Lake Hopatcong is the largest freshwater body in

New Jersey New Jersey is a U.S. state, state located in both the Mid-Atlantic States, Mid-Atlantic and Northeastern United States, Northeastern regions of the United States. Located at the geographic hub of the urban area, heavily urbanized Northeas ...

, United States, about in area. Located from the

Delaware River The Delaware River is a major river in the Mid-Atlantic region of the United States and is the longest free-flowing (undammed) river in the Eastern United States. From the meeting of its branches in Hancock, New York, the river flows for a ...

and from

Manhattan, New York City Manhattan ( ) is the most densely populated and geographically smallest of the five boroughs of New York City. Coextensive with New York County, Manhattan is the smallest county by area in the U.S. state of New York. Located almost entire ...

, the lake forms part of the border between

Sussex Sussex (Help:IPA/English, /ˈsʌsɪks/; from the Old English ''Sūþseaxe''; lit. 'South Saxons'; 'Sussex') is an area within South East England that was historically a kingdom of Sussex, kingdom and, later, a Historic counties of England, ...

and Morris counties in the state's northern highlands region. Lake Hopatcong was produced by damming and flooding of two ponds, known as the Great Pond and Little Pond, and the

Musconetcong River The Musconetcong River is a tributary of the Delaware River in northwestern New Jersey in the United States.U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed April 1, 2011 It flows throug ...

, its natural outlet. Historically known as a resort lake for vacationing New Yorkers, it is now a mostly suburban residential lake.

Name

The exact origin of the name Hopatcong is unknown, though it is most commonly attributed to the

Lenape The Lenape (, , ; ), also called the Lenni Lenape and Delaware people, are an Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who live in the United States and Canada. The Lenape's historica ...

Indian word for "stone water," or "stone over water". Some linguists believe "Hopatcong" to be a derivative of the

word ''hapakonoesson'', meaning "pipe stone". One explanation of the origin of the word ''Hopatcong'' is that it was a derivation from the Lenni Lenape word ''Huppakong'' meaning "honey waters of many coves," but this wording was probably invented at the beginning of the 20th century to stimulate tourism.Welcome to Hopatcong, Historical Information
Lakelubbers.com
Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey, USA
, Retrieved August 20, 2016,..."The origins of the unusual name, Hopatcong, are disputed. Some say that the name derives from the Native American Lenni Lenape word "huppakong," meaning "honey waters of many coves."..."Bob Koppenhaver, NJ Skylands
Lake Hopatcong -- Ye Olde Lake
, Retrieved August 20, 2016, "...One thing is for certain: the name does not mean "honey waters of many coves", as fanciful early travel writers claimed...." Before the late 1700s, Lake Hopatcong was known by several names, including Great Pond and Little Pond (before flooding into a single lake), Sandhay Sea (circa 1648), Brookland Pond (mid-1700s), and Musconetcong Pond (1769).

Lake formation

Before the last ice age, the waters of the prehistoric Hopatcong basin fed into the

Raritan River The Raritan River is a river of the U.S. state of New Jersey. Its Drainage basin, watershed drains much of the mountainous areas in the North Jersey, northern and Central Jersey, central sections of the state, emptying into the Raritan Bay near ...

. The glacier that shaped much of the New Jersey Highlands formed a long terminal

moraine A moraine is any accumulation of unconsolidated debris (regolith and Rock (geology), rock), sometimes referred to as glacial till, that occurs in both currently and formerly glaciated regions, and that has been previously carried along by a gla ...

that forced water from the basin into the

. The glacier left behind two ponds, nearly apart. In the early 1700s, the Great Pond stretched between Henderson Bay and today's Hopatcong State Park. Little Pond was a small body of water to the south of Woodport. The two lakes were first dammed in 1750. By 1831, Lake Hopatcong had been flooded to nearly its current shape.

History

Native Americans

The

Indians discovered the area of Lake Hopatcong about 12,000 years ago. They settled near the Great Pond and Little Pond, which provided abundant fish and forested shores with ample game. The waters became important to the traditions of the

matrilineal Matrilineality, at times called matriliny, is the tracing of kinship through the female line. It may also correlate with a social system in which people identify with their matriline, their mother's lineage, and which can involve the inheritan ...

clans A clan is a group of people united by actual or perceived kinship and descent. Even if lineage details are unknown, a clan may claim descent from a founding member or apical ancestor who serves as a symbol of the clan's unity. Many societie ...

of Native Americans.

