Our Mission: Maintaining and preserving the ecological and recreational balance of Quaddick Lake.

Scenic Quaddick Reservoir is nestled in the northeast corner of Connecticut — near the Rhode Island and Massachusetts borders — in the town of Thompson. The village of Quaddick began as a mixture of farming and small industry. The industry, run by water power, grew up along the Five Mile River, with the farms populating the outside areas. Prior to the Civil War, Quaddick included such industries as a grist mill, a hat manufacturer, a sawmill (which later became a twine mill) along with numerous farms, a school and a tavern.

With the advent of the Civil War, the need for more industry developed however the rather sluggish Five Mile River was no longer able to keep up with the expanding demand. In order to harness and control the water power of the Five Mile, a partnership of five gentlemen from eastern Connecticut decided to build a dam at the northern end of the river. In 1864, they began buying land surrounding the river and, between 1864 and 1875, the flowage rights from 63 people were bought at prices ranging from $35 to $9,500. The location of the dam was decided to be at the north side of the Providence to Springfield Turnpike. The dam was started in 1865 and finished in 1867. It created the eight mile long Quaddick reservoir behind the dam, a small mill pond in front of the dam and two spillways. The water from this new lake was able to power at least seven mills running along the river from Quaddick south to Danielson. As the industrial revolution continued into the early 1900's, Quaddick Lake was also heavily used as a source of power as well as water for processing textile materials in the plants in Killingly.*

Shortly after its creation, local residents began building summer fishing cottages and year-round homes on the lake to take advantage of its spectacular tree-lined views, swimming in the cool reservoir, boating on its nearly 2 miles of open water and some of the best fishing in New England.

In 1951, Quaddick was designated a state park after originally being developed as a Forestry recreation area. The site of the state park was originally a fishing area of the Nipmuck Indians and then was Thompson's town farm where elderly residents of the village spent their reflective years.

The Quaddick Lake Association (referred to as the ‘Association’) is comprised of the residents who live year-round and seasonally on the 407.5-acre, 2.5 mile lake. The Association is dedicated to conserving for the public benefit the natural beauty, recreational character and unique resource values of the lake and its surrounding area. In cooperation with local and state authorities and other conservation organizations, the Association promotes the protection, careful use and shared enjoyment of the lake, adjoining open spaces and wildlife so it will continue to be a cherished asset to the community.

* Courtesy of the Thompson Historical Society. www.thompsonhistorical.org/

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