Lake Kanawauke is a primarily man-made lake in Harriman State Park. The name is Onondaga

Onondaga (tribe)

The Onondaga are one of the original five constituent nations of the Iroquois Confederacy. Their traditional homeland is in and around Onondaga County, New York...

 in origin, and means "place of much water". There are three parts to the lake, lower, middle and upper; the total area is 186 acre (0.75271596 km²). It is located in the Town of Tuxedo

Tuxedo, New York

Tuxedo is a town located in Orange County, New York. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 3,334. The town is in the southeastern part of the county. NY Route 17 and the New York State Thruway pass through the town...

 in Orange County

Orange County, New York

Orange County is a county located in the U.S. state of New York. It is part of the Poughkeepsie–Newburgh–Middletown, NY Metropolitan Statistical Area and is located at the northern reaches of the New York metropolitan area. The county sits in the state's scenic Mid-Hudson Region of the Hudson Valley...

 and the Town of Haverstraw

Haverstraw (town), New York

Haverstraw is a town in Rockland County, New York, United States located north of the Town of Clarkstown and the Town of Ramapo; east of Orange County, New York; south of the Town of Stony Point and west of the Hudson River. The town runs from the west to the east border of the county in its...

 in Rockland County

Rockland County, New York

Rockland County is a suburban county 15 miles to the northwest of Manhattan and part of the New York City Metropolitan Area, in the U.S. state of New York. It is the southernmost county in New York west of the Hudson River, and the smallest county in New York outside of New York City. The...

.

History

The lakes were built by the Palisades Interstate Park Commission

Palisades Interstate Park Commission

Palisades Interstate Park and its creator, the Palisades Interstate Park Commission, was formed in 1900 by governors Theodore Roosevelt of New York and Foster M. Voorhees of New Jersey in response to the destruction of the Palisades by quarry operators in the late 19th century...

 under William A. Welch

William A. Welch

Major William Addams Welch was an American engineer and environmentalist who would have a major impact on the state and national park systems of the United States...

.

Lower Kanawauke was built in 1915 by damming Stony Brook. It was used by the Boy Scouts for camping; by 1930 there were fourteen camps on the lake.

Middle Kanawauke was built in 1916 by damming Stillwater Creek. It was used by the Brooklyn

Brooklyn

Brooklyn is the most populous of New York City's five boroughs, with nearly 2.6 million residents, and the second-largest in area. Since 1896, Brooklyn has had the same boundaries as Kings County, which is now the most populous county in New York State and the second-most densely populated...

 Boy Scouts, who erected six camps and built the 35 miles (56.3 km) White Bar trail system centered on the lake.

Upper Kanawauke is the only natural lake of the three. In the mid-nineteenth century there was a small settlement on the lake shore. Seven Boy Scout camps were built around the lake starting in 1917, one of which became a Girl Scout

Girl Scouts of the USA

The Girl Scouts of the United States of America is a youth organization for girls in the United States and American girls living abroad. It describes itself as "the world's preeminent organization dedicated solely to girls". It was founded by Juliette Gordon Low in 1912 and was organized after Low...

camp, Camp Quid Nunc (Latin for "What now").

Sources

• Myles, William J., Harriman Trails, A Guide and History, The New York-New Jersey Trail Conference, New York, N.Y., 1999.