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Crystal Lake History

  • Crystal Lake is a “great pond.” The “law of great ponds” comes from 17th century British common law. Its purpose is to ensure equality in the use of large areas of wet land (1).

  • The current bathhouse at Crystal Lake on Rogers Rd. was built in two stages. The front section was built in 1930 at a cost of about $35,000. It is a Spanish eclectic style with art deco features. The long rectangular section was added to the original building in the 1970s (2).

  • The bathhouse is named for Gil Champagne, a former Newton police officer who was also the head of water safety in the Newton Recreation Department (3).​

  • Before it became a swim facility, in the mid 1800’s, small industries were located near the site of the bathhouse. This was about the time the railroad first came to Newton Highlands and when there was a large increase in the Newton Highlands population (1).

  • Ownership of the Lake and surrounding land changed several times in the past few centuries and so did its name. Previous names were Hayes Pond, Wiswall Pond, Baptist Pond and Silver Lake. It became Crystal Lake in the mid 1800’s, corresponding with the time of the ice harvesting business in New England. That business ended with the advent of electric refrigeration around 1915 (1).

  • In the early 20th century, ice skating was very popular at Crystal Lake Warmer winters, stricter safety codes for ice density and city budget constraints may be among the reasons ice skating has not been possible here for many years. Currently, the most popular use of the Lake is for walkers, joggers and nature lovers. Swimming, fishing and boating also have a long history of being enjoyed at Crystal Lake (1,4).

  • The main public open spaces at Crystal Lake include what is known as “Cronin Cove”, “Levingston Cove” and the newest area, the “Crystal Lake Park”. The land for the new Crystal Lake Park was acquired with CPA funds in 2006. An easement connecting the Levingston Cove and Crystal Lake Park was acquired in 2008 (5).Cronin Cove, although never officially dedicated, is named for one time Crystal Lake resident Joe Cronin, Hall of Fame former Boston Red Sox player and manager (1935-47) and former president of the American League (1959-73) (2).

  • Levingston Cove is named for Louise Levingston, a Lake neighbor from the 1950s until her passing in 2013. Louise was honored in 1982 for her devoted caretaking of the cove. Louise and Julie, her German Shepard, could often be seen strolling through the cove, tiding up and greeting visitors (6).

References:

  1. Comprehensive Historical Sketch of Crystal Lake, (1911). Newton Centre Improvement Association.

  2. Lucy Caldwell-Stair (2011). Historic Walking Tour of Crystal Lake.

  3. The Backside of America, (2019) blogspot.

  4. Survey taken by FOCL, 2009

  5. Srdj Nevelkovic (2009). Crystal Lake: A brief History, Crystal Lake Conservancy website.

  6. Anecdotal observations from knowing Louise as a neighbor for about 30 years and as one of our original FOCL.

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