Lake Winola is a public

glacial lake A glacial lake is a body of water with origins from glacier activity. They are formed when a glacier erodes the land and then melts, filling the depression created by the glacier. Formation Near the end of the last glacial period, roughly 10,0 ...

in Overfield Township, Wyoming County,

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania, officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a U.S. state, state spanning the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern United States, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes region, Great Lakes regions o ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. The lake is composed of an eastern and western basin, separated by a peninsula entering the lake from north to south. The lake is managed by the

Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission The Pennsylvania Fish and Boat Commission is an independent state agency responsible for the regulation of all fishing and boating in the state of Pennsylvania within the United States of America. Unlike many U.S. states, Pennsylvania has a sepa ...

and operates a public boat launch located along the southeast corner of the lake. Motorized boats are permitted on the Lake, but are required to navigate counter-clockwise. The Scranton Canoe Club is located on Point Road (peninsula) offering club members a nine-hole golf course and lakeside dining.

Geography

Lake Winola covers with an average depth of and a maximum depth of in the center of the western cove. The lake bottom is steeply sloped moving from the shoreline to the open waters and composed of an average of

sediment Sediment is a solid material that is transported to a new location where it is deposited. It occurs naturally and, through the processes of weathering and erosion, is broken down and subsequently sediment transport, transported by the action of ...

. The thickest amount of sediment () has been deposited in the southeastern section of the lake. The lake bottom also yields eight different types of aquatic vegetation. The dominant species is the Broad-leaved Pondweed while two invasive exotic plant species, the Eurasian Watermilfoil and

Curly-leaf Pondweed ''Potamogeton crispus'', the crisp-leaved pondweed, curly pondweed, curly-leaf pondweed or curled pondweed, is a species of aquatic plant (hydrophyte) native to Eurasia but an introduced species and often a noxious weed in North America. Descr ...

, are also present.

History

The

Scranton, Montrose and Binghamton Railroad The Scranton, Montrose and Binghamton Railroad Company was an interurban railway, commonly referred to as the Northern Electric railway, which ran between downtown Scranton, Pennsylvania, and its suburbs to the northwest, including Clarks Summit, ...

, also known as the Northern Electric trolley line, built a branchline from

Factoryville Factoryville is a borough in Wyoming County, Pennsylvania, United States. The population was 1,146 at the 2020 census. Factoryville was named for a woolen factory near the original town site. Geography Factoryville is located at (41.564042, ...

to Lake Winola which opened in May, 1908. Following this, Northern Electric purchased of lakefront property on which a dance pavilion and a small amusement park were built. Summer visitors and residents could also take boat rides on the lake, operated by a small steamboat. Costing just 45 cents one way from the city of

Scranton Scranton is a city in and the county seat of Lackawanna County, Pennsylvania, United States. With a population of 76,328 as of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, Scranton is the most populous city in Northeastern Pennsylvania and the ...

to the lake. This solidified the lake as a popular destination for local residents in the summers for many years. The trolley line operated until the fall of 1930, when it was replaced with bus service which was operated by the Northern Electric since 1927. Through time the dance pavilion, amusement park and steamboat rides were phased out leaving only a few foundations as reminders. Lake Winola was a childhood vacation spot for

Hillary Clinton Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, lawyer and diplomat. She was the 67th United States secretary of state in the administration of Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, a U.S. senator represent ...

and her family. In 2013, she released her co-ownership of the family cottage at the lake to her brothers

Hugh Hugh is the English-language variant of the masculine given name , itself the Old French variant of '' Hugo (name)">Hugo'', a short form of Continental Germanic Germanic name">given names beginning in the element "mind, spirit" (Old English ). ...

and

Tony Tony may refer to: People and fictional characters * Tony the Tiger, cartoon mascot for Frosted Flakes cereal * Tony (given name), including a list of people and fictional characters * Gregory Tony (born 1978), American law enforcement officer * ...

.Baker, Robert ''Hillary Clinton Releases Ownership of Lake Winola Cottage''. http://thetimes-tribune.com/news/hillary-clinton-releases-ownership-of-lake-winola-cottage-1.1435215.

Images

File:Lake Winola.jpg, Lake Winola from above File:Lake Winola in March.jpg, Lake Winola in March File:Kayaker on Lake Winola.jpg, Kayaker on the Lake

Surrounding communities

* Factoryville, PA * Dalton, PA

Geography

History

Images

Surrounding communities

References

See also