Lake Swannanoa is a residential lake community located within Jefferson Township, in Morris County, in the

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. It is within the scenic Skylands Region and approximately by road from

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Geology and hydrology

The lake has two main sections, connected by a strait. The lake is an impoundment of Russia Brook, a tributary of the Rockaway River. There are also two ponds. There is an

island An island (or isle) is an isolated piece of habitat that is surrounded by a dramatically different habitat, such as water. Very small islands such as emergent land features on atolls can be called islets, skerries, cays or keys. An island ...

in the north lake called Snake Island. A smaller island, Turtle Island, is indistinguishable from the shoreline at this time. The lake has two man-made

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 ...

s, one for each section of the lake. The south dam has a

spillway A spillway is a structure used to provide the controlled release of water downstream from a dam or levee, typically into the riverbed of the dammed river itself. In the United Kingdom, they may be known as overflow channels. Spillways ensure th ...

and

valve A valve is a device or natural object that regulates, directs or controls the flow of a fluid (gases, liquids, fluidized solids, or slurries) by opening, closing, or partially obstructing various passageways. Valves are technically fitting ...

, the north dam has a large valve and overflow

. The dams were both rehabilitated in 1998 from the original Ringling-era fieldstone and concrete construction. The south dam was upgraded in 2013 to mee
NJDEP Dam Safety & Flood Control
requirements. This was as a direct result of an unusual meteorological event, th
August 2000 storm
This storm arrived and did not move for over a day, dumping 14 inches (official measurement, independent estimates say 16+ inches) of rain to a restricted area. The resultant flooding caused the main thoroughfare Berkshire Valley Road to become inundated, but did not cause either dam to fail. Excessive overflow caused some undermining of the dam structure which has since been corrected. The lake was previously under orders of the

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is a government agency in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is responsible for managing the state's natural resources and addressing issues related to pollution. NJDEP now has a staff ...

(NJDEP) to maintain a water level of no greater than two and no less than three feet below spillway until the repair was completed. Due to the large watershed, the lake both enjoys and is cursed with a high flow-through rate. The water in the lake is replaced approximately every 30–45 days. This allows for water refreshment, but makes aquatic weed treatment more challenging.

Historical information

Post- Native-American settlement, the area was mostly farmland.

Alfred T. Ringling

The property was consolidated, the lake enlarged (and two lakes combined), and a 28-roo
manor house
with auxiliary structures were built in the rustic neoclassical style to accommodate

Ringling Brothers Circus Ringling Bros. World's Greatest Shows is a circus founded in Baraboo, Wisconsin, United States in 1884 by five of the seven Ringling brothers: Albert, August, Otto, Alfred T., Charles, John, and Henry. The Ringling brothers were sons of a Ge ...

impresario Alfred T. Ringling. The estate and its auxiliary structures served as winter quarters for the R.T. Richards Circus owned and operated by Ringling's son Richard T. Ringling.

Geraldine Farrar Alice Geraldine Farrar (February 28, 1882 – March 11, 1967) was an American lyric soprano who could also sing dramatic roles. She was noted for her beauty, acting ability, and "the intimate timbre of her voice." She had a large following a ...

sang for the famous guests of Mr. and Mrs. Alfred T. Ringling in the music room with its great organ and Tiffany stained glass window. Ringling's death in 1919 brought an end to this era. The buildings are on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. Although, the manor house has been privately owned by the St. Stanislaus Friary of the Polish Capuchins for many years, as of 2017, it is up for sale.

Becoming Lake Swannanoa

The Ringling estate was purchased by Arthur D. McAllister in 1925 and renamed Lake Swannanoa. Plans were created to develop a ritzy

golf Golf is a club-and-ball sport in which players use various clubs to hit balls into a series of holes on a course in as few strokes as possible. Golf, unlike most ball games, cannot and does not use a standardized playing area, and coping ...

and

country club A country club is a privately owned club, often with a membership quota and admittance by invitation or sponsorship, that generally offers both a variety of recreational sports and facilities for dining and entertaining. Typical athletic offe ...

, the original prospectus calling for elegant

high society High society, sometimes simply society, is the behavior and lifestyle of people with the highest levels of wealth and social status. It includes their related affiliations, social events and practices. Upscale social clubs were open to men based ...

balls, and

racial A race is a categorization of humans based on shared physical or social qualities into groups generally viewed as distinct within a given society. The term came into common usage during the 1500s, when it was used to refer to groups of variou ...

ethnic An ethnic group or an ethnicity is a grouping of people who identify with each other on the basis of shared attributes that distinguish them from other groups. Those attributes can include common sets of traditions, ancestry, language, history, ...

restrictions. Due to the great depression this plan never came to fruition, so instead in the 1930s it was developed as a residential community by Ringling Estates Inc. Log cabin style houses were built on small lots as primarily summer homes, and were used as such throughout the 1950s. Although there are a few weekend residents today, most houses are now occupied full-time year-round. Many of the current houses are situated on multiple original lots. The name Swannanoa is reported to be "derived from the

Cherokee The Cherokee (; chr, ᎠᏂᏴᏫᏯᎢ, translit=Aniyvwiyaʔi or Anigiduwagi, or chr, ᏣᎳᎩ, links=no, translit=Tsalagi) are one of the indigenous peoples of the Southeastern Woodlands of the United States. Prior to the 18th century, t ...

word Suwali-Nunna, meaning 'trail of the Suwali tribe,'" however the name was used in this case under the impression that the translation is actually "the beautiful trail." The street names within the development are all named after Native American

tribe The term tribe is used in many different contexts to refer to a category of human social group. The predominant worldwide usage of the term in English is in the discipline of anthropology. This definition is contested, in part due to confli ...

Today

Lake Swannanoa (the lake, beach, and shoreline property, not the entire development) is privately owned and operated by the Lake Swannanoa Homeowners Association formerly known as the Swannanoa Sentinal Society, a private non-profit corporation. Membership is by deeded

covenant Covenant may refer to: Religion * Covenant (religion), a formal alliance or agreement made by God with a religious community or with humanity in general ** Covenant (biblical), in the Hebrew Bible ** Covenant in Mormonism, a sacred agreement b ...

. There is a fee to join the covenant, and yearly dues are assessed. Access to and use of the lake and property is by permit and restricted to members in good standing.

References

# Jefferson Township Historical Society, printed reproduction postcard #
USGS
# Synopsis prepared by the Jefferson Township Historical Society, October 30, 1996 #

#
Weird New Jersey: 09/12/03 Carrot Wielding Little People in Jefferson Township

External links

Lake Swannanoa Homeowners Association

Lake Swannanoa, USGS Franklin (NJ) Topographical Map

EPA Listed Water Information for Lake Swannanoa
{{coord, 41.0106, -74.5201, region:US-NJ_type:waterbody, display=title Jefferson Township, New Jersey Unincorporated communities in Morris County, New Jersey Unincorporated communities in New Jersey