Colonial development

Colonial exploration of the Great and Little Ponds began in the 1600s. Between 1750 and 1764, a dam was built on the

for the Brookland Forge and mill where the river empties from the lake (now the area of Hopatcong State Park), raising the water level by about and joining the Great and Little Ponds into one. By this time, most of the local Lenape population had died of disease or left the area. In the years that followed the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

, little development occurred near Lake Hopatcong because of the mountainous terrain.

Industrialization

More than above sea level, Lake Hopatcong served as a natural high point and primary water supply for the

Morris Canal The Morris Canal (1829–1924) was a toll road, common carrier Anthracite, anthracite coal canal across North Jersey, northern New Jersey that connected the two industrial canals in Easton, Pennsylvania across the Delaware River from its weste ...

between the

and

New York Harbor New York Harbor is a bay that covers all of the Upper Bay. It is at the mouth of the Hudson River near the East River tidal estuary on the East Coast of the United States. New York Harbor is generally synonymous with Upper New York Bay, ...

. In 1831, the Morris Canal Company purchased the Brookland Forge site and replaced the dam with its own, with the intention of using the lake water to supply the

, which would connect Phillipsburg to Newark. This new dam raised the water above the original level of Great Pond, and caused the Great Pond to connect with Little Pond and form the current Lake Hopatcong. The flooding and subsequent formation of a single, large lake created a new geography of the area. Halsey Island and Raccoon Island, the only two true islands on Lake Hopatcong, were disconnected from the mainland. Bertrand Island and Liffy Island formed as

peninsula A peninsula is a landform that extends from a mainland and is only connected to land on one side. Peninsulas exist on each continent. The largest peninsula in the world is the Arabian Peninsula. Etymology The word ''peninsula'' derives , . T ...

s. Other changes included the creation of Prospect Point, the backflowing of the River Styx in Hopatcong to create an

inlet An inlet is a typically long and narrow indentation of a shoreline such as a small arm, cove, bay, sound, fjord, lagoon or marsh, that leads to an enclosed larger body of water such as a lake, estuary, gulf or marginal sea. Overview In ...

, and King Cove and the south end of the lake near

Landing Landing is the last part of a flight, where a flying animal, aircraft, or spacecraft returns to the ground. When the flying object returns to water, the process is called alighting, although it is commonly called "landing", "touchdown" or " spl ...

. In the 1850s, the Morris and Essex became the first railroad to reach Lake Hopatcong on the southern end. In the 1860s, the Ogden Mine Railroad used Nolan's Point to transfer ore from northern New Jersey mines into canal boats. The railroad and canal systems were the chief means of transporting coal, iron, and zinc across New Jersey in the 1860s. In 1866, over of freight was transported on the canal.

Resort destination

In 1882, passenger rail service came to Lake Hopatcong, brought by the

Central Railroad of New Jersey Central is an adjective usually referring to being in the center of some place or (mathematical) object. Central may also refer to: Directions and generalised locations * Central Africa, a region in the centre of Africa continent, also known as ...

, which terminated at Nolan's Point. This turned the lake into a popular summer resort. Among the hotels built to support the growing tourism industry was the luxurious Breslin Hotel, constructed in Van Every Cove in Mount Arlington with 250 rooms and electricity. During the peak summer season, the lake was so popular that hotel rooms were difficult to come by and some visitors resorted to

camping Camping is a form of outdoor recreation or outdoor education involving overnight stays with a basic temporary shelter such as a tent. Camping can also include a recreational vehicle, sheltered cabins, a permanent tent, a shelter such as a Bivy bag ...

near the lake. Various amusements sprang up around the lake. Bertrand Island Amusement Park was open for the late spring, summer, and early fall seasons. The island also hosted beauty pageants, including an unofficial 1934

Miss America Miss America is an annual competition that is open to women from the United States between the ages of 18 and 28. Originating in 1921 as a "bathing beauty revue", the contest is judged on competition segments with scoring percentages: ''Priva ...

