Lake Matoaka

Construction projects by the Civilian Conservation Corps, college, and others have contributed to the lake becoming a site for outdoor entertainment and recreation.

Lake Matoaka is located on the western edge of the College of William & Mary's campus in Williamsburg, a city in southeastern Tidewater Virginia.

[7] A small boathouse operates from this side, with paths and bridges connecting the lakeside to campus near the William & Mary Police Department offices.

[8] The core samples from sediment in Lake Matoaka have been studied for the lakebed's capacity to retain historic atmospheric information.

Among the discoveries were microscopic spheroidal carbonaceous particles left by fly ash from coal-fire furnaces in the Eighteenth Century during Williamsburg's industrial and political peak and lead particulates traced to production in 19th-century Galena, Illinois.

[12] Some time in the early 18th century, a gristmill and the mill pond to power it were constructed for Ludwell by damming College Creek.

[4] The arrival of a Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) encampment in the fall of 1933 on the college's campus saw many new structures and trails built around Lake Matoaka.

[12]: 25 Recreation on Lake Matoaka previously permitted non-boating activities in the water, with winter sports recorded as including ice skating in 1940.