A brief history of our lake

Between 1714 and 1765, Silver Lake was known as "Pope John's Swamp." In 1828, William Chilson damned up the stream so he could harness water for power to his cotton manufacturing mill. In 1834, he could no longer afford to pay his creditors and surrendered his estate consisting of two houses, two barns, a cotton house, blacksmith shop, shed, 90 acres of land, water power and other accessories.

In 1875, J. Hoag once again harnessed the water power of the lake to run his small but prosperous saw mill.

In 1898, the Bellingham Board of Selectmen granted a franchise license to the Milford, Attleboro and Woonsocket Railway Company to operate a rail line in Bellingham. In 1899, the M.A. & W. Railway Company purchased the lake and surrounding area.

On May 18, 1900, work progressed on the construction of a 1,200 seat summer theatre. The theatre was 130 feet by 66 feet wide and was completed and opened on June 26, 1900. In the summer of 1900, a merry-go-round was set up and a $1000 bridge was built to the island. The photo below shows our lake as it was in 1910.

During the early 1900's there were boat rentals, a roller skating rink and band concerts. Top vaudeville acts from New York performed at the lake and as the years passed, a bath house and penny arcade were built. There were live animal acts including monkeys, lions and diving horses. Marathon dances were frequently held, and the Imperial Ladies Orchestra (pictured below) played. Famous visitors included Carry Nations and Helen Keller.

In 1920 and 1921, the trolley system began to decline which led to fewer people visiting the lake and less revenue coming into this once beautiful resort area. In 1922, there were many fires at the lake. The once magnificent theatre and carousel were burned. Since then, the lake has never again captured the popularity of a forgotten era.

Silver Lake was recently purchased by the Town of Bellingham and since 1995 has been open for recreation-- once again.

--Special thanks to Ernie Taft, Chairman of the Bellingham Historical Commission, author and publisher of the text and photos on this page.