Lake Kanawauke is a primarily man-made lake in
Harriman State Park. The name is
Onondaga Onondaga may refer to:
Native American/First Nations
* Onondaga people, a Native American/First Nations people and one of the five founding nations of the Iroquois League
* Onondaga (village), Onondaga settlement and traditional Iroquois capi ...
in origin, and means "place of much water". There are three parts to the lake, lower, middle and upper; the total area is . It is located in the Town of
Tuxedo in
Orange County and the Town of
Haverstraw in
Rockland County, both residing within the state of New York.
History
The lakes were built by the
Palisades Interstate Park Commission under
William A. Welch
Major William Addams Welch (August 20, 1868 – May 4, 1941) was an American engineer and environmentalist who would have a major impact on the state and national park systems of the United States. Born in Cynthiana, Kentucky, he obtained a civ ...
.
Lower Kanawauke was built in 1915 by damming Stony Brook. It was used by the
Boy Scouts
Boy Scouts may refer to:
* Boy Scout, a participant in the Boy Scout Movement.
* Scouting, also known as the Boy Scout Movement.
* An organisation in the Scouting Movement, although many of these organizations also have female members. There are t ...
for camping; by 1930 there were fourteen camps on the lake.
Middle Kanawauke was built in 1916 by damming Stillwater Creek. It was used by the
Brooklyn Boy Scouts, who erected six camps and built the White Bar trail system centered on the lake.
[*Myles, William J., ''Harriman Trails, A Guide and History'', The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, New York, N.Y., 1999.]
Upper Kanawauke is the only natural lake of the three. In the mid-nineteenth century there was a small settlement on the lake shore. Seven Boy Scout camps were built around the lake starting in 1917, one of which became a
Girl Scout camp, Camp ''Quid Nunc'' (Latin for "What now").
Currently there is a public picnic area and permit boat launch located west of Kanawauke Circle along Seven Lakes Drive.
References
Kanawauke
Protected areas of Orange County, New York
Protected areas of Rockland County, New York
Harriman State Park (New York)
Kanawauke
Kanawauke
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