page_title: Lake Hopatcong
section_title: Resort destination
hierarchical_section_title: Lake Hopatcong / History / Resort destination
caption_attribution_description: English: Matte hand-colored photograph postcard of The Isles Bridge, Lake Hopatcong, New Jersey. Back is divided and bears a cancelled one-cent stamp of George Washington. Text reads, "Published by W. J. Harris, Lake Hopatcong, N. J. Made in U.S.A."
context_page_description: Lake Hopatcong is the largest freshwater body in New Jersey, United States, about 4 square miles in area. Located 30 miles from the Delaware River and 40 miles from Manhattan, New York City, the lake forms part of the border between Sussex and Morris counties in the state's northern highlands region. Lake Hopatcong was produced by damming and flooding of two ponds, known as the Great Pond and Little Pond, and the Musconetcong River, its natural outlet. Historically known as a resort lake for vacationing New Yorkers, it is now a mostly suburban residential lake.
context_section_description: In 1882, passenger rail service came to Lake Hopatcong, brought by the Central Railroad of New Jersey, which terminated at Nolan's Point. This turned the lake into a popular summer resort.
  Among the hotels built to support the growing tourism industry was the luxurious Breslin Hotel, constructed in Van Every Cove in Mount Arlington with 250 rooms and electricity. During peak summer season, the lake was so popular that hotel rooms were difficult to come by and some visitors resorted to camping near the lake.
  Various amusements sprang up around the lake. Bertrand Island Amusement Park was open for the late spring, summer, and early fall seasons. The island also hosted beauty pageants, including an unofficial 1934 Miss America. The Lake Hopatcong Yacht Club, constructed in 1910 on Bertrand Island, remains a landmark.
  Lake Hopatcong hosted several strong chess tournaments in the 1920s, including the Ninth American Chess Congress in 1923, which was won by Frank Marshall and Abraham Kupchik, and another tournament in 1926, which was won by world champion José Raúl Capablanca.
  Lake Hopatcong flourished in the 1920s, and many famous people owned property on the lake, including Vaudeville's Joe Cook, who owned Sleepless Hollow in Davis Cove; Vaudeville's Owen McGiveney (father to Maura McGiveney), who owned a house in the River Styx section for more than 30 years; actress Lotta Crabtree, who owned the Attol Tryst home in Mount Arlington; and inventor and chemist Hudson Maxim. Their presence attracted many famous visitors, including Babe Ruth, Bud Abbot, Bert Lahr, and Milton Berle.
caption: The Isles Bridge, circa 1911
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