__NOTOC__ Pawtuckaway Lake (official name Pawtuckaway Pond) is a

reservoir 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 contro ...

in Rockingham County in southeastern

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

, United States, in the town of

Nottingham Nottingham ( , locally ) is a city and unitary authority area in Nottinghamshire, East Midlands, England. It is located north-west of London, south-east of Sheffield and north-east of Birmingham. Nottingham has links to the legend of Robi ...

. The lake is located in the

Piscataqua River The Piscataqua River (Abenaki: ''Pskehtekwis'') is a tidal river forming the boundary of the U.S. states of New Hampshire and Maine from its origin at the confluence of the Salmon Falls River and Cochecho River. The drainage basin of the river ...

drainage basin A drainage basin is an area of land where all flowing surface water converges to a single point, such as a river mouth, or flows into another body of water, such as a lake or ocean. A basin is separated from adjacent basins by a perimeter, ...

. The lake presently has two dams and three dikes. The dam on the southern end of the lake, Dolloff Dam, feeds the Pawtuckaway River, which flows southeast to the

Lamprey River The Lamprey River is a river in southeastern New Hampshire, the United States. It rises in Meadow Lake in Northwood, and flows south, then generally east through Raymond, Epping, Lee, Durham and finally Newmarket. Here, it meets Great Bay ...

in the western part of the town of

Epping Epping may refer to: Places Australia * Epping, New South Wales, a suburb of Sydney ** Epping railway station, Sydney * Electoral district of Epping, the corresponding seat in the New South Wales Legislative Assembly * Epping Forest, Kearns, a he ...

. The dam at the north end of the lake, Drown's Dam, releases water to the Bean River, leading to the North River and ultimately the Lamprey River in the northern part of Epping. Approximately half of the lake's shoreline consists of private homes with a mixture of seasonal and year-round residents. Most of the western side of Pawtuckaway Lake is occupied by Pawtuckaway State Park, a popular camping, swimming, boating, hiking,

bouldering Bouldering is a form of free climbing that is performed on small rock formations or artificial rock walls without the use of ropes or harnesses. While bouldering can be done without any equipment, most climbers use climbing shoes to help se ...

, and orienteering destination. Canoe orienteering events are held on the lake.

Name

The original pond was called Pawtuckaway Pond, and the name stayed after the pond was enlarged such that it encompassed nearby Dolloff Pond. According to the

U.S. Board on Geographic Names The United States Board on Geographic Names (BGN) is a federal body operating under the United States Secretary of the Interior. The purpose of the board is to establish and maintain uniform usage of geographic names throughout the federal govern ...

, this is still its official name, and anything that uses federal data also uses that name. However, it is usually referred to as Pawtuckaway Lake by residents and organizations, even by Pawtuckaway State Park.

History

The area was originally composed of many

brooks Brooks may refer to: Places ;Antarctica *Cape Brooks ;Canada *Brooks, Alberta ;United States * Brooks, Alabama * Brooks, Arkansas *Brooks, California *Brooks, Georgia * Brooks, Iowa * Brooks, Kentucky * Brooks, Maine * Brooks Township, Michigan ...

which collected in low spots and formed two small ponds: Dolloff Pond and Pawtuckaway Pond. Some of the brooks that ran through the area eventually flowed into the Pawtuckaway River. Both the North River and the Pawtuckaway River then fed into the

. The construction of two colonial sawmills marked the beginning of enlarging the small ponds. On the north end, in 1729 a sawmill enlarged Pawtuckaway Pond. On the south end, in 1732 another sawmill enlarged Dolloff Pond. Beginning in 1825 the Newmarket Manufacturing Company began to acquire land in the area for the construction of a reservoir to supply a consistent source of water power to its

textile mill Textile Manufacturing or Textile Engineering is a major industry. It is largely based on the conversion of fibre into yarn, then yarn into fabric. These are then dyed or printed, fabricated into cloth which is then converted into useful goods ...

in nearby Newmarket, downstream from the lake. In 1836 two dams and several dikes were constructed that changed the features and character of the two ponds, causing their waters to merge except when the water levels were drawn down. Eventually, steam power replaced water power, and gradually less water was drained from the lake to generate power. As water levels rose over time, Dolloff Pond and Pawtuckaway Pond stayed continuously merged as a single body of water. When the Newmarket Manufacturing Company fell on hard times in the early 1920s, it closed its mill in Newmarket. Its interests in the lake eventually passed into the hands of the New Hampshire Electric Company, which outfitted the dams with generators for

hydroelectric power Hydroelectricity, or hydroelectric power, is electricity generated from hydropower (water power). Hydropower supplies one sixth of the world's electricity, almost 4500 TWh in 2020, which is more than all other renewable sources combined an ...

. Ultimately, the production of electricity became unprofitable and in December 1955 NH Electric deeded the lake, its islands, its adjacent land, two dams, the dikes, and the water rights to the State of New Hampshire."A plan for the development of the state property at Pawtuckaway Lake." August 1958, p. 1 https://babel.hathitrust.org/cgi/pt?id=uiug.30112089645656&view=1up&seq=9 In 1958 Dolloff Pond was officially considered merged into Pawtuckaway Pond. The level of the lake is now managed for recreational and environmental uses.

Geography

The lake contains many shallow parts where rocks can be seen, even in the middle of the lake. It also contains countless small

islet An islet is a very small, often unnamed island. Most definitions are not precise, but some suggest that an islet has little or no vegetation and cannot support human habitation. It may be made of rock, sand and/or hard coral; may be permanen ...

s, ranging from small rocks protruding from the water to large islands. These numerous features make the lake attractive for canoe orienteering. The largest island is Big Island, although it is not obviously an island. It is considered to be an island because on its western side it is separated from the mainland by marshland. The southern portion of Big Island contains about half of the campsites in Pawtuckaway State Park. The second largest island is Horse Island, named so because of its shape. Horse Island also contains a large proportion of the park's campsites. The remaining campsites are located on the north side of Neal's Cove. The park has picnic areas, a launch for power boats, a separate canoe and kayak launch, and a beach area with a roped-off section for swimming. The water level of the lake is managed to maintain separate summer and winter target levels, and to ensure minimum outflows during droughts.

Fishery

The lake is classified as a warmwater fishery, with observed species including smallmouth and

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, bu ...

chain pickerel The chain pickerel (''Esox niger'') is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family (family Esocidae) of order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the American pickerel (''E. americanus'') belong to the ''Esox'' genus of pike. Taxonomy Fren ...

white perch The white perch (''Morone americana'') is not a true perch but is a fish of the temperate bass family, Moronidae, notable as a food and game fish in eastern North America. In some places it is referred to as "Silver Bass". The name "White per ...

horned pout The brown bullhead (''Ameiurus nebulosus'') is a fish of the family Ictaluridae that is widely distributed in North America. It is a species of bullhead catfish and is similar to the black bullhead (''Ameiurus melas'') and yellow bullhead (''Am ...

, and black crappie.

External links

Pawtuckaway Lake Water Quality AdvisoryPawtuckaway Lake Water LevelPawtuckaway Lake Improvement Association

References