Lake Oscawana
lake in Putnam County, New York, USA
Lake Oscawana is a body of water located in Putnam Valley, New York, United States.
The 386-acre (1.6 km2) lake has a depth that ranges from 25 to 30 feet (7.6 to 9.1 m) at its deepest. The lake is fed by a stream from its north end and it drains out into Oscawana Creek at the middle of its southeastern shore. It is located between two hill ranges. Oscawana Creek merges into Peekskill Hollow Creek near the intersection of Peekskill Hollow Road and Oscawana Lake Road in Putnam Valley the hamlet of Lake Peekskill.
The lake has a number of houses around its edges, several rock formations in the center of the lake, and small islands accessible by kayak or canoe. Lake Oscawana provides summer recreation, and some local residents use the lake for boating, swimming, and fishing from the lake's several private beaches.
It features a variety of wildlife including fish, Canada geese, water snakes, turtles, and an occasional stork. In the summer it is cleaned regularly by an aquatic weed harvester; however, as of 2020 the harvester was in disrepair, causing growth of invasive weeds. Since then, the lake community has addressed mounting issues of cyanobacteria blooms and filamentous algae using grass carp and aquatic herbicides.
This brief starts where responsible research should: with the source description of “Lake Oscawana” as lake in Putnam County, New York, USA. Everything that follows is an evidence route, not borrowed authority.
Why this record matters
The subject matters to the places & architecture register because the source frames it as lake in Putnam County, New York, USA. Its deeper value depends on whether names, dates, institutions and citations support that framing.
Place names and jurisdictional language are key evidence: both can reveal earlier catalogue descriptions and overlooked record series. The source revision retrieved here is dated Aug 5, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q6477232. VIAF identifies the subject as 243842914. The Library of Congress control number is sh90002614. Authority coordinates are 41.397, -73.848. 1 of 3 selected statements include explicit references; 0 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The source lead contains qualifying language; that uncertainty should survive quotation, summary and reuse. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Lake Oscawana”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Lake Oscawana primary sources, Lake Oscawana archive and Lake research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Lake Oscawana”?
- Which earlier names or jurisdictions may reveal additional records?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Lake Oscawana” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.