Beebe Lake was once a forested swamp.[5] A pond was formed when Ezra Cornell constructed a dam on Fall Creek in 1838, above Triphammer Falls, to provide power to the mills owned by Jeremiah S. Beebe.[6] Cornell constructed a tunnel 200 feet long and 15 feet high to channel the water, raising the water level 18 feet.[5][7] In 1898, the dam was raised an additional ten feet, turning the pond into a proper lake.[5]
Beebe Lake became a major local destination for winter recreation starting in the 1890s.[8] The space was maintained by the Cornell Athletic Association but open to the public for ice skating.[8] Ithaca Street Railway trolleys would announce that the ice was open for skating by displaying a white banner with red ball. Trolley passengers with skates rode for half price.[8] In the Spring when the ice melted, sometimes local children would break of chunks of ice with poles, and ride the ice rafts downstream.[8]
A toboggan slide was a popular attraction on Beebe Lake for the first half of the 20th Century. The first one was erected around 1900 and made of wood; it was replaced by a steel slide in the 1920s.[8] Although dangerous and costly to operate, it remained enormously popular, until Cornell removed the slide in 1949.[8]
In the early 20th Century, Cornell fraternities held ice castle building competitions, creating intricate structures with decorated pillars.[8]
The lake was also Cornell's primary venue for ice hockey matches during the first decades of the sport.[8] However, the ice would sometimes melt just before a scheduled contest, making it an unreliable venue. In 1957 Lynah Rink was constructed, freeing the hockey team from the unpredictability of the climate.[8]
The lake is dredged approximately once a decade in order to prevent it from returning to its original wetland state.[6] Substantial such projects took place in 1988 and 2000.[4] In recent decades, the lake remains a popular spot for paddling by organizations such as the Cornell Outing Club.[9]
Beebe Lake provides water to Cornell's hydroelectric power plant, and previously supplied water to a lake-source cooling plant.[4]
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