Lums Pond State Park | |
Delaware State Park | |
A view of a picnic area along the edge of Lums Pond
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Named for: Lums Pond | |
Country | United States |
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State | Delaware |
County | New Castle |
Coordinates | 39°33′30″N 75°43′15″W / 39.55833°N 75.72083°WCoordinates: 39°33′30″N 75°43′15″W / 39.55833°N 75.72083°W |
Area | 1,790 acres (724.4 ha) |
Founded | 1963 |
Management | Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control |
Website: Lums Pond State Park | |
Lums Pond State Park is a 1,790-acre (720 ha) Delaware state park near Bear, New Castle County, Delaware in the United States. The park surrounds Lums Pond, an impoundment built by the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal on St. Georges Creek. The C&D built the pond as a source of water to fill the locks of the canal that connected the Chesapeake Bay with the Delaware River during the early 19th century. Lums Pond State Park is open for a wide variety of year-round recreation.
Lums Pond, the largest freshwater pond in Delaware, covering 200 acres (81 ha) in central New Castle County, was built in the early 19th century as an impoundment for the Chesapeake and Delaware Canal. The pond supplied water to fill the locks of the canal and water power for a local gristmill. The pond became a natural recreational draw for the residents of Delaware. Ownership was transferred to the state of Delaware in the mid-20th century. Lums Pond State Park was opened to the public in 1963.
The Lum's Mill House was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1973.
Lums Pond is the center of recreation at Lums Pond State Park. Although swimming is not permitted in the pond, it is open to boating and fishing. Rowboats, sailboats, kayaks, canoes, and pedalos are available to rent. Lums Pond is a freshwater fishery with the common game fish being carp, pickerel, crappie, catfish, and largemouth bass and hybrid striped bass. The hybrid striped bass are stocked by the Fish and Wildlife Division of the Delaware Department of Natural Resources and Environmental Control. The other game fish are native species.