. The Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club, constructed in 1910 on Bertrand Island, remains a landmark. Lake Hopatcong hosted several strong

chess Chess is a board game for two players. It is an abstract strategy game that involves Perfect information, no hidden information and no elements of game of chance, chance. It is played on a square chessboard, board consisting of 64 squares arran ...

tournaments in the 1920s, including the Ninth American Chess Congress in 1923, which was won by Frank Marshall and Abraham Kupchik, and another tournament in 1926, which was won by world champion

José Raúl Capablanca José Raúl Capablanca y Graupera (19 November 1888 – 8 March 1942) was a Cuban chess player who was the third World Chess Championship, world chess champion from 1921 to 1927. A chess prodigy, he was widely renowned for his exceptional Chess ...

. Lake Hopatcong flourished in the 1920s, and many famous people owned property on the lake, including

Vaudeville Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment which began in France in the middle of the 19th century. A ''vaudeville'' was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a drama ...

's Joe Cook, who owned Sleepless Hollow in Davis Cove; Vaudeville's

Owen McGiveney Owen Joseph McGiveney (4 May 1884 – 31 July 1967) was an English-born actor. He initially gained attention as a quick-change artist, and later worked on stage, in films and in television, principally as a character actor in the United State ...

(father to Maura McGiveney), who owned a house in the River Styx section for more than 30 years; actress Lotta Crabtree, who owned the Attol Tryst home in Mount Arlington; and inventor and chemist Hudson Maxim. Their presence attracted many famous visitors, including

Babe Ruth George Herman "Babe" Ruth (February 6, 1895 – August 16, 1948) was an American professional Baseball in the United States, baseball player whose career in Major League Baseball (MLB) spanned 22 seasons, from 1914 through 1935. Nickna ...

Bud Abbott William Alexander "Bud" Abbott (October 2, 1897 – April 24, 1974) was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known as the straight man in the comedy duo Abbott and Costello. Early life Abbott was born in Asbury Park, New Jer ...

Bert Lahr Irving Lahrheim (August 13, 1895 – December 4, 1967), known professionally as Bert Lahr, was an American stage and screen actor and comedian. He was best known for his role as the Cowardly Lion, as well as his counterpart Kansas farmworker "Z ...

Lou Costello Louis Francis Cristillo (March 6, 1906 – March 3, 1959), better known as Lou Costello, was an American comedian, actor and producer. He was best known for his double act with Bud Abbott and their routine " Who's on First?". Abbott and Cos ...

, and Milton Berle.

Conversion to residential lake

Tourism and other business endeavors near the lake, hit hard by the

Great Depression The Great Depression was a severe global economic downturn from 1929 to 1939. The period was characterized by high rates of unemployment and poverty, drastic reductions in industrial production and international trade, and widespread bank and ...

, waned in the 1930s and 1940s. Permanent residences were constructed in the area, including small bungalows, in the 1940s and '50s. Much of the modern residential development surrounding the lake was completed in the 1960s and '70s.

21st century

2000 flood

More than of rain fell in a small area of southeastern Sussex and northwestern Morris County in northwestern New Jersey during August 11–14, 2000. Doppler radar estimates of total rainfall for the 4-day period reached about along the border between Sussex and Morris Counties. A severe thunderstorm on August 12 dropped so much rain in six hours that it was judged a 1,000-year event. Peak flows at the USGS gauges on Lake Hopatcong (01455400) and Musconetcong River (01455500), among others, were the highest ever recorded. These gauges are at sites that drain areas that received 10 or more inches of rain during August 11–14. Peak flows on Lake Hopatcong and on the Musconetcong River just downstream from the lake exceeded those of a 100-year flood. Lake Hopatcong sustained flooding damage, particularly the Great Cove area at Nolan's Point.

2008-09 drawdown

Every five years, starting the day after

Labor Day Labor Day is a Federal holidays in the United States, federal holiday in the United States celebrated on the first Monday of September to honor and recognize the Labor history of the United States, American labor movement and the works and con ...

, the

New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection The New Jersey Department of Environmental Protection (NJDEP) is a government agency in the U.S. state of New Jersey that is responsible for managing the state's natural resources and addressing issues related to pollution. NJDEP now has a staf ...

