Keuka Lake
Keuka Lake | ||
---|---|---|
Primary inflows Keuka Inlet, Sugar Creek, Glen Brook, Wagener Glen Creek | | |
Primary outflows | Keuka Lake Outlet | |
Basin countries | United States | |
Max. length | 20 mi (32 km) | |
Max. width | 0.5 to 2 mi (0.80 to 3.22 km) | |
Surface area | 11,730 acres (47.5 km2) | |
Average depth | 101 ft (31 m) | |
Max. depth | 187 ft (57 m) | |
Water volume | .35 cu mi (1.5 km3) | |
Shore length1 | 60 mi (97 km) | |
Surface elevation | 715 ft (218 m)[1] | |
Settlements | Penn Yan Hammondsport Branchport | |
1 Shore length is not a well-defined measure. |
Keuka Lake (
Description
The Y-shaped empties into another Finger Lake, Seneca Lake, at the village of Dresden, Yates County, New York through a stream called Keuka Lake Outlet at the lake's northeastern end in Penn Yan.
History
The Native-Indians around Keuka Lake referred to the two-pronged lake as, "canoe landing." In the latter 18th century the first white settlers to the area named the lake, Crooked Lake.[2] In 1779, during the American Revolutionary War, the Sullivan Expedition clashed with and defeated the British who occupied the region, along with the various Iroquois tribes who were allied with them. Upon their return home Sullivan's troops, having seen the natural beauty of the lake region, with its rich soil, carried encouraging reports to the people back in the suburban east. Subsequently, many people were inspired to settle in the region and upon their arrival soon established wheat-producing farms about the lake, and grist mills along the outlet of Keuka Lake.[3]
In 1788 the township of
The New York State legislature, after many months of deliberation, approved the building of a canal in 1829, connecting Keuka Lake with Seneca Lake, which involved widening the northern outlet of Keuka Lake. The outlet was widened to accommodate the same size vessels used on the Erie Canal. Given the name the
Keuka Lake has an extensive history involving steamboats. Early in the 19th Century, George McClure, of Bath, launched a sailboat, the
On Saturday, May 8, 1892, the steamer Mary Bell was launched into Keuka Lake. Referred to as "The Queen of ", with a 600-passenger capacity, the vessel was 150 feet in length with a beam that exceeded 20 feet, making it the largest vessel ever to cruise the lake. Built on the Hammondsport waterfront by the Union Dry Dock Company of Buffalo, the steamer cost $40,000. It achieved speeds in excess of 18 miles per hour, considered fast for a vessel of its size in those days. Judge Struble of Penn Yan delivered a speech to more than 5,000 spectators.[18][19] After the speech the wife of the manager of the shipbuilding company had the honor of christening the ship, with the words, "I Christen Thee Mary Bell".[20] After some mechanical delays with the launching apparatus the ship slipped into at 7:30 pm amid the cheers of those who came to see the event. The trial run of the entire length of was made on June 22, as the ship cruised from Penn Yan to Hammondsport at the opposite end of the lake 20 miles to the south. The Mary Bell remained in operation for 30 years. She was the last steamboat to operate on the lake in 1922, ending 85 years of steamboat history on .[18][19]
The wine industry got its start in 1830 when
Hammondsport was the birthplace and home of Glenn Curtiss, a pioneer of naval aviation, and is now the site of the Glenn H. Curtiss Museum. Early in the 20th century, the first watercraft airplanes invented by Curtiss were developed and tested on Keuka Lake.[24] Several variations of the Curtiss Model H, the world's first "flying boat", made numerous take-offs and landings in Keuka Lake. During this time the Curtis Manufacturing Company was established in Hammondsport. Its great success and national notoriety is said to have "put Hammondsport and Keuka Lake on the map".[25][26]
Ecology
This section needs additional citations for verification. (October 2023) |
This body of water possesses large and healthy populations of
Humans, fish, and wildlife depend on the rich ecology of the lake habitat. The complex ecosystem is subject to contamination of the watershed, largely by stormwater runoff. The Keuka Lake Association (KLA) monitors the water of the lake to ensure that it is suitable for its many uses, such as drinking, fishing, and swimming. Tributary streams, groundwater, and the lake itself are regularly tested for water quality. Additionally, KLA collects and publishes data about the lake level.
The infestation of European zebra mussels, which has impacted many North American bodies of water, has also affected Keuka Lake and other Finger Lakes in New York. In addition to disrupting the lake's ecosystem, zebra mussels can be a nuisance to lakeside homeowners. Their small size enables them to clog water intake pipes.[27][28] Furthermore, their sharp shells can cause lacerations on the feet of bathers. Bathers may wish to wear water shoes when swimming in the lake.
Surroundings
The village of Penn Yan is at the northeastern tip of the lake, and Branchport is at the northwestern tip. Hammondsport lies at the south end of the lake.
