Mahlstedt's Ice Pond, commonly referred to as Huguenot Lake, is a

man-made lake A reservoir (; from French ''réservoir'' ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam. Such a dam may be either artificial, built to store fresh water or it may be a natural formation. Reservoirs can be created in a number of ways, including control ...

located in central

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 o ...

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 ...

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 * '' ...

. Constructed in 1885, the lake is impounded by the Mahlstedt Reservoir Dam on a tributary of Pine Brook. The dam is of earthen construction and rock fill, with a height of and a length of . It has a normal surface area of , a capacity of , and normal storage of . For years the lake served as a water supply source for nearby

Mount Vernon Mount Vernon is an American landmark and former plantation of Founding Father, commander of the Continental Army in the Revolutionary War, and the first president of the United States George Washington and his wife, Martha. The estate is on ...

as well as a successful ice supply business. Several generations of the Mahlstedt family harvested ice from the lake, however, after refrigeration made the once-lucrative business obsolete, the family sold the lake and adjoining property to the city in 1922.Partnership for The Huguenot Children's Library
/ref> The lake is currently part of Huguenot Park and the

New Rochelle High School New Rochelle High School (NRHS) is a public high school in New Rochelle, New York. It is part of the City School District of New Rochelle and is the city's sole public high school. Its student body represents 60 countries from around the world. I ...

campus. It is currently used for recreational and environmental purposes.

Freshwater wetland and stream restoration

A restoration project on the extended campus grounds of

was completed to stabilize the eroding banks along Stephenson Brook. The banks were regraded, biodegradable support structures were installed for additional support, and the area was planted with perennials, shrubs and trees to purify the water and keep the banks permanently stabilized. Upland vegetation was also added along the shoreline of Huguenot Lake to control erosion and enhance habitat for wildlife.

Yellow Iris ''Iris pseudacorus'', the yellow flag, yellow iris, or water flag, is a species of flowering plant in the family Iridaceae. It is native to Europe, western Asia and northwest Africa. Its specific epithet ''pseudacorus'' means "false acorus", ref ...

, Blue Flag Iris, and

reindeer moss ''Cladonia rangiferina'', also known as reindeer cup lichen, reindeer lichen (cf. Sw. ''renlav'') or grey reindeer lichen, is a light-colored fruticose, cup lichen species in the family Cladoniaceae. It grows in both hot and cold climates in w ...

were added because they naturally filter pollutants including

nitrogen Nitrogen is the chemical element with the symbol N and atomic number 7. Nitrogen is a nonmetal and the lightest member of group 15 of the periodic table, often called the pnictogens. It is a common element in the universe, estimated at se ...

and

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element with the symbol P and atomic number 15. Elemental phosphorus exists in two major forms, white phosphorus and red phosphorus, but because it is highly reactive, phosphorus is never found as a free element on Ea ...

, as well as enhancing the aesthetics of the lake's shoreline.

References

{{authority control Geography of New Rochelle, New York Reservoirs in New York (state) 1885 establishments in New York (state)