Greenwood Lake is an interstate

lake A lake is an area filled with water, localized in a basin, surrounded by land, and distinct from any river or other outlet that serves to feed or drain the lake. Lakes lie on land and are not part of the ocean, although, like the much large ...

approximately long, straddling the border of

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 * '' ...

and

New Jersey New Jersey is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern regions of the United States. It is bordered on the north and east by the state of New York; on the east, southeast, and south by the Atlantic Ocean; on the west by the Delawa ...

. It is located in the Town of Warwick and the Village of Greenwood Lake,

(in Orange County) and West Milford,

(in Passaic County). It is the source of the

Wanaque River The Wanaque River ( Native American for "place of the sassafras") is a tributary of the Pequannock River in Passaic County in northern New Jersey in the United States.Gertler, Edward. ''Garden State Canoeing'', Seneca Press, 2002. Once known as ...

. The lake was originally called "Quampium" by the

Munsee The Munsee (or Minsi or Muncee) or mə́n'si·w ( del, Monsiyok)Online Lenape Talking Dictionary, "Munsee Indians"Link/ref> are a subtribe of the Lenape, originally constituting one of the three great divisions of that nation and dwelling along ...

Native Americans who lived there. It was renamed "Long Pond" by Europeans, who settled the area in the 18th century for farming and ironmaking, and eventually came to be re-christened "Greenwood Lake." It was dammed up by Peter Hasenclever of The American Company to increase the size of the lake for

water power Hydropower (from el, ὕδωρ, "water"), also known as water power, is the use of falling or fast-running water to produce electricity or to power machines. This is achieved by converting the gravitational potential or kinetic energy of a ...

used downstream at the Long Pond Ironworks.History of Greenwood Lake
, accessed November 25, 2006. The original dam was located even with today's Fox Island, with most of the lake extending north of the state line. In 1837, the lake was again dammed, but at the location of the current dam, this time by the Morris Canal & Banking Company to supply water to the Pompton Feeder of the Morris Canal. The enlarged lake now flooded the Succor Brook at the northern end, forming the East Arm, surrounded "Lime Ridge" to create Chapel Island, and flooded the extreme southern end, including parts of Belcher Creek. The enlarged lake began to attract tourists. The Montclair and Greenwood Lake Railway reached the lake at Awosting around 1874, and the "State Line" (later Sterling Forest) depot was established around 1876. (This railway later became the New York and Greenwood Lake Railway, and then the Greenwood Lake Division of the Erie Railway.) During its resort era, several

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 operated on the lake, including the Greenwood Lake Transportation Company's ''Arlington'', ''Milford'', and their side-wheeler, ''Montclair'', built in 1876, which had two decks and is reported to have been capable of carrying from 200 to 400 passengers. There were also other steamers that were privately run, such as the Pioneer and the Anita, and smaller steam launches, such as the Wilhelmina, the Carrie T., and the Ferncliff, run by specific hotels. These steamboats met the trains and took passengers to the various resorts around the lake in both states. There is a

seaplane A seaplane is a powered fixed-wing aircraft capable of taking off and landing (alighting) on water.Gunston, "The Cambridge Aerospace Dictionary", 2009. Seaplanes are usually divided into two categories based on their technological characteri ...

area on the lake, a few large

marina A marina (from Spanish , Portuguese and Italian : ''marina'', "coast" or "shore") is a dock or basin with moorings and supplies for yachts and small boats. A marina differs from a port in that a marina does not handle large passenger ships or ...

s and lakeside

restaurant A restaurant is a business that prepares and serves food and drinks to customers. Meals are generally served and eaten on the premises, but many restaurants also offer take-out and food delivery services. Restaurants vary greatly in appearan ...

s with

dock A dock (from Dutch ''dok'') is the area of water between or next to one or a group of human-made structures that are involved in the handling of boats or ships (usually on or near a shore) or such structures themselves. The exact meaning vari ...

Greenwood Lake Airport Greenwood Lake Airport is a public use airport located one nautical mile (2 km) east of the central business district of West Milford, in Passaic County, New Jersey, United States. The airport is owned by New Jersey Department of Tran ...

just south of the lake has a runway long enough to handle small jets. There are numerous marinas and restaurants along Greenwood Lake. In 2011, the film '' The Magic of Belle Isle'' starring Morgan Freeman was filmed along the lake.

Works about the lake

Jasper Francis Cropsey created several paintings of Greenwood Lake beginning in 1843. Cropsey painted many paintings of the area such as ''American Harvesting'' (1864), ''Greenwood Lake'' (1870), ''Fisherman's House, Greenwood Lake'' (1877), and Cooley Homestead–Greenwood Lake (1886). Cropsey met and married Maria Cooley, daughter of Issac P. Cooley, in 1847 so continued to visit the area for many years. Image:Jasper Francis Cropsey - Greenwood Lake.jpg, ''Greenwood Lake'', Jasper Francis Cropsey, 1870. Image:JasperCropseyFishermansHouseGreenwoodLake.jpg, ''Fisherman's House, Greenwood Lake'' (New Jersey), Jasper Francis Crospey, 1877.

References

External links

Official on-line news blog for the Village of Greenwood Lake

Village website

{{authority control Reservoirs in Orange County, New York Lakes of Passaic County, New Jersey Reservoirs in New Jersey Reservoirs in New York (state) Warwick, New York West Milford, New Jersey 1760s establishments in the Province of New York 1760s establishments in New Jersey