54. Lake Carnegie
“Loch” Carnegie was created in 1906 through the excavation
of the marshy area between Princeton and Kingston along the course of
the Millstone River and Stony Brook, and with the construction of a dam
in Kingston to compound the confluence of these two waterways into a 3.5-mile-long,
800-foot-wide lake. Princeton classmates and brothers Howard Russell
Butler and William Allen Butler ’1876 persuaded steel manufacturer
Andrew Carnegie, who had fond memories of the lochs in his native Scotland,
to finance the project so that undergraduates would have a better place
to engage in aquatic sports than the old Delaware & Raritan Canal.
The student body rejoiced at the news, and the acquisition of hundreds
of acres of land associated with this gift has since provided the University
with important maneuvering room for development. Nonetheless, Princeton
President Woodrow Wilson ’1879, who had unsuccessfully pressed for
a gift in support of an academic program, later commented to Carnegie,
“We needed bread and you gave us cake.” In this picture,
four men from the class of 1932 celebrate a reunion with a brief ride
around the lake.
- To learn more about Princeton
Reunions, see icon #10
and 11, and Café Vivian picture #67,
112, 119, and 132.
- To learn more about athletics
at Princeton, see quotation #4, 9,
21, and 22, and Café
Vivian picture #6, 7,
9, 18, 22,
39, 48, 49,56,
61, 69, 72,
97, 102, 111,
123, and 126.
- To learn more about campus grounds
and buildings, see icon #1, 5,
and 8, quotation #5, 7,
9, 28, and 39,
and Café Vivian picture #4, 6,
7, 8, 11,
16, 20, 25,
30, 33, 37,
40, 46, 48,
58, 61, 62,
67, 68, 71,
78, 85, 87,
95, 100, 101,
102, 104, 105,
108, 109, 111,
118, 124, 127,
and 133.
- To learn more about Woodrow Wilson, see quotation #33 and Café Vivian picture #3, 34, 42, 84, 95, 101, 104, and 105.