It was named for Roland Run, a nearby stream that feeds the lake and eventually flows into Jones Falls.

At times, the water was "clouded or turbid from rain-borne particles" as dredging was attempted to make the reservoir deeper.

Increased mud and silt closed the lake for hundreds of days by 1912, accompanied by costs in the thousands of dollars for upkeep.

[10][8] In 1971, Nancy Marcus and other undergraduate researchers from Goucher College and Towson University conducted a study entitled "An Analysis on the Degradation of Lake Roland."

The students received a $13,140 grant from the National Science Foundation to complete the investigation under the guidance of Goucher biology professor John W.

With the construction of I-695 and the Jones Falls Expressway and the expansion of Towson University, silt in Lake Roland increased until it comprised 60% of its volume by 1974.

[citation needed] The L'Hirondelle Club was founded by wealthy members of the local community for rowing on the lake.

The park is also bounded on the west by the former mining community of Bare Hills, one of the oldest free African-American settlements in the area.

[11][10][notes 1] The Baltimore Light RailLink runs along a track embankment and plate girder bridge through the middle of the lake's lower portion, above the dam.