It was created in the 1840s when Sandburg Creek was dammed to provide reliable water for the "summit", or highest-elevation, section of the Delaware and Hudson Canal, between Wurtsboro and Napanoch.

One bay on the south side is crossed by the former right-of-way of the Orange & Western Railroad; a stone culvert underneath connects it with the main lake.

The northwest end lies in the village of Woodridge, which has built a small park along the lake around a beach that established itself in the early resort days.

[3] The village sought and received state and federal grants to repair the dam and restore the lake, whose near-absence had hurt local business.

[6] In 2006, the state Department of Environmental Conservation (DEC) had obtained a consent decree requiring that the village address the sewage spills that frequently occurred in heavy rains.