Lake Waubeeka
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Lake Waubeeka | |
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  Lake Waubeeka Location within Danbury, Connecticut  Lake Waubeeka Lake Waubeeka (the United States) | |
| Coordinates: 41°20′59″N 73°27′32″W / 41.3497608°N 73.4587875°W | |
| Country | United States |
| State |  Connecticut |
| County | Fairfield County |
| City | Danbury |
| Area | |
| • Land | 0.95 sq mi (2.45 km2) |
| • Water | 0.077 sq mi (0.20 km2) |
| Elevation | 712 ft (217 m) |
| Time zone | UTC– 05:00 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC– 04:00 (EDT) |
| ZIP Code | 06810 |
| Area code | 203 |
| GNIS feature ID | 211874[1] |
| Website | https://lakewaubeeka.org/ |
Lake Waubeeka is a man-made lake previously owned and created by Hiram Kellogg and later sold to eventually become a private community in the Starrs Plain section of Danbury, Fairfield County, Connecticut, United States.[2]
Originally a summer colony, the lake community was established by a group of Jewish New York City firefighters, known as the Ner Tamid Society, in 1951. Only a year prior, the group had set up the organization (Lake Tormid Inc.) that would complete the endeavor. Previous to this, the Lake Waubeeka property had been used as a campsite for the Boy Scouts.[3] Although there were initial plans to rename the lake to "Lake Tormid," the decision was made to keep the original Waubeeka, which is said to be an Indigenous term for "high water."[4]
In 1952 construction began on the 200 original bungalows,[5] which were quite small and barren at the time.[6]: 21 By 1954 all 8 roads that make up the community were completed. The streets were named after the children of Tormid Lake Inc.'s original board of directors. Most notably, Carol Street is named after Sidney Klein's daughter, Carole King, in the original spelling of her first name.[7]
By the 1970s Lake Waubeeka started to become a year-round residential community, one that was no longer historically Jewish.[4]
