Welcome to Lime Lake!
(Excerpted from "Lime Lake: An Historical Review: by Jefferey Miller, published 1992)
Lime Lake is located in the northeastern corner of the town of Machias, which is in the northeast portion of Cattaraugus County. The town of Machias was formed from the town of Yorkshire by an act of the New York State Legislature passed April 16, 1827. It derived its name from Machias, Maine, from where many of the area's settlers had come. Machias is nested in the foothills of the Allegheny Mountains, its surface forming a portion of the elevated tableland, called the "dividing ridge," separating the waters of the Allegheny River and Cattaraugus Creek. Lime Lake forms a watershed for these watercourses, discharging northerly through Lime Lake Outlet to Cattaraugus Creek, and through the south outlet into Ischua Creek and on to the Allegheny River. The northerly flowing waters eventually find their way into the Atlantic Ocean, while the southerly flowing waters eventually empty into the Gulf of Mexico.
The lake is approximately 1650 feet above sea level and is a little more than a mile in length and about half a mile wide. Its long axis lies almost due north-south, and the lake has more than three miles of weaving shoreline.
Lime Lake has approximately 160 acres of surface water spanning three major subsurface basins, which purportedly were at one time individual ponds. The deepest point, about 11 meters, can be found in Broad Bay.
Underground springs supply a continual flow of 50-degree, crystal clear water from the subsurface water table in the surrounding hills. The water level is controlled by a dam located at the outlet at the north end.
The first settlement at Lime Lake were made about 1819 at the north end. The lake has been so named because of shell lime deposits once found on the bottom. According to legend, the Seneca Indians had called the lake Odosagih, which meant "clear, spring, living waters."
Little, if anything is recorded about the early settlements here until 1820, when Andrew McBuzzell built the first saw mill near Lime Lake Outlet.
The first merchants in the area were Howard Peek and Alva Jefferson, who opened a store at the north end in 1822. The first inn in the area, located at the lake's south end, was operated by Widow Freeman in the early 1820's. In 1823 Daniel Potter erected the lake's first grist mill, located near the site of McBuzzell's operation.
Lime Lake's first tavern, operated by Warner Sanford, opened in 1830. In 1835, Follett & Colgrove opened the only woolen mill ever to exist in Machias at the site of David Potter's grist mill, which had been swept from its foundation by a flood three years earlier.
The County of Cattaraugus purchased 200 acres of farm land in Machias bordering on the lake from Willard Jefferson in 1833, and there established the County Alms-House and Insane Asylum. The facility has gone through many transformations over the last century and a half, and today is known as the Cattaraugus County Home and Infirmary. (1, 2)
On November 23, 1850, Lambert Babcock broke through the Lime Lake ice and drowned. This was the first recorded drowning at Lime Lake.
The first railroad to come through Lime Lake was constructed by the Buffalo, New York & Philadelphia Railroad Company, completed in 1872. The track ran north-south along the eastern shore of the lake. The railroad played an important industrial center in Cattaraugus County. The company today is known as Consolidated Railroad or Conrail.
In 1880, Lime Lake's "Ice Age" began as the E. Webster, Son & Company ice firm of Buffalo erected the first ice house at the lake.
The next forty years as Lime Lake became a loader in the marketing of ice blocks prior to the advent of electric refrigeration. Several other ice firms followed the Websters, and the average capacity of ice shipped each season is estimated to have been 145,000 tons.
At the turn of the century, Lime Lake was an important industrial point in the county. A booming ice industry regularly employed hundreds of men, and the mills at the north end were busy night and day. In addition, the country alms-house was a large employer of men and women. The lake's industries in turn made it possible for other area businesses, such as the Hazelmere Inn and the Lime Lake Hotel, to prosper. However, in the early part of the 20th century, the lake began to change.
In 1912 the Queen City Dairy Company built a bottling plant at the sight where the mills had stood. The plant flourished at the north end for two decades. This building later became the site of the Old Miller Roller Skating Rink.
Fire destoyed the once famous Hazlemere Inn in early 1920. The inn, located in Hazelmere Park, was a popular attraction for tourists and locals alike. In 1922, the Odosagih Bible Conference was founded on the site once occupied by the park. (photo at Hazlemere Park was taken of the carriage house)
The 1920's also saw the demise of the ice trade at Lime Lake. The advent of electric refrigeration slowed the demand for ice blocks, and he business was completely idle by the late '20s.
Elmer Potter developed an amusement park called Lime Lake Park at the north end in the late 20's. The park became a popular attraction at the lake for decades and inspired the development of Lime Lake as a resort town.
Robert Ripley featured Lime Lake in his world renowned "Ripley's Believe It Or Not" in February 1940. Ripley reported that Lime Lake was the only lake on record having two outlets and no inlets.
Today the lake only has one outlet on the north end. Thanks to Mr. Richard Korn, who called in, we have this important correction. Apparently, back in the 1950's, the southern outlet, which led to Ischua Creek, was closed off by the gravel companies who had operations nearby. Mr. Korn should know since the old outlet was on his property! The former southern outlet is actually now a spring water inlet coming in from the swamps across the lake.
The Lime Lake Cottage Owners Association was established in 1944. The purpose of the Association is to mutually benefit its member property owners and maintain the water facilities of the lake, and improve community relations around the lake. The Association controls the boat launch and park, both located on Broad Bay Circle, and the dam which regulated the lake's water level. The LLCOA became incorporated in 1959.
The latter part of this century has been a growth in residential development, both seasonal and year round. Today (1992), there are more than 375 cottages and homes surrounding the lake, and property owners and renters come from several other states and Canada to enjoy the beauty and quality of life that Lime Lake offers.
