Cassidy Lake is a lake in Kings County,

New Brunswick New Brunswick (french: Nouveau-Brunswick, , locally ) is one of the thirteen provinces and territories of Canada. It is one of the three Maritime provinces and one of the four Atlantic provinces. It is the only province with both English and ...

Canada Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...

Location

Cassidy Lake is located in the community of Clover Hill, surrounded by rolling hills in the Caledonia Highlands, southeast of the village of

Norton Norton may refer to: Places Norton, meaning 'north settlement' in Old English, is a common place name. Places named Norton include: Canada *Rural Municipality of Norton No. 69, Saskatchewan *Norton Parish, New Brunswick **Norton, New Brunswick, a ...

. Neighbouring communities are Poodiac,

Salt Springs A brine spring or salt spring is a Brine, saltwater Spring (hydrology), spring. Brine springs are not necessarily associated with halite deposits in the immediate vicinity. They may occur at valley bottoms made of clay and gravel which became sogg ...

, and Southfield. there are less than 30 families living in the immediate area. Numerous cottages dot the lake's shores, along with several camps and a youth drug rehabilitation centre.

Lake, wildlife, and recreation

The lake is approximately one kilometre in length and half a kilometre wide. The water is clean, and the lake is fed by two large brooks, as well as

surface runoff Surface runoff (also known as overland flow) is the flow of water occurring on the ground surface when excess rainwater, stormwater, meltwater, or other sources, can no longer sufficiently rapidly infiltrate in the soil. This can occur when th ...

and numerous underwater springs. At the north west end of the lake the water is very shallow and marshy. This area contains most of the wildlife around the lake. There are many types of birds, including

bald eagles The bald eagle (''Haliaeetus leucocephalus'') is a bird of prey found in North America. A sea eagle, it has two known subspecies and forms a species pair with the white-tailed eagle (''Haliaeetus albicilla''), which occupies the same niche as ...

loon Loons (North American English) or divers (British / Irish English) are a group of aquatic birds found in much of North America and northern Eurasia. All living species of loons are members of the genus ''Gavia'', family Gaviidae and order Gavi ...

cormorants Phalacrocoracidae is a family of approximately 40 species of aquatic birds commonly known as cormorants and shags. Several different classifications of the family have been proposed, but in 2021 the IOC adopted a consensus taxonomy of seven gen ...

and

king fisher John King Fisher (October 1853 – March 11, 1884) was a gunslinger from the U.S. state of Texas during the heyday of the American Old West. Early life and education Fisher was born during October 1853 in Collin County, north of Dallas, Tex ...

s, several

beaver dam A beaver dam or beaver impoundment is a dam built by beavers to create a pond which protects against predators such as coyotes, wolves and bears, and holds their food during winter. These structures modify the natural environment in such a way t ...

s, and mainly

chain pickerel The chain pickerel (''Esox niger'') is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family (family Esocidae) of order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the American pickerel (''E. americanus'') belong to the ''Esox'' genus of pike. Taxonomy French ...

splake The splake or slake (''Salvelinus namaycush x Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a hybrid of two fish species resulting from the crossing of a male brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') and a female lake trout (''Salvelinus namaycush''). The name its ...

, and sunfish, there are also Smallmouth bass, and speckled trout. Although small, the lake is a popular spot to fish, swim and boat. Every year in May the Fish and Game Society holds a fishing derby which always attracts a crowd.

Area history

Originally called DeForest Lake, it was later named Cassidy Lake after settler Francis Edward Cassidy. His original homestead on Cassidy Hill burned many years ago, but you will still find the foundation, apple orchards, cemetery and church. The church has a very interesting interior design, but is only open to worshipers for one day every August. At one time there was a saw mill on the lake, near what is now Route 865. The Kilpatrick family also owned a general store and

millinery Hat-making or millinery is the design, manufacture and sale of hats and other headwear. A person engaged in this trade is called a milliner or hatter. Historically, milliners, typically women shopkeepers, produced or imported an inventory of g ...

on the same road. There is no commerce in the area at present.

Potash mining

Potash Potash () includes various mined and manufactured salts that contain potassium in water-soluble form.

is mined to the south east of the lake, the mine was opened by Dennison and was later purchased by the

Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan The Potash Corporation of Saskatchewan, also known as PotashCorp, was a company based in Saskatoon, Saskatchewan. The company merged with Calgary-based Agrium to form Nutrien, in a transaction that closed on January 1, 2018. The company was th ...

. In the late 1990s areas of the mine began to flood, shortly after it was allowed to flood completed and production was terminated. Today the mine acts as water storage for its sister operation in

Penobsquis, New Brunswick Penobsquis (; 2001 pop.: 1,382) is a Canadian village in New Brunswick. Penobsquis is a blend of Micmac terms for stone and brook. History Animaland Park Animaland Park, a collection of concrete sculptures of animals that was once a roadside ...

, which has also been leaking for some years. By trucking the water to Cassidy Lake, and other sites the Penobsquis Mine has been able to maintain production.

References

{{authority control Landforms of Kings County, New Brunswick Lakes of New Brunswick Tourist attractions in Kings County, New Brunswick

Location

Lake, wildlife, and recreation

Area history

Potash mining

See also

References