Findley Lake is part of the town of Mina in southwestern Chautauqua County,

New York New York most commonly refers to: * New York City, the most populous city in the United States, located in the state of New York * New York (state), a state in the northeastern United States New York may also refer to: Film and television * '' ...

, United States. Situated at an elevation of 1440 ft (439 m) above sea level, this

hamlet ''The Tragedy of Hamlet, Prince of Denmark'', often shortened to ''Hamlet'' (), is a tragedy written by William Shakespeare sometime between 1599 and 1601. It is Shakespeare's longest play, with 29,551 words. Set in Denmark, the play depicts ...

is located on the north shore of Findley Lake.

History

Findley Lake was settled by

War of 1812 The War of 1812 (18 June 1812 – 17 February 1815) was fought by the United States of America and its indigenous allies against the United Kingdom and its allies in British North America, with limited participation by Spain in Florida. It bega ...

veteran Alexander Findley, a native of

Northern Ireland Northern Ireland ( ga, Tuaisceart Éireann ; sco, label= Ulster-Scots, Norlin Airlann) is a part of the United Kingdom, situated in the north-east of the island of Ireland, that is variously described as a country, province or region. Nort ...

who had emigrated to America sometime around 1769, settled in eastern Pennsylvania, married and started a family, and returned to Ireland for a few years before making the decision to live permanently in the United States. After purchasing land in Greenfield, Pennsylvania in 1805, he then purchased lot 52, near what is now Findley Lake, from the

Holland Land Company The Holland Land Company was an unincorporated syndicate of thirteen Dutch investors from Amsterdam who in 1792 and 1793 purchased the western two-thirds of the Phelps and Gorham Purchase, an area that afterward was known as the Holland Purchase ...

in 1811, and built a

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, a ...

there in 1815 to power his mill, thus creating the lake from two ponds. The settlement that grew up around the mills prospered. The Lakeside Assembly on the southwest shore entertained visitors to the region, during the summers between 1895 and 1915, with programs that rivaled Chautauqua Assembly, at the

Chautauqua Institution The Chautauqua Institution ( ) is a 501(c)(3) nonprofit education center and summer resort for adults and youth located on in Chautauqua, New York, northwest of Jamestown in the Western Southern Tier of New York State. Established in 1874, the ...

. Founded in 1895 by United Brethren minister Rev. C. G. Langdon, who lived in a parsonage on the lake's east shore, the Lakeside Assembly's first president was Dr. F. E. Lilley, who was succeeded by

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

veteran and U.S. Medal of Honor winner

Ebenezer Skellie Ebenezer Skellie (August 16, 1842 – July 2, 1898) was a native of Chautauqua County, New York, who received his nation’s highest honor – the Medal of Honor, U.S. Medal of Honor – for the gallantry he displayed while fighting as a corpor ...

.Boerst, Randy.
Around Findley Lake
', p. 47. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2005. The Assembly was reached by two

steamboat A steamboat is a boat that is marine propulsion, propelled primarily by marine steam engine, steam power, typically driving propellers or Paddle steamer, paddlewheels. Steamboats sometimes use the ship prefix, prefix designation SS, S.S. or S/S ...

s, the Silver Spray and the Daisy. The

United Methodist Church The United Methodist Church (UMC) is a worldwide mainline Protestant denomination based in the United States, and a major part of Methodism. In the 19th century, its main predecessor, the Methodist Episcopal Church, was a leader in evangelical ...

(which absorbed the United Brethren in 1968) continued to operate a summer camp, Camp Findley, in the hamlet of Findley Lake until the early 21st century. Findley Lake is a four season getaway for camping at Paradise Bay Park Family Campground (located right on the lake), hiking, biking, golf, fishing, hunting, boating, skiing and snowmobiles. Peek'n Peak Four Season Resort is less than five miles and all hamlet and

town A town is a human settlement. Towns are generally larger than villages and smaller than cities, though the criteria to distinguish between them vary considerably in different parts of the world. Origin and use The word "town" shares an ori ...

roads are approved and marked as snowmobile trails. The community has antique and specialty shops as well as restaurants,

bed and breakfast Bed and breakfast (typically shortened to B&B or BnB) is a small lodging establishment that offers overnight accommodation and breakfast. Bed and breakfasts are often private family homes and typically have between four and eleven rooms, wit ...

s and country inns.

Geography

Findley Lake is entirely centered in the town of Mina. The hamlet is approximately 19 miles east of

Erie Erie (; ) is a city on the south shore of Lake Erie and the county seat of Erie County, Pennsylvania, United States. Erie is the fifth largest city in Pennsylvania and the largest city in Northwestern Pennsylvania with a population of 94,831 a ...

, 11 miles of south Ripley, 16 miles north-northwest of Corry, PA, and about 27 miles west of Jamestown. Though the main routes are State Routes

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and

430 __NOTOC__ Year 430 ( CDXXX) was a common year starting on Wednesday (link will display the full calendar) of the Julian calendar. At the time, it was known as the Year of the Consulship of Theodosius and Valentinianus (or, less frequently, yea ...

, there is access to Findlay Lake via Interstate 86 (exit 4). Other secondary routes include county routes 1 and 78.

References

External links

Findley Lake Area Chamber of Commerce
{{Chautauqua County, New York Hamlets in New York (state) Hamlets in Chautauqua County, New York