The Canoe Brook Lake Association is a private lake community located in beautiful Trumbull, Connecticut.
About Canoe Brook Lake
Canoe Brook Lake is a 64 acre freshwater lake minutes away from the Merritt Parkway (Route 15) in Trumbull – a vibrant community of 36,000 people and only 65 miles from New York City.
The mile long lake was originally formed by a man-made dam in the early 1890s and the association comprises nearly 200 family homes around Canoe Brook Lake.
The lake boasts four beaches maintained by the Canoe Brook Lake Association (CBLA) for member use. The beaches are maintained by the CBLA with picnic tables for gatherings.
Lake depths range from 1 to 30 feet, with floating platforms located off most of the beaches. Diving areas are available from the floats.
Many residents keep canoes, kayaks, and paddle boats at the beach and stored in available racks.
No motorized water vessels are permitted on Canoe Brook Lake.
The lake is monitored and maintained for optimal recreational use providing clean, clear water that is perfect for boating, fishing, and swimming. And most winters, the lake freezes solid enough for ice skating!
In addition to being responsible for maintaining the lake, the CBLA typically hosts two annual social events: a summer lake party and a holiday get-together. These popular gatherings are attended by many of the lake community members.
The Canoe Brook Lake Association is a volunteer organization dedicated to maintaining and supporting Canoe Brook Lake and the Canoe Brook Lake community.
The History of Canoe Brook Lake
Canoe Brook Lake is a man-made lake dating back to the early 1890’s. At that time the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company required an auxiliary reservoir to supplement Island Brook Reservoir – now Lake Forest – in Bridgeport, and decided on the Canoe Brook site. The first acquisition was an 18 acre parcel acquired from John Burroughs in August 1890 for $325. Within five years, approximately 200 acres had been purchased in the general area south of Lake Avenue (then known as Modesty Avenue) and east of Madison Avenue. Park Lane, then Pork Lane, crossed the basin area and had to be closed off.
An earth and stone dam was built at the Mallett millpond to hold water back while the dike and larger poured concrete dam were constructed. The temporary millpond dam was then broken and the brook area flooded to create Canoe Brook Reservoir. Canoe Brook was operated as an auxiliary reservoir from 1893 to 1920, then became a primary reservoir until 1928 when the new and larger Easton Reservoir was completed.
In May 1947, the reservoir was transferred by deed to Canoe Brook Company which then initiated private development. In 1956 the area was incorporated as the Canoe Brook Lake Association. Today, homeowners whose land was at one time part of the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company tract comprise the Canoe Brook Lake Association. The CBLA was created in the 1950s when the Bridgeport Hydraulic Company sold the land surrounding Canoe Brook Lake to private developers.
