|
Lacawac Sanctuary has a long history that reaches back to colonial times and touches on the forestry and coal industries of the early 19th century. The Sanctuary’s history begins with the acquisition in 1849 of a large tract of the Wallenpaupack Manor in Wayne County by Burton G. Morss, a sawmill and tannery owner in Ledgedale. The forestry and leather industry sustained a sizable population in Ledgedale, though in 1895 the tannery burned and Morss closed his business. William Connell, a self-made business man who worked in the coal fields early in his life, bought the property for a summer estate called Connell Park. He served in the U.S. House of Representatives, and later died in 1909.
Colonel Louis A. Watres, a lawyer and businessman in Scranton, is another important figure in the history of the Sanctuary. Another self-made man, Watres was active in politics, rising to become Lieutenant Governor of Pennsylvania. He also organized trolley lines in the Lackawanna Valley, created the County Savings Bank and the Lackawanna Trust Company. Watres also owned and operated two newspapers, and was a Colonel in the National Guard during the Spanish-American War. He became involved with Lacawac through the development of the Wallenpaupack power project. In order to initiate construction, 15,000 acres of land were acquired along the river by 1913 in order to create the dam, including the Connell property, which cost Watres $15,000. Still, it was not until 1924 that construction began and two more years before it was operational and generating power. In 1948, L. Arthur Watres, grandson of Colonel Watres, and his mother Mrs. Reyburn Watres moved to Lacawac. They immediately set about restoring the now-degraded estate. Through connections to prominent conservationists and academics, Arthur Watres helped identify Lacawac as the southernmost, unpolluted glacial lake in the United States, an invaluable resource to both conservationists and research scientists. Recognizing that it deserved long-term protection, in 1966, with the donation of 341 acres and several historic buildings, the Watres’ formed the Lacawac Sanctuary Foundation to administer and steward the wonderful resource that is the Sanctuary. And subsequently, in 1968 it was designated as a National Natural Landmark. It was not until 1988 that major university research projects began at Lacawac, the first of which was Lehigh University’s Pocono Comparative Lakes Program. Currently, the Sanctuary operates numerous environmental education programs, manages a suite of university-level research programs, and continuously works to preserve the high quality of the lake and its surrounding landscape. Since 1966, the Sanctuary grew to 500 acres, including a mature second growth forest, Lake Lacawac, two ponds, several wetlands and over a mile of shoreline along Lake Wallenpaupack. In 2005, acquired 10 additional acres, called “Partner Ridge” to expand the boundary of the Sanctuary and further safeguard its resources. 
|
William Connell of Scranton
Col. Louis A. Watres of Scranton
Arthur Watres, Lacawac's Founder
|
Historic Great Camp
Connell Park
|
Lacawac is an historic, American estate that is located in Paupack Township and Salem Township, Wayne County, Pennsylvania. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
The Lodge at Lacawac, built in 1903, preceded by 30 years the beginning of the second-home industry in the Wallenpaupack Basin. The only residence in the original complex of eight buildings on the estate, it was designed and furnished in the style of the turn-of-the-century lodges built by wealthy families in the Adirondacks, with gas lighting, refrigeration, hot and cold running water, indoor plumbing and central heating. It set a standard for style and comfort then unheard of in this rural area. Now restored to its original charm, the Lodge and its associated buildings are listed on the National Register of Historic Places. 
|
|
|
