Candlewood Lake
History
In 1724 twelve men came from Fairfield, one of the early Connecticut settlements, to offer Chief Squantz a deal to purchase a large tract of land the tribe retained from an original grant. According to legend, the Chief agreed to the deal and the men returned home to prepare the deed. Today, Fairfield is only an hours drive from New Fairfield, but the men were unable to return until the following spring.
When they arrived they found Chief Squantz had died and his four sons refused to honor the contract. It took five years of negotiating before the Native Americans agreed to the settlers purchase offer. In 1729 the deed was stuck for and in consideration of sixty-five pounds (about $300). Perhaps inflation was already beginning to set in when we recall that about 100 years earlier Peter Minuit purchased the island of Manhattan for 60 Dutch guilders (about $24).
Most of the future lake area was included in the land transferred by this deed. The land was described as eight miles in length, and is bounded east on the township of New Milford and the Ousetoneck (Housatonic) River, west on land under the government of New York, south on Mitchells purchase, so call, it being a part of said New Fairfield and north on granted lands of the government.
A year later the Native Americans had moved north to the Kent area, and settlers began to build cabins in the new township. They soon learned of a Native American substitute for wax candles made by splitting the inner core of pine logs, filled with pitch and turpentine, into narrow eight-inch strips which burned like small torches. The best pine for this candle wood was plentiful on the mountain dominating the northern horizon of the present lake, and it came to be known as Candlewood Mountain.
At the turn of the century, the Rocky River valley was a quiet, productive farming community nestled in the foothills of the Berkshire Mountains. On July 15, 1926, a decision was made that would change the face of the valley forever. On that date the Connecticut Light and Power Company's Board of Directors approved a plan to create a lake for the purpose of producing electric power.
When the plan to create a pumped water storage reservoir and build the Rocky River plant proceeded in 1926, all the valley land below the contour line 440 feet above sea level was targeted as lake land. The company contracted the 35 families living in the area to be flooded. Though the company had the power of eminent domain they bargained with the families and paid fair pre-lake prices. It seems unlikely either the inhabitants or the company envisioned the future land values surrounding the yet unfilled lake. Only a few individuals refused to sell, so some property inundated by the lake is still privately owned.
A total of 5,520 acres of lake basin had to be prepared and included were four ponds: Squantz, Barse and Creek in New Fairfield, and Neversink overlapping the Danbury-New Fairfield line. The latter did never sink but was drowned by the lake. In the clearing operation about 100 building of various sorts, including schools and churches, were demolished or moved. Workers were paid $1 per body to remove gravestones and remains from small cemeteries for reburial.
Construction of the plant, dam and smaller dikes to build up the low points was carried out by the U.G.I. Contracting Company of Philadelphia. A construction camp with quarters for 400 men was set up near the proposed dam. This temporary village had four bunkhouses, a bath house, store, bank, bakery and barbershop, all placed along facetiously named streets. Locally the camp was known as UGI-ville. In about 17 months time some 920 men completed the entire job at a cost of $5,000,000, a bargain even in 1920s currency.
Pumping Housatonic water up through the 13 ft. diameter penstock started on February 25, 1928. By the end of the year it reached 429 feet above sea level and the plant went into operation. For many people the pump storage reservoir was a spin-off asset of more personal interest. This was the new body of water with an 85-foot maximum depth, an average depth of 29.3 feet and 61 miles of shoreline along fringes of hills with numerous coves and islands that we now know as Candlewood Lake.
The plans moved forward quickly and the company bought the valley land and built several dams to contain the water, the largest at the north end measured 100 feet high and 952 feet wide. On February 25, 1928, the fill-up began and in a mere seven months, Candlewood Lake was born.
When the lake was formed the name was again an agreeable choice. The 1930 population of New Fairfield, with about half of the lakes acreage, was only 434. Danbury, then the leading hat making city in the country, had 26,955, and the other bordering towns had the following: Sherman, 391; Brookfield, 926; and new Milford 4,700. To avoid favoring any town, the lake was named Candlewood. With the exception of Danbury, the numbers for adjoining towns were declining in 1930, but by 1980 the combined population had more than tripled, with greater growth in the towns other than Danbury.
(Candlewood Lake Authority)