LAKE WAWASEE

'Lake Wawasee', formerly 'Turkey Lake' is a large lake south of Syracuse in Kosciusko County, Indiana, United States. It is the largest natural lake in Indiana.

Contents

History

Geographic places

Black Stump Point

Main channel

Oakwood Park and Oakwood Inn

Recreation

Marinas

Restaurants

Events

Hydrology

Classification

Water sources

Water quality and wetlands

Sources

History

Main articles: Lake Wawasee History

Lake Wawasee has a long history extending from the Pleistocene epoch, early settlement by the white man, and its growth from the 1800s through today. The lake is named for Miami chief Wawasee ''(Wau-wuh-see)'', brother of Miami chief Papakeecha, which translated means "Flat Belly."
Lake Wawasee has a long history of being a summer vacation area for residents from Indianapolis and Chicago. The Sphinx Hotel (now condomuniums) overlooking Lake Wawasee was a luxury hotel that hosted famous vacationers including Al Capone. Eli Lilly maintained residence on Lake Wawasee that still today is a landmark on the lake.

Geographic places

Known geographic place names around Wawasee: Black's Point, Black Stump Point, Jones Landing, Willow Grove, Pickwick Park, Kale Island, Oakwood, Lakeview-South Park, Ogden's Island, Sand Point, Johnson's Bay, Buttermilk Bay, Vawter Park, Ideal Beach, Waveland Beach, Conkling Hill, and Morrison's Island.

Black Stump Point

Located at the northwest end of Lake Wawasee, Black Stump Point protrudes out into the lake. Roads on this geographic point are E. Waco Drive and N. Waco Point Drive. Businesses located during the 1950s and 1960s were Mocks's Marina and Waco, a boat-in and drive-in restaurant.

Main channel

The main channel is not officially part of Lake Wawasee but does perform as an outlet for water heading north. The main channel begins at the lakes's northeast shore with Oakwood Park on its west and Kale Island on its east and flows into Syracuse Lake to the north. The main channel is lined with homes and a marina on its west for its first third of travel. The east side is a large wetland marsh where once a grist mill once stood.

Oakwood Park and Oakwood Inn

Founded in 1893, Oakwood Park is located on Wawasee's northwest shore and the main channel to Syracuse Lake. Oakood Park is a Christian camp and meeting ground for spiritual rejuvenation and physical recreation. Oakwood Christian Retreat & Conference Center is a 42-acre facility owned and operated by an independent non-profit, non-denominational Chistian organization called Oakwood Foundation. The Syracuse-Wawasee Ministerial Association sponsors a Sunday 8:30am Boat-In-Worship Service offered off the shores of Oakwood Inn. The Oakwood Foundation also has a full service restaurant with two dining rooms. In lodging, Oakwood Inn has 77 rooms and suites and 8 cabins. The foundation's 2-story Kimmel Retreat House has 12 rooms for up to 25 people. OCR&CC also maintains a short-term camping area for tents, motor-homes or small pop-up campers.

Recreation

Marinas

★ Griffith's Wawasee Marina was founded in 1946 and is located on Wawasee's southeast end overlooking Buttermilk Bay and tucked behind Morrison's Island to the marina's west.[1]

★ Main Channel Marina was established in 1976 and is located on the main channel on Wawasee's north shore [2]

★ Johnson's Bay Marina

★ Wawasee Boat Company was founded in 1929 and is located on Wawasee's north shore. [3]

Restaurants

★ The Frog Tavern is accessible by boat at the lake's northern end and open 7 days a week. The Frog's SS Lillypad travels at about 7 knots at 200 yards offshore. A 3-hour cruise is required to cover the entire lake.

★ The Channel Marker is accessible by boat in the channels off the lake's northern shore. It can be accessed by both Lake Wawasee and Lake Syracuse through the channel that connects the two lakes.

Events

★ Independence Day fireworks - The 4th of July weekend sports a fireworks launched from water borne craft. There is also a 'Floatilla' which features decorated boats in a parade around the lake.

Hydrology

Classification

Lake Wawasee meaures 12 km² (3060 acres) in size and is classified as a Trophic Class 1 lake with two major basins. The north basin has a eutrophication index value of 10 and the south basin has a eutrophication index of 12. The maximum depth is 22 m (77 feet) and an average depth of 6.7 m (22 feet). The lake is presently healthy and has a balanced aquatic ecosystem.

Water sources

Lake Wawasee is a spring fed lake with exposed springs flowing into Wawasee from south, west, and east sides. Lake Papakeechie, sitting a few feet higher in elevation, provides a vast amount of water from a spillway at Buttermilk Bay at Wawasee's south end. Wawasee is typical in structure of natural lakes of the glaciated portions of the upper Midwest. It is supplied by a watershed of 23,618 acres (95.5 km²) which starts at Little Knapp Lake and Harper Lake in Noble County and flows down through 10 lakes by way of Turkey Creek into Lake Wawasee. Water exits into through the wetlands of Main Channel and Mud Lake into Syracuse Lake. The Wawasee Watershed is an area of that encompasses Wawasee, Syracuse, Bonar Lake and Papakeechie lakes as well as the ten lakes in the upper Turkey Creek and Papakeechie subwatersheds.
There are two smaller lakes near Wawasee. Syracuse Lake to the north is accessible from Wawasee through the 'Main Channel.' Lake Papakeechie to the south is at an elevation slightly higher than Wawasee. It is not accessible by boat from Wawasee.

Water quality and wetlands

Water clarity and keeping the lake clean for future generations is a big push for the community around Wawasee. One of the most active organizations involved in wetland and water quality protection is Wawasee Area Conservancy Foundation [4]. This non profit group has a documented history of action of lake preservation. The Foundation was formed in 1991 to anticipate, search out, and solve threats to the Wawasee Area Watershed and to its water quality. The Foundation is dedicated to the enhancement of the area and will work hand-in-hand with property owner groups, the State Department of Natural Resources and other governmental and civic organizations that share its concerns.
One of these battles has been on going with a local farmer who has a permit to open a hog farm in the area. So far the conservancy has been successful in dissuading the local farmer. [5]
Lake Wawasee is unusually clear for an Midwest lake. One of the reasons for this clarity is because of its location. Just a few miles from a continental divide that separates water that runs off to the Mississippi and the Missouri basins. Another reason for clarity is because most of the lakes nutrients are tied up in vegetation and zebra mussels. According to a recent study water clarity allows for viewing 10 to 15 foot depths when other Midwest lakes have a clarity to 3 to 5 foot depths. [6]

Sources

★ Oakwood Oakwood Retreat

★ 1995 Wawasee Area Watershed Lake Enhancement Diagnostic/Feasibility Study WAW diagnostic study

★ Lilly, Eli. Early Wawasee Days. Indianapolis: Studio Press Inc., 1960.