Greenwood Lake is an interstate lake approximately seven miles (12 km) long, straddling the border of New Jersey and New York. It is located in West Milford, New Jersey (in Passaic County) and Greenwood Lake, New York (in Orange County).
The lake was originally called "Quampium" by the Munsee 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 in 1837 to increase the size of the lake for water power downstream.
The enlarged lake began to attract tourists. During its resort era, several steamboats operated on the lake, including the Greenwood Lake Transportation Company's Arlington and 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. These steamboats met the trains and took passengers to the various resorts around the lake in both states.
There is a seaplane area on the lake, a few large marinas and lakeside restaurants with docks. Greenwood Lake Airport just south of the lake has a runway long enough to handle small jets.
There are numerous marinas and restaurants along Greenwood Lake.
Read more about Greenwood Lake: Works About The Lake
Famous quotes containing the words greenwood and/or lake:
“Oh, many a day have I made good ale in the glen,
That came not of stream, or malt, like the brewing of men;
My bed was the ground, my roof the greenwood above,
And the wealth that I sought, one far kind glance from my love.”
—Unknown. The Outlaw of Loch Lene (l. 1–4)
“These beginnings of commerce on a lake in the wilderness are very interesting,—these larger white birds that come to keep company with the gulls.”
—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)