Lake Carnegie

While rowing grew in popularity at Harvard and Yale in the 1840s, it was not practiced much in Princeton as the University and town did not have a proper location for the sport. The nearby Delaware and Raritan Canal was suggested, but it proved impractical. At the urging of brothers William and Howard Butler, Princeton Class of 1876, Andrew Carnegie, industrialist and philanthropist, agreed to finance the construction of a lake. It took at least three years to successfully purchase the land needed for this project, clear it and construct the bridges and dams. The project cost about $450,000. 

On December 5, 1906, Carnegie came to Princeton for the formal presentation of the lake. Students made banners to welcome him and chanted the song “Tammany” in his honor.

Carnegie, Carnegie

He is giving us a lake

You can hear the breakers break

Carnegie, Carnegie

Andy, Andy, you’re a dandy

Carnegie, Carnegie

While the lake provided an ideal location for recreational activities, Carnegie’s gift also included hundreds of acres near the lake and campus, which have since been used for University expansion.

Websites

1. Lake Carnegie – Princetoniana (Princeton University)
2. Lake Carnegie Historic District (National Register of Historic Places)
3. Shea Rowing Center (Princeton University)

Articles

1. “Princeton’s Lake Carnegie: A place for nature, a scene for activity” by Morgan Kelly (Princeton University News, 21 September 2015)
2. “Exhibition Celebrates 100th Anniversary of Lake Carnegie” (Princeton Weekly Bulletin, Volume 95, Number 21, 3 April 2006)
3. “Fascinating History of Lake Carnegie Traced by Dr. Spaeth at Ceremony in Honor of Donor” (Daily Princetonian, Volume 60, Number 148, 26 November 1935)
4. “Lake Carnegie: A History” by Sara Mayeux (Daily Princetonian, Volume 127, Number 38, 2 April 2003)

Books

1. Rowing at Princeton, 1872-2000: Celebrating 4500 Princetonians Who Have Strained and Gained From Their Rowing Experience for 130 Years by Willis M. Rivinus (Princeton Public Library)
2. Princeton University by Richard D. Smith (Princeton Public Library)
3. A Princeton Companion by Alexander Leitch (Princeton Public Library)