Sheldrake Lake is a man-made body of water located in the north-eastern section of

New Rochelle New Rochelle (; older french: La Nouvelle-Rochelle) is a city in Westchester County, New York, United States, in the southeastern portion of the state. In 2020, the city had a population of 79,726, making it the seventh-largest in the state of ...

Westchester County Westchester County is located in the U.S. state of New York. It is the seventh most populous county in the State of New York and the most populous north of New York City. According to the 2020 United States Census, the county had a population o ...

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 * '' ...

. It has a surface area of 25

acres The acre is a unit of land area used in the imperial and US customary systems. It is traditionally defined as the area of one chain by one furlong (66 by 660 feet), which is exactly equal to 10 square chains, of a square mile, 4,840 square ya ...

and formerly served as the water supply for neighboring

Larchmont Larchmont is a village located within the Town of Mamaroneck in Westchester County, New York, approximately northeast of Midtown Manhattan. The population of the village was 5,864 at the 2010 census. In February 2019, Bloomberg ranked Lar ...

village. The lake is the result of Larchmont Water Company

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 ...

#2 on the Sheldrake River. The dam, constructed in 1935, is

masonry Masonry is the building of structures from individual units, which are often laid in and bound together by mortar; the term ''masonry'' can also refer to the units themselves. The common materials of masonry construction are bricks, building ...

with a height of and a length of . The dam has a maximum discharge is per second and drains an area of .

History

The value of the water power of the Sheldrake River was recognized at an early date, and its development was primarily due to the work of

Quakers Quakers are people who belong to a historically Protestant Christian set of denominations known formally as the Religious Society of Friends. Members of these movements ("theFriends") are generally united by a belief in each human's abil ...

who lived in the north-eastern portion of New Rochelle. In 1754 Nehemiah Palmer appears to have been the founder of the mill and he erected a

saw-mill A sawmill (saw mill, saw-mill) or lumber mill is a facility where logs are cut into lumber. Modern sawmills use a motorized saw to cut logs lengthwise to make long pieces, and crosswise to length depending on standard or custom sizes ( dimens ...

at the site of the lake in 1754. He gave the mill to his grandson Drake Palmer, and ratified this early gift in his will dated 1760. In 1774 Drake Palmer sold the mill to his brother, Aaron Palmer, and a grist-mill was added to the site. Both mills remained in operation by various owners for over a century. In 1876, under the ownership of John T.Goodlife, the mill dam was improved to enlarge the area of the pond so as to develop its use in the

ice Ice is water frozen into a solid state, typically forming at or below temperatures of 0 degrees Celsius or Depending on the presence of impurities such as particles of soil or bubbles of air, it can appear transparent or a more or less opaq ...

industry. The various enterprises of the mills continued until they were ultimately sold to Charles H. Murray who promoted the sites use by the Larchmont Water Company. By the 1880s, Larchmont residents' wells had proved inadequate and a new source needed to be found. The company bought Goodliffe Pond and later added Sheldrake Pond, a small water body on the site of today's Sheldrake Lake. The company laid water pipes from Goodliffe Pond to Larchmont down a route that is now Murray Avenue. In 1889 the first piped Sheldrake River water began to flow into Larchmont Manor. In 1893 the water company bought lands surrounding Sheldrake Pond from several owners, and obtained the right to raise the water level of the pond by 24.3 feet. In 1897, excavation began around Sheldrake Pond to enlarge its capacity. In 1900, expert stonemasons from

Italy Italy ( it, Italia ), officially the Italian Republic, ) or the Republic of Italy, is a country in Southern Europe. It is located in the middle of the Mediterranean Sea, and its territory largely coincides with the homonymous geographical re ...

began construction on the big Upper Dam and spillway, which was completed by 1903.

Watershed

The Sheldrake River drains a watershed whose upstream portions cover parts of Scarsdale and New Rochelle. The river supplies both Sheldrake Lake, and the smaller Goodliffe Pond to its east. It then flows under Weaver Street, and through Mamaroneck Town before ultimately joining the larger Mamaroneck River which empties into Mamaroneck Harbor and

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

Conservancy

Today the lake is part of a 60-acre

conservancy Protected areas or conservation areas are locations which receive protection because of their recognized natural, ecological or cultural values. There are several kinds of protected areas, which vary by level of protection depending on the ena ...

, permanently protected from development. It is an important resource for the neighboring communities which offers a unique wildlife habitat and a zone for nature-related study and recreation. Wildlife at the lake includes

ducks Duck is the common name for numerous species of waterfowl in the family Anatidae. Ducks are generally smaller and shorter-necked than swans and geese, which are members of the same family. Divided among several subfamilies, they are a form t ...

and

Canada geese The Canada goose (''Branta canadensis''), or Canadian goose, is a large wild goose with a black head and neck, white cheeks, white under its chin, and a brown body. It is native to the arctic and temperate regions of North America, and it is o ...

.Welcome to Sheldrake Environmental Center!
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References

External links

*
Sheldrake Lake Map
{{authority control Geography of New Rochelle, New York Reservoirs in Westchester County, New York Reservoirs in New York (state)