’s (DEP) water-level management plan allows the lake to be lowered to inspect the dam structure, repair lakeshore structures, control aquatic vegetation, and remove silt and drainage material from areas around the lake. From December 2008 to January 2009, the DEP left the dam open almost three weeks too long, which caused the water to drop almost a foot (0.3 m) below the normal drawdown level. A group of residents and business owners, led by Ray Fernandez of Bridge Marina, Inc., sued the DEP and the State of New Jersey, claiming that the DEP, against policy, released an extra . As of 2009 the case was being appealed in local court. On May 11, 2009, the American Power Boat Association (APBA) and the Lake Hopatcong Racing Association (LHRA) postponed their annual races due to the low water level. However, with the large amount of rainfall that June, the lake returned to its proper level above the normal average depth. In July 2014, there were reports of a

boa constrictor The boa constrictor (scientific name also ''Boa constrictor''), also known as the common boa, is a species of large, non-venomous, heavy-bodied snake that is frequently kept and bred in captivity. The boa constrictor is a member of the Family (b ...

in the lake, but officials by August mostly figured it was a myth or a hoax.August 1, 201
DEP shuts down snake in Lake Hopatcong theory, others not so sure
, Retrieved August 21, 2016, "...Larry Ragonese, the DEP’s chief spokesman, didn’t discount the idea that a pet owner got tired of the maintenance... There is no evidence of a species depleted or pets disappearing,’.." According to one report, the reports caused a 10% drop in tourism to the lake during the summer of 2014.

Today

Lake Hopatcong is now mostly a residential lake whose few public access points include Hopatcong State Park and Lee's County Park Marina. Most of the shoreline is privately owned by individual lakefront residents, homeowner or community associations, or private businesses (e.g., restaurants and marinas). Lake Hopatcong, unlike most lakes in New Jersey (other than Greenwood Lake on the New York border and Lake Lackawanna in Byram), has bars and restaurants that are accessible directly by boat. Popular tourist attractions on the lake include the Hopatcong State Park, the Lake Hopatcong Historical Museum, and the Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club. Sandcastle seen from lake with people in background

Sandcastle seen from lake with people in background

On November 22, 2005, the EPA gave the Lake Hopatcong Commission a federal grant of $745,000 to improve the water quality and prevent

phosphorus Phosphorus is a chemical element; it has Chemical symbol, symbol P and atomic number 15. All elemental forms of phosphorus are highly Reactivity (chemistry), reactive and are therefore never found in nature. They can nevertheless be prepared ar ...

from entering the lake.

Lake management

Lake Hopatcong is shared by two counties (

and Morris) and four

boroughs A borough is an administrative division in various English language, English-speaking countries. In principle, the term ''borough'' designates a self-governing walled town, although in practice, official use of the term varies widely. History ...

and townships ( Mount Arlington, Hopatcong, Jefferson Township, and Roxbury Township). At some point in the 20th century, decisions about lake management were shaped by the state-funded Lake Hopatcong Regional Planning Board, which made recommendations to the state. Made up of representatives from each town, county, and the state, the board proved ineffective. Weeds proliferated, water quality declined, and recreation suffered.Zoschak, Aughey named to new Lake Hopatcong Commission. New Jersey Hills. March 22, 2001.
/ref> In January 2001,

Governor of New Jersey The governor of New Jersey is the head of government of the U.S. state of New Jersey. The office of governor is an elected position with a four-year term. There is a two consecutive term limit, with no limitation on non-consecutive terms. The ...

Christie Whitman signed a bill to create the Lake Hopatcong Commission, a state-funded governing body with an annual budget to maintain, upgrade and protect the lake. The commission consists of 11 members: a representative from Morris county, Sussex county, Hopatcong, Jefferson Twp, Mount Arlington, and Roxbury Twp, and five state members, including one from the Department of Environmental Protection and one from Community Affairs. The chairperson of the commission and two other public members are appointed by the governor. But the commission has seen annual budget cuts since its inception, and has provided little more than weed harvesting services. In 2012, the state took over the weed harvesting services through Hopatcong State Park. The Lake Hopatcong Commission was not provided state funding for 2013 and now operates solely on grants. The commission administrator was laid off on December 21, 2012, and administrative responsibilities for grants are managed by Jefferson Township.