While the shore of the lake is primarily residential,
An important component of the economy of this region is based on grape growing and wine production.[30]
Wine trail
These vineyards are included in the Keuka Lake Wine Trail:
- Barrington Cellars/Buzzard Crest Vineyards
- BarrelHouse 6 Distillery
- Bully Hill Vineyards
- Heron Hill Winery
- Hunt Country Vineyards
- Keuka Spring Vineyards
- Dr. Konstantin Frank's Vinifera Wine Cellars
- McGregor Vineyard Winery
- Ravines Wine Cellars
- Rooster Hill Winery
- Stever Hill Vineyards
- Point of the Bluff Vineyards
The winery on the lake, but not listed on the official Keuka Lake Wine Trail, is Domaine Leseurre.
See also
- The Bluff Point Stoneworks
- Keuka College, founded 1790
Notes
Citations
- ^ a b "Keuka Lake". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved June 9, 2015.
- ^ Merrill, 1944, p. 110
- ^ a b c Dumas, 1989, Journal article
- ^ Merrill, 1944, p. 89
- ^ Wisbey, 1964, pp. 105-106
- ^ Clayton, 1879, p. 55
- ^ Martin, 2005, Journal essay
- ^ Dumas, June, 1989, Journal article
- ^ "Carding, textile production". Encyclopedia Britannica. Retrieved October 17, 2023.
- ^ Dumas,1990, Journal article
- ^ Bretherton, 2023, Essay
- ^ a b c Clayton, 1879, p. 413
- ^ Palmer, 1994, Journal article
- ^ Merrill, 1944, p. 112
- ^ a b Sherer, 1995, Journal article
- ^ a b Merrill, 1944, p. 113
- ^ a b Sherer, 1989, Journal article
- ^ a b Hammondsport Herald, Wed., May 11, 1892
- ^ a b Mitchell, 1944, pp. 115-116
- ^ MacAlpine & Mitchell, 2015, pp. 66-67
- ^ Merrill, 1944, p. 146
- ^ Cattell, 2014, p. 39
- ^ Cattell, 2014, p. 44, 52
- ^ Mitchell 2001, p. 10
- ^ Casey, 1981, p. 1
- ^ Molson, 1995, p.
- ^ "Keuka Lake Book - Zebra Mussels". Archived from the original on 2013-04-15. Retrieved 2012-06-05.
- ^ Locations with Zebra Mussels
- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. March 13, 2009.
- ^ "Home". keukalake.com.
Bibliography
- Bretherton, Terry (2023). "Town of Urbana, Steuben County, New York est. 1822". Retrieved October 6, 2023.
- Casey, Louis S (1981). Curtiss, the Hammondsport Era, 1907-1915. New York: Crown Publishers. ISBN 978-0-51754-5652.
- Cattell, Hudson (2014). Wines of eastern North America : from Prohibition to the present : a history and desk reference. Ithaca, NY: Cornell University Press. ISBN 978-0-80145-1980.
- Clayton, W. Woodford (1879). History of Steuben County, New York, with illustrations and biographical sketches of some of its prominent men and pioneers. Philadelphia: Lewis, Peck & Co.
- Dumas, Frances (March 1989). "A History of the Crooked Lake Outlet". The Crooked Lake Review.
- —— (June 1989). "Along the Outlet of Keuka Lake". The Crooked Lake Review. I.
- —— (March 1990). "Along the Outlet of Keuka Lake". The Crooked Lake Review. II.
- MacAlpine, Richard S.; Mitchell, Charles R. (2015). Steamboats on Keuka Lake:: Penn Yan, Hammondsport and the Heart of the Finger Lakes. Arcadia Publishing.
- Merrill, Arch (1944). The Lakes Country. Rochester, NY: Louis Heindl & Son.
- Mitchell, Charles R (2001). Glenn H. Curtiss, aviation pioneer. Charleston, SC: Arcadia. ISBN 978-0-73850-5190.
- Molson, K. M (1995). The Curtiss HS flying boats. Ottawa: National Aviation Museum. ISBN 978-0-66012-0157.
- Palmer, Richard F. (November 1994). "Bath & Hammondsport Railroad". The Crooked Lake Review.
- —— (Fall 1998). "A Schooner on Crooked Lake". The Crooked Lake Review.
- Sherer, Richard (January 1989). "Finger Lakes Grape Pioneers". The Crooked Lake Review.
- —— (August 1995). "An Excursion on the Keuka Maid". The Crooked Lake Review.
- Wisbey, Herbert Andrew (1964). Pioneer prophetess: Jemima Wilkinson, the Publick Universal Friend. Ithaca, N. Y.: Cornell University Press.
- "The Mary Bell: The Queen of Keuka Lake: Taken from the Hammondsport Herald, 1892". The Crooked Lake Review. July 1989.
Further reading
- Beautiful Keuka Lake, from the Elmira Daily Advertiser, 1902
- Keuka Cottage Boy, by Robert V. Anderson