Connecticut Water Trails Association
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Connecticut Water Trails Association |
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Connecticut Water Trails Program Connecticut Water Trails Fairfield County New Fairfield
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:
Open year round Site Contact Information:
Longitude
73.2900
°W
Latitude
Location Map:
USGS Quadrangle: New Milford and Danbury
Driving Directions: Boat Launch Information:
Candlewood Lake Boat Launch
ADA Access: Site Description: Environment: Additional Info:
Bogus Point
Longitude:
73.46117103886856
°W
Latitude
Chatterton Point
Longitude:
73.46512300000001
°W
Latitude Lattin's Cove
Longitude:
73.45922899906925 °W
Latitude
Point Hedden
Longitude:
73.4579
°W
Latitude
Longitude:
73.46553 °W
Latitude
Longitude:
73.464426
°W
Latitude Vaughn’s Neck
Longitude:
73.44720262178939
°W
Latitude Islands
Longitude:
73.457337 °W
Latitude Pine Island
Longitude:
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. Within weeks, an army of 50
surveyors swarmed into the valley, and lawyers were hired to process the
deeds transferring land held by some families since before the American
Revolution into the hands of CL&P. The utility had the power of eminent
domain and so the farmers sold their land -- $2,356 for 53 acres, $3,000
for 34 acres, $100 for 3 acres. 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. Although it was almost called Lake
Danbury, Candlewood Lake ultimately got its name from New Milford's
Candlewood Mountain - which was named after the Candlewood tree, whose
sapling branches were sometimes used as candles by early settlers.
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