Carter Lake (lake)

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View of Eppley Airfield with Carter Lake visible to the right

Carter Lake is an oxbow lake in Nebraska and Iowa, located next to Omaha and Carter Lake. Soon after its formation the lake was called the East Omaha Lake, and then Lake Nakoma.

1 Formation
2 History
3 References
4 See also
5 External Link

[edit] Formation

It is a former channel of the Missouri River and was formed in the summer of 1877. The city of Carter Lake, Iowa takes its name from the lake. The lake was formed from the Saratoga Bend in the Missouri River.

[edit] History

The Saratoga Bend was the impetus for the creation of the town of Saratoga, Nebraska Territory, a short mile from the river. However, the Bend was cut-off from the river after a flood in 1877.

Carter Lake was named after one of Omaha's original industrialists named Levi Carter, who ran a white lead smelter in the area. It was originally known as Cut-Off Lake, due to its dramatic geological history. The name was first changed in the late 1800s to Lake Nicoma for the fabled Omaha wife of Peter A. Sarpy; the lake was a popular resort area then. The name was changed again to Carter Lake soon after Carter's widow donated $1,000,000 to the City of Omaha to provide upgrades to the park surrounding the lake.^[1]

The surrounding park was home to sailing events, Bungalow City, the Omaha Gun Club^[2], and a YMCA Camp as late as the 1930s^[3]. In 1896 the United States Supreme Court ruled that Carter Lake, which was originally an arm of the Missouri River, belonged to the State of Iowa^[4].