pouring water into the valley from the
Housatonic. Engineers had planned on the Rocky River and its tributaries
filling the valley one-fourth of the way, with the generating plant
pumping the remaining three-fourths of the water out of the Housatonic.
The valley filled quickly and only 7 months later, on September 29,
1928, the water reached an elevation of 429 feet (131 m) above sea level
and Candlewood was considered complete. Even before the lake's filling was completed,
it became apparent it would draw summer vacationers from as far away as
New York City. Land prices on what would become the shoreline had
already jumped to an unbelievable $1,000 an acre and summer developments
sprang up almost immediately.
Connecticut Light & Power : CL&P History
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