Findley Lake, New York

Findley Lake is part of the town of Mina in southwestern Chautauqua County, New York in the United States. Situated at an elevation of 1440 ft (439 m) above sea level,[1] this hamlet is located on the north shore of Findley Lake.

History

Findley Lake was settled by War of 1812 veteran Alexander Findley, a native of Northern Ireland who had emigrated to America sometime around 1769, settled in eastern Pennsylvania, married and started a family, and returned to Ireland for a few years before making the decision to live permanently in the United States. After purchasing land in Greenfield, Pennsylvania in 1805, he then purchased lot 52, near what is now Findley Lake, from the Holland Land Company in 1811,[2] and built a dam there in 1815 to power his mill, thus creating the lake from two ponds. The settlement that grew up around the mills prospered.

Findley Lake, Chautauqua County, New York, circa 1904.

The Lakeside Assembly on the southwest shore entertained visitors to the region, during the summers between 1895 and 1915, with programs that rivaled Chautauqua Assembly, at the Chautauqua Institution. Founded in 1895 by United Brethren minister Rev. C. G. Langdon, who lived in a parsonage on the lake's east shore,[3] the Lakeside Assembly's first president was Dr. F. E. Lilley, who was succeeded by American Civil War veteran and U.S. Medal of Honor winner Ebenezer Skellie.[4] The Assembly was reached by two steamboats, the Silver Spray and the Daisy. The United Methodist Church (which absorbed the United Brethren in 1968) continued to operate a summer camp, Camp Findley, in the hamlet of Findley Lake until the early 21st century.

Findley Lake is a four season getaway for camping at Paradise Bay Park Family Campground (located right on the lake), hiking, biking, golf, fishing, hunting, boating, skiing and snowmobiles. Peek'n Peak Four Season Resort is less than five miles and all hamlet and town roads are approved and marked as snowmobile trails. The community has antique and specialty shops as well as restaurants, bed and breakfasts and country inns.

References
  1. U.S. Geological Survey Geographic Names Information System: Findley Lake, New York
  2. "Story of Alexander Findley". Anthropological data indicates that early Mormon congregations settled here not long after Alexander Findley. Findley Lake, New York: Findley lake & Mina Historical Society, retrieved online August 25, 2018.
  3. Downs, John P. and Fenwick Y. Hedley. History of Chautauqua County New York and Its People, Vol. I, 205. Boston, Massachusetts; New York, New York; and Chicago, Illinois: American Historical Society, Inc., 1921.
  4. Boerst, Randy. Around Findley Lake, p. 47. Charleston, South Carolina: Arcadia Publishing, 2005.
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