The following text is taken from the Northwood Lake Diagnostic/Feasibility Study completed in October of 1982 by the New Hampshire Water Supply and Pollution Control Commission.

Submitted to NorthwoodLake.com by Dave and Heather Lambert.

GENERAL MORPHOLOGICAL DATA

Northwood Lake is a long, narrow lake located in southeastern New Hampshire at 43 degrees 13 north latitude, 71 degrees 15 west longitude. It lies primarily in the town of Northwood, with lesser portions in Epsom and Deerfield. It is situated approximately 18 miles east of the capital city of Concord, and has approximately 2 miles of shoreline on Route 4, the major east-west highway between the capital city area and the State University, seashore, and State of Maine. It is a natural lake, raised by damming, having a surface area of 258.9 ha. (639.8 ac.), a maximum depth of 7.6 m. (25 ft.), a mean depth of 3.7 m. (12 ft.), and a volume of 9,628,000 m3 (2543 million gallons) at full pool. The lake is lowered 5 feet from mid-November to mid-March, at which time the western fifth of the lake (outlet end) is reduced to a meandering stream.

HISTORICAL DEVELOPMENT AND EARLY USES

Present day Northwood was originally the "north woods" section of Nottingham, a town incorporated in 1722. Over 40 years elapsed between the time of Nottingham’s incorporation and the arrival of the first settlers in the Northwood area (1763). The slowness of this westward movement was due to the Indian problems inland from the coastal area (it was not until the close of the French and Indian War in 1763 that this danger was lifted), and to the fact that Northwood was the height of land between the ocean and the Merrimack Valley and, as such, contained headwaters but no sizeable streams for transportation or easy water power. The area did have good forestlands, however, suitable for lumbering and housing an abundant supply of game.

Solomon Bickford was the first settler in the Narrows section of Northwood near Suncook Lake, the original name of Northwood Lake. Samuel Johnson who built a gristmill along Narrows Brook soon followed him. In a short time other settlers came, and small mills were built along outlet streams from Jenness, Long, and Harvey Ponds, as well as other areas. Northwood was incorporated as a town in 1773 and attained a population of 313 by 1775. In addition to the mills, lumbering was the main industry at this time.

A turnpike, begun in 1796, was constructed between the present capital city of Concord and the coastal towns of Portsmouth, Dover, and Exeter. Northwood became known for its excellent inns and taverns that sprang up to support the increased travel along this main east-west thoroughfare. With the building of the railroads, however, the turnpike lost its significance and Northwood had to look for a new source of income. Shoe manufacturing was established and became the main source of income for the town between 1850 and 1900. The town’s population peaked during this time with 1430 residents in 1870. As the mills gradually declined, because of greater waterpower elsewhere, the youth began to leave to seek their fortunes. By 1890 the population had plummeted to 804. Those that remained turned increasing to agricultural pursuits as most of the good lumber had been harvested. Prized meadowland for hay was located at the outlet end of Suncook Lake, although it later disappeared when the dam was built and the pond enlarged. Meadowland near the Narrows Brook inlet remains visible today but is now too wet to hay.

During all this time of Northwood's development, the lake was used primarily for fishing. Most people just did not have the time for recreational pursuits. All this changed in the early 1900’s, however, as industrial developments allowed people more leisure time. As the household car became available in the 1920’s and the turnpike became paved Route 4, the lakes of Northwood became prime attractions for summer residents.

Berry’s Grove, along Lake Shore Drive, was developed around 1900, providing refreshments, picnic areas, and rental boats. An early dance hall, the Suncook Pond Pavilion, was built out over the swampy area near the present day town beach. It was never very sturdy and was replaced by the Roseland in 1924, which became the center of the area’s summer life until after World War II. A second dancehall, the Belleview, was constructed at about the same time at the western end of Lake Shore Drive, but was never successful and quickly disappeared. A coal-fired steamboat operated on Suncook Pond about this time, carrying a dozen or more passengers.

Although one of the first families to settle the area, it was not until Louise and Samuel Johnson settled in the Joshua Hoitt house along Narrows Brook in 1926 that the dairy farm was established, which is operated today by their sons and grandsons.

Also in 1926 the Suncook Mills constructed the present day dam, somewhat downstream from the natural outlet of the lake. The mill owned the water rights and Suncook Pond was used for the upstream storage of water, to be released during the dry season to power the mills in Suncook. The New Hampshire Water Resources Board purchased the dam from the Suncook Manufacturing Company in 1957 for $1.00. They currently operate and maintain the dam, lowering the water level 5 feet from mid-November to mid-March.

Because of the confusion with the Suncook Ponds in Barnstead, in 1929 the New Hampshire legislature officially changed the name of Suncook Pond to Northwood Lake.

Table 2 chronologically outlines the major development activities around Northwood Lake, with Figure 2 depicting the locations of the developments. Prior to 1900 there were very few homes around the lake. The first major growths occurred during the 1920’s and 1930’s, primarily along Lake Shore Drive and in the Crutwell and Tasker Shore Park Developments. Development of the lake continued through the 40’s, 50’s, and 60’s, with the last major developments occurring in the Pine Point, Gulch Mountain, and Sleepy Hollow areas. At the present time, first tier development has encompassed most of the shoreline of Northwood Lake, except for the eastern end owned by the Boy Scouts.