About LKWA
The name of ‘Red Hill Pond‘ is shown on a Trade & Plantation map by William Faden drawn for the King of England in March 1784. Later maps have this pristine body of water called ‘Long Pond‘.
A saw mill was located at the southern end, just across the Whittier Highway (NH Route 25) from the present dam. Large trees were cut from the woods surrounding the lake and the logs were floated down the lake and dragged across the highway to the sawmill.
In 1925, F. Sumner Coe petitioned the town of Moultonborough to change the pond’s name to ‘Lake Kanasatka‘. You can read a copy of that petition here. “Kanasatka’ was reportedly the name of an Indian Chief who lived in that area. Mr. Coe thought the ‘Indian sounding name would go well with the other lakes in the area. At the same time he asked to have ‘Round Pound‘ renamed ‘Wakondah Pond‘.
Lake Kanasatka is fed by Wakondah Pond from the west, snow melt from the surrounding hills, and many of its own springs. A dam at the Route 25 end of the lake controls the water level. Water that flows over the dam follows a narrow stream into Lake Winnipesaukee. The lake is 2 miles long, .3 miles wide in most places and has a mean depth of 20 feet. The deepest point, estimated at 48 feet, is in the widest spot, near Route 25.
