Chesuncook Lake

Chesuncook Lake is a reservoir in the North Maine Woods and Piscataquis County, Maine. It is formed by the damming of the West Branch Penobscot River, by dams built in 1835, 1903, and 1916.[1] It is approximately 22 miles (35 km) long and 1–4 miles wide, with a surface area of 25,183 acres (101.91 km2) and a maximum depth of 150 feet (46 m). It is the third-largest body of fresh water in Maine.[1]

Chesuncook Lake
Chesuncook Lake
Chesuncook Lake
LocationPiscataquis County, Maine
Coordinates45°59′14″N 69°20′27″W
TypeMesotrophic
Catchment area1,420 square miles (3,700 km2)
Basin countriesUnited States
Max. length22.5 miles (36.2 km)
Max. width1–4 mi (1.6–6.4 km)
Surface area25,183 acres (101.91 km2)
Average depth40 feet (12 m)
Max. depth150 feet (46 m)
Water volume136,667 acre⋅ft (168,576,000 m3)
Residence time6 months
Surface elevation942 feet (287 m)
IslandsGero Island
SettlementsChesuncook Township, T2 R12 WELS, T3 R11 WELS, T3 R12 WELS

The lake was named "goose place" by combining the call of the Canada goose schunk with auke (the Abenaki word for place) to form Chesuncook. Henry David Thoreau visited Chesuncook (village) and lake in 1853 and wrote about its beginnings in his book "The Maine Woods" Chesuncook Part 4; 'Ansell Smith's the oldest and principal clearing about this lake,...' Thoreau observed no geese on the lake during his visit.[2]

The original lake was enlarged by construction of Ripogenus Dam in 1916 to cover Ripogenus Lake, Caribou Lake, and Moose Pond. The enlarged lake became less suitable for Lake trout because of fluctuating reservoir levels for generating hydroelectricity.[3]

The lake is on the Northern Forest Canoe Trail.

In fiction

In H.P. Lovecraft's horror short story The Thing on the Doorstep, the ill-fated Edward Derby found himself lost in the town of Chesuncook, "close to the wildest, deepest, and least explored forest belt in Maine."

Chesuncook Lake features in First Lensman by EE "Doc" Smith as a clandestine handover point for a shipment of illegal drugs.

Chesuncook Village

Chesuncook Village is a small settlement located on the northwestern shore of Chesuncook Lake with a year-round population of approximately 10 people on this otherwise uninhabited lake. It is in an unorganized township in the heart of the east coast's largest unsettled logging forest and is considered to be the last wilderness area on the eastern seaboard of the United States. It is approximately 60 miles from the nearest towns of Greenville and Millinocket, Maine. It is completely off grid with no infrastructure.

The only public land within the village is maintained by the state as a pasture and public boat launch/beach area. There is a non denominational meeting house which is used by seasonal churches, as a meeting place, and for foul weather refuge by those traveling through the area.

History

Chesuncook "Village" was settled in 1849 by Ansel A. Smith as a logging outfit.

The historic Chesuncook Lake House Inn, built in 1864 is still in operation 150 years later by its current owners the Surprenant family.[4] Set on the shoreline of Chesuncook Lake and facing Mount Katahdin in the distance, the Lake House and its acreage are one of the few remaining North Woods "logging hotels" which at one time were built at intervals of every 14 miles (this was the average distance a man could walk in one day) through the logging regions in order to house and feed the logging industry as well as visiting travelers and sportsmen such as Henry David Thoreau.

The rest of the village which is actually a 1920s subdivision that never really took off, supports a scattering of privately owned seasonal camps and a few permanent year-round residents. In 2003 Chesuncook Village celebrated the 150 year anniversary of the original publication of Henry David Thoreau's book "The Maine Woods".

See also
  • North Maine Woods topics

References
  1. Mark Shanahan, "Searching for Thoreau", Portland Press Herald, 1997
  2. Thoreau, Henry David The Maine Woods Apollo edition (1966) Thomas Y. Crowell Company pp.162,414-416&423
  3. "Chesuncook Lake" (PDF). State of Maine. Retrieved 2012-12-30.
  4. Chesuncook Lake House Inn-open as of 2017
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