Spofford Lake is a body of water in the town of Chesterfield in southwestern

New Hampshire New Hampshire is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States. It is bordered by Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec to the nor ...

, United States. Water from Spofford Lake flows via Partridge Brook to the Connecticut River. In 2005 the

New Hampshire Fish and Game Department The New Hampshire Fish and Game Department (NHF&G) is a department within the government of New Hampshire in the United States. The Fish and Game Department manages New Hampshire's fish, game, and aquatic plant resources. Structure The Department ...

named it the cleanest lake in southwestern

, despite the amount of motor boating. The village of Spofford is located at the lake's outlet.

History

A popular recreational destination during the late 19th century, the lake figured in a tragedy that received notice well outside its rural environs. On May 26, 1882, while on tour with a company organized by

Clara Louise Kellogg Clara Louise Kellogg (July 9, 1842 – May 13, 1916) was an American operatic soprano. Biography Clara Louise Kellogg was born in Sumterville, South Carolina, the daughter of Jane Elizabeth (Crosby) and George Kellogg. She received her musica ...

, the 19-year-old classical

pianist A pianist ( , ) is an individual musician who plays the piano. Since most forms of Western music can make use of the piano, pianists have a wide repertoire and a wide variety of styles to choose from, among them traditional classical music, j ...

Herman Rietzel Herman Rietzel was an American pianist, born January 24, 1863, in New York City, who died by drowning at age 19 on May 26, 1882. He was the youngest son of Adine and Frederick Rietzell, the latter Vice-President and first flute of the New York Ph ...

, already a concert veteran and considered to be well-launched on a promising career, joined George Conly, a

bass Bass or Basses may refer to: Fish * Bass (fish), various saltwater and freshwater species Music * Bass (sound), describing low-frequency sound or one of several instruments in the bass range: ** Bass (instrument), including: ** Acoustic bass gu ...

singer with the company, for a pleasure outing on the lake. Later that day, their rowboat was found capsized; Reitzel's body was not recovered until the following June 7, and Conly's not until a week later. Actor-comedian

George Carlin George Denis Patrick Carlin (May 12, 1937 – June 22, 2008) was an American comedian, actor, author, and social critic. Regarded as one of the most important and influential stand-up comedians of all time, he was dubbed "the dean of countercul ...

spent several summers at Camp Notre Dame on Spofford Lake (along with SNL director Dave "Wacky" Wilson and New Yorker cartoonist

Leo Cullum Leo Aloysius Cullum (January 11, 1942 – October 23, 2010) was an American cartoonist, one of the more frequent contributors to ''The New Yorker'' with more than 800 gag cartoons published. He started his drawing career after having served as ...

— the camp was owned by the Cullum family) in his childhood; after his death in 2008, he was cremated and part of his ashes were scattered in the lake.

Recreation

Ware's Grove and North Shore are two municipal beaches on the lake. North Shore is for residents only, while Wares Grove, near the southwest end of the lake, along New Hampshire Route 9A, has an entrance fee and is open to the general public. A state-maintained boat ramp is available to the west of Wares Grove, affording access to Pierces Island, managed by the New Hampshire Division of Forests and Lands and offering hiking trails. Pine Grove Springs Country Club is a golf course in Spofford next to the lake. Fishing is a popular recreational activity on the lake. The lake is classified as a cold- and warmwater fishery, and is known for producing quality smallmouth bass,

rainbow trout The rainbow trout (''Oncorhynchus mykiss'') is a species of trout native to cold-water tributaries of the Pacific Ocean in Asia and North America. The steelhead (sometimes called "steelhead trout") is an anadromous (sea-run) form of the coast ...

northern pike The northern pike (''Esox lucius'') is a species of carnivorous fish of the genus ''Esox'' (the pikes). They are typical of brackish water, brackish and fresh waters of the Northern Hemisphere (''i.e.'' holarctic in distribution). They are kno ...

, and especially

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus salmoides'') is a carnivorous freshwater gamefish in the Centrarchidae ( sunfish) family, a species of black bass native to the eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada and northern Mexico, b ...

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 creature is a species of freshwater fish in the sunfish fam ...

were introduced to the lake in the late 1990s and have proven to be a nuisance to anglers.

References

{{Connecticut River Lakes of Cheshire County, New Hampshire Chesterfield, New Hampshire

History

Recreation

See also

References