Wildlife

Lake Hopatcong State Park NJ beach scene houses in distance

Lake Hopatcong State Park NJ woman on grass

Lake Hopatcong State Park NJ wildflowers near path

With the probable exception of the

, Lake Hopatcong is home to the greatest variety of

gamefish Game fish, sport fish or quarry refer to popular fish species pursued by recreational fishers (typically anglers), and can be freshwater or saltwater fish. Game fish can be eaten after being caught, preserved as taxidermy (though rare), or ...

species A species () is often defined as the largest group of organisms in which any two individuals of the appropriate sexes or mating types can produce fertile offspring, typically by sexual reproduction. It is the basic unit of Taxonomy (biology), ...

of any

waterway A waterway is any Navigability, navigable body of water. Broad distinctions are useful to avoid ambiguity, and disambiguation will be of varying importance depending on the nuance of the equivalent word in other ways. A first distinction is ...

in New Jersey. Each spring, the New Jersey Division of Fish and Wildlife stocks the lake with

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributary, tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in North America and Asia. The steelhead (sometimes called steelhead trout) is an Fish migration#Classification, ...

, and in past years also stocked brook and

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

, although they have not typically held over and survived the summers, due to an absence of cold, deep, oxygenated pockets of water in the lake.

Largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus nigricans'') is a carnivorous, freshwater fish, freshwater, ray-finned fish in the Centrarchidae (sunfish) family, native to the eastern United States, eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada an ...

smallmouth bass The smallmouth bass (''Micropterus dolomieu'') is a species of freshwater fish in the Centrarchidae, sunfish family (biology), family (Centrarchidae) of the order (biology), order Centrarchiformes. It is the type species of its genus ''Micropterus ...

, sunfish, yellow and white

perch Perch is a common name for freshwater fish from the genus ''Perca'', which belongs to the family Percidae of the large order Perciformes. The name comes from , meaning the type species of this genus, the European perch (''P. fluviatilis'') ...

rock bass The rock bass (''Ambloplites rupestris''), also known as the rock perch, goggle-eye, red eye, and black perch, is a freshwater fish native to east-central North America. This red-eyed fish is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish family (bi ...

bluegill The bluegill (''Lepomis macrochirus''), sometimes referred to as "bream", "brim", "sunny", or, in Texas, "copper nose", is a species of North American freshwater fish, native to and commonly found in streams, rivers, lakes, ponds and wetlands ea ...

crappie Crappies () are two species of North American freshwater fish of the genus ''Pomoxis'' in the family Centrarchidae (sunfishes). Both species of crappies are popular game fish among recreational anglers. Etymology The genus name ''Pomoxi ...

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

, channel catfish, bullhead, and

carp The term carp (: carp) is a generic common name for numerous species of freshwater fish from the family (biology), family Cyprinidae, a very large clade of ray-finned fish mostly native to Eurasia. While carp are prized game fish, quarries and a ...

all inhabit the lake. Eels also have been caught. Hybrid

striped bass The striped bass (''Morone saxatilis''), also called the Atlantic striped bass, striper, linesider, rock, or rockfish, is an anadromous perciform fish of the family Moronidae found primarily along the Atlantic coast of North America. It has ...

walleye The walleye (''Sander vitreus'', Synonym (taxonomy), synonym ''Stizostedion vitreum''), also called the walleyed pike, yellow pike, yellow pikeperch or yellow pickerel, is a freshwater perciform fish native to most of Canada and to the Northern ...

, and most recently,

muskellunge The muskellunge (''Esox masquinongy''), often shortened to muskie, musky, ski, or lunge, is a species of large freshwater predatory fish native to North America. It is the largest member of the pike family, Esocidae. Origin of name The name ...

have been stocked within the last few decades and now are thriving. Catfish also are stocked from time to time. The main forage is the abundant alewife

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

, (Clupea vernalis), the basis of the lake's fish

food chain A food chain is a linear network of links in a food web, often starting with an autotroph (such as grass or algae), also called a producer, and typically ending at an apex predator (such as grizzly bears or killer whales), detritivore (such as ...

References

External links

Lake Hopatcong State ParkLake Hopatcong Historical MuseumHopatcong WebsiteLanding, NJ on Lake HopatcongLake Hopatcong Foundation
{{DEFAULTSORT:Hopatcong Reservoirs in New Jersey Lakes of Morris County, New Jersey Lakes of Sussex County, New Jersey Musconetcong River