Hemlock Lake

Hemlock Lake
View north from boat launch in the evening.
Location	Livingston and Ontario counties, New York, United States
Group	Finger Lakes
Coordinates	42°43′07″N 77°36′32″W / 42.71861°N 77.60889°W / 42.71861; -77.60889Coordinates: 42°43′07″N 77°36′32″W / 42.71861°N 77.60889°W / 42.71861; -77.60889
Type	Ground Moraine
Primary inflows	Spring Water Creek, Lime Kiln Creek, Reynolds Gully
Primary outflows	Hemlock Outlet
Basin countries	United States
Max. length	7 mi (11 km)
Max. width	0.5 mi (0.80 km)
Surface area	1,800 acres (730 ha)
Average depth	45 ft (14 m)
Max. depth	91 ft (28 m)
Surface elevation	906 ft (276 m)

Hemlock Lake is one of the minor Finger Lakes. It is mostly located in Livingston County, New York, south of Rochester, with a portion overlapping into Ontario County. Hemlock is a translation of the Seneca name for the lake, O-neh-da Te-car-ne-o-di.

Hemlock Lake is seven miles (11 km) long, and approximately 0.5 miles (0.80 km) wide along most of its uniform north-south length. It has a surface area of 1,800 acres (7 km²), and maximum and mean depths of 91 feet (28 m) and 45 feet (14 m) respectively. Because the lake is a water source to Rochester, shore development is restricted and boats can be no longer than 16 feet and outboard motors no larger than 10 horsepower.

A feature of the lake is its land-locked salmon. In addition, the lake contains rainbow trout, brown trout, lake trout, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass, rock bass, chain pickerel, brown bullhead, yellow perch, walleye, and black crappie.

The Seneca people used the lake and its surrounding area for hunting and fishing near the south end of the lake up until the late 1770s. In September 1779 General John Sullivan and his army drove the natives away from the lake as part of the Sullivan Expedition.

In the 1790s Hemlock Lake received its first white settlers. Most of these settlers were involved in the lumber industry and built their homes out of wooden slabs by the outlet which is located at the north end of the lake. For a time this place was known as "Slab City". The lake was used to float logs to Slab City in the summer months as well as to haul logs on the ice in the winter time.