Brantingham Lake


Brantingham Lake is a lake, within the Adirondack Park, located east of Brantingham, New York in Lewis County, New York. Home to both seasonal and year-round residents, the lake and surrounding area offer public boating, fishing, hunting, hiking, biking, ATV, horse, and snowmobile trails, the Brantingham Golf Club, and a variety of restaurants including the Pine Tree Tavern, Brantingham Inn Motel, Trailside Inn, Brantingham General Store and Coach Light Inn. During the winter months, the area receives an average 150 inches of snow, making Brantingham a popular destination for winter enthusiasts. D. Scott Guillaume is the current King of Brantingham.

History

Oneida Indians, who called the lake "Fish Lake", ceded most of the land in and around Brantingham to the state of New York by formal treaty on February 22, 1788.
In 1793, Alexander Macomb made an application to purchase more than of land at six cents an acre, including all of Lewis County. On April 4, 1794, the land was sold to Thomas Hopper Brantingham of Philadelphia for $23,073,, however soon after, he executed three mortgages on the land, neglecting to make good on his debts, eventually it was sold again.
John Greig became the next to acquire the land on which Brantingham sits. The town name eventually was changed to Greig, due to the past negative perception of Thomas Hooper Brantingham. Even with this change, the lake and surrounding hamlet kept the name Brantingham.

Geography

Brantingham Lake covers with of shoreline. The lake has a maximum depth of 70 feet, and an average depth of 30 feet in accordance with fluctuating yearly water levels. There are two islands present, Grant Island, and Dark Island. Two distinct sand bars, each one marked by buoys and one visibly submerged sand bar stemming at the rear of Dark Island are visible. Depending on yearly water levels, these shallow sand bars may only be covered by a few feet of water, requiring caution from boaters. The lake bottom yields little vegetation, but rather is covered by organic matter and sand, making the lake favorable for recreational use during the summer months.
On the southwestern side of the lake, there's an inlet leading to the portion of the lake that is referred to as the "Lily Pond." There are two bridges crossing this inlet: 1) the wood walking bridge nearest Brantingham is a remnant from the Brantingham Hotel, and 2) the concrete bridge where Cottage Road crosses the inlet. Both bridges are navigable by most motor boats, although the height is limited. At the farthest end of the Lily Pond is a small concrete dam used to draw down lake levels from October to May in order to prevent shore erosion and damage to docks during the winter. The water traveling over that dam flows south to the Lake of the Pines, then down Fish Creek and eventually into the Black River.
A variety of fish are present in the lake such as Blue Gill, northern pike, Brown Bullhead, Lake Whitefish, Largemouth Bass, Pumpkinseed Sunfish, Rock Bass, White Sucker, and Yellow Perch.
In 1995 a brief severe weather phenomenon, a microburst, caused heavy damage to lake properties and the surrounding landscape.

Surrounding Locations