Lake Monomonac

Lake Monomonac is formed by Lake Monomonac Dam on the Lake Monomonac River in Worcester County, Massachusetts and is used for recreation purposes. Construction was completed in 1923. It is property of Town of Winchendon. Lake Monomonac is a man-made lake between New Hampshire Massachusetts. It was created from a small pond in New Hampshire by the construction of dams on the North Branch of the Millers River, a tributary of the Connecticut River. Lake Monomonac is 711 acres in size with 425 acres in New Hampshire and the remaining 286 acres in Massachusetts. A unique feature of the lake is the imposing bow of the ship, the "Santa Maria" facing northward up the main body of the lake. Built in 1942 of rock and concrete, it is a bit of whimsy by a priest, Father Wilfred A. Tisdale, as a vacation retreat and to display and enjoy his collection of rare works of art of genuine museum quality. There are 342 property owners and approximately 200 structures on the Massachusetts side of the lake. Approximately 1/3 of those structures are year round homes. 2 dams at the southeast end of the lake - one large earthen dam, and a smaller poured cement dam down stream about 200 feet. The large earthen dam has a siphon for level control. In addition, there is a large spillway on the northwest end of the lake that constructed with removable splashboards. The town of Winchendon owns the dams and spillway. The control at the siphon lowers the lake level 6-8 feet every fall so that spring run-off cannot endanger breaching the dams. Fishing, boating, swimming, sailing all are enjoyed on Lake Monomonac. Hurons, and various duck life abound. There are no 'public beaches' at present. There is a marina on the northeast end of the lake in New Hampshire that has a public ramp for boat access by non residents. Boat sales, gas and service are available at present. There is also a small town-owned lot on the south west end of the lake nearer the town of Winchendon, undeveloped at present that could give access to the shallower end of the lake downstream from the dams. Water source is from nearly 90 various streams, springs. Since Lake Monomonac is in both New Hampshire and Massachusetts, The Winchendon Springs Lake Association works closely with The Rindge lake association, Monomonac Lake Property Owners' Association (MLPOA) on regular water testing.