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The History of Lake Wallenpaupack
When it comes to life in the Poconos, living in Lake
Wallenpaupack has an incredible amount to offer. Whether you're looking for
a primary, vacation home or any kind of Pocono Real Estate take a minute
to learn about the rich history of the Pocono mountains. CENTURY 21 Select
Group is ready to answer all your questions and show you Pocono homes for
sale that will allow you and your family to enjoy a fantastic quality of
life or vacation memories that will last a lifetime.
Wallenpaupack is an area in the
Poconos, Pa that encompasses parts of Wayne and Pike Counties in
Northeastern Pennsylvania. Today a major tourist attraction for both
winter and summer activities, Wallenpaupack is located approximately 115
miles from New York City. It is an area rich in history, having been
settled prior to the American Revolution by a group of Connecticut
families.
The name Wallenpaupack is over two
hundred years old. It is derived from the Lenape Indians of the Delaware
Nation who inhabited the region and called the stream running through the
land "Walinkpapeek" or "Wallinkpaupeek" . The Indians' description of the
creek translated into "waters, sometimes slow, sometimes swift", though
translated from Walinkpapeek, the word means deep and dead water.
Today the stream of swift and slow
waters in which Indian times provided the boundary between Wayne and Pike
Counties has become one of the largest and economically productive
man-made lakes in the world! Built in 1926 by Pennsylvania Power and Light
Company and designed for recreation as well as for electrical power, Lake
Wallenpaupack, also known as the "Big Lake", boasts a shore line of
fifty-two miles and is some thirteen miles long. It is a center of
attraction in the Poconos for sports of all kinds from boating and water
skiing in summer to golfing on the ice and fishing through the ice in the
winter.
The earliest white settlers were, of
course, farmers. But there were numerous other occupations, too. Lumbering
in the great virgin forests, small factories powered by the abundance of
streams, quarrying of bluestone, the building and operation of the
Delaware and Hudson Canal as well as the Erie Railroad brought thousands
of people to the Wallenpaupack Area. But the building of the hydroelectric
dam at the site of the ancient Lenape "Wallinkpaupeek" River caused a
growth spurt in the area which continues to this day.
It is in this setting that the
Wallenpaupack Area School District evolved. With the passing of the Free School
Act by the Pennsylvania State Legislature in 1834, many schools were built
in Wayne and Pike Counties which included the Wallenpaupack Area. In those
days each town or township had its own school district. Prior to 1850
there were at least nine different schools in Lackawaxen Township which at
that time included Blooming Grove Township. The original school at
Lackawaxen was built of stone, but lasted only a few years. A second
school was constructed in 1856.
As early as 1822 James Wheeling opened
a private school in a log house in what would become the village of
Hawley. There were twelve students in the school, three of them qualifying
as "paupers" which meant that their parents were unable to pay for their
education and that the County would pay for it. This, of course, was
before the Free School Act of 1834. After the Free School Act passed this
became the first Public School in Hawley.
After the 1850's schools sprang up
everywhere in the Wallenpaupack Area. There was the Marble Hill School
which was attended by children who along with their families worked for
the Delaware and Hudson Canal Company. Because many of the children also
worked on the Canal, school was open only between December 1 and March 31
when the Canal was shut down for the winter.
By 1869 Palmyra Township had eight
schools and Paupack Township had six schools. It was about this time that
a new school at White Mills School was built for less than $1000. There
was also a school at Wilsonville which would later become submerged under
Lake Wallenpaupack. Greene Township also had about a dozen schools in the
1800's. By 1892 there were approximately 56 schools in the boundaries of
what now roughly composes Wallenpaupack Area School District with about
1175 students.
It is interesting to note that
although people referred to little red schoolhouses most of them never
knew any red paint--they were only weather beaten. |
