Marker Logo HMdb.org THE HISTORICAL
MARKER DATABASE
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
“Bite-Size Bits of Local, National, and Global History”
Simsbury in Hartford County, Connecticut — The American Northeast (New England)
 

Lake Basile

 
 
Lake Basile Marker image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Alan M. Perrie, October 15, 2019
1. Lake Basile Marker
Inscription.
In 1826, construction of the Farmington Canal (of the New Haven to Northampton Canal) blocked the course of the Munnisunk Brook, then a tributary to the Farmington River. The brook’s flow was conducted 20 feet below the canal through a culvert, which was about 90 feet long. Sometime after the canal was abandoned in 1848, the culvert ceased functioning and the flow of the Munnisunk Brook backed up behind the canal fill to form the first version of Lake Basile.

The Canal Greenway follows the canal route (and the railroad which replaced it in 1850) along the southwest corner of Lake Basile.

Before modern refrigeration Lake Basile served as a local ice pond, where townspeople could harvest large blocks of ice during the winter. Cut ice was stored for year-round use in large ice houses. During the summer, ice men delivered blocks of ice to residents once or twice a week for refrigeration of food in ice boxes. In fact, this is how Ice Pond Road in Granby gained its name!
,br>. In the 1930s, the Lake was dredged to deepen it and create a permanent centerpiece for what was to become a small community of cottages, many of them summer cabins. Some of these still exist today!
 
Topics. This historical marker is listed in these topic lists: Railroads & StreetcarsWaterways & Vessels.
 
Location.
Paid Advertisement
Click on the ad for more information.
Please report objectionable advertising to the Editor.
Click or scan to see
this page online
41° 55.036′ N, 72° 46.979′ W. Marker is in Simsbury, Connecticut, in Hartford County. The marker is on the right side of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail, 0.2 miles south of the parking lot at 99 Lordship Road, East Granby, CT 06026. Touch for map. Marker is in this post office area: Simsbury CT 06070, United States of America. Touch for directions.
 
Other nearby markers. At least 8 other markers are within 3 miles of this marker, measured as the crow flies. Farmington Canal 1828-1848 (here, next to this marker); Lost Acres Fire Dept. (approx. 2 miles away); Granby (approx. 2 miles away); Militia Training Ground (approx. 2 miles away); Granby Veterans Wall (approx. 2.1 miles away); First House and Ferry (approx. 2.3 miles away); First School House (approx. 2˝ miles away); Veteran's Monument (approx. 2˝ miles away). Touch for a list and map of all markers in Simsbury.
 
Also see . . .
1. Lake Basile. Welcome to Lake Basile website homepage (Submitted on October 16, 2019, by Alan M. Perrie of Unionville, Connecticut.) 

2. Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. Trail homepage (Submitted on October 16, 2019, by Alan M. Perrie of Unionville, Connecticut.) 

3. Map #12 of Farmington Canal Salmon River Aqueduct. CT State Library website entry (Submitted on October 16, 2019, by Alan M. Perrie of Unionville, Connecticut.) 
 
Marker is on the west side of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Alan M. Perrie, October 15, 2019
2. Marker is on the west side of the Farmington Canal Heritage Trail.
Lake Basile with its Fall colors. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Alan M. Perrie, October 15, 2019
3. Lake Basile with its Fall colors.
Munnisunk Brook flowing over the Lake Basile Dam image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Alan M. Perrie, October 15, 2019
4. Munnisunk Brook flowing over the Lake Basile Dam
Munnisunk Brook flowing under the 1850 railroad and current Canal Greenway. image. Click for full size.
Photographed By Alan M. Perrie, October 15, 2019
5. Munnisunk Brook flowing under the 1850 railroad and current Canal Greenway.
 
 
Credits. This page was last revised on November 13, 2021. It was originally submitted on October 16, 2019, by Alan M. Perrie of Unionville, Connecticut. This page has been viewed 211 times since then and 13 times this year. Photos:   1, 2, 3, 4, 5. submitted on October 16, 2019, by Alan M. Perrie of Unionville, Connecticut. • Michael Herrick was the editor who published this page.

Share this page.  
Share on Tumblr
m=141144

CeraNet Cloud Computing sponsors the Historical Marker Database.
This website earns income from purchases you make after using our links to Amazon.com. We appreciate your support.
Paid Advertisements
Mar. 29, 2024