Kingman Lake
Encyclopedia
Kingman Lake is a 110 acre (0.4451546 km²) artificial lake located in the Anacostia River
in Washington, D.C.
, in the United States
. The lake was created in 1920 when the United States Army Corps of Engineers
used material dredged from the Anacostia River to create Kingman Island. The Corps of Engineers largely blocked the flow of the Anacostia River to the west of Kingman Island, creating the lake (although some water is permitted to enter the lake to prevent it from completely evaporating and to refresh its waters). Kingman Lake is currently managed by the National Park Service
.
Between 1860 and the late 1880s, large mudflats ("the Anacostia flats") formed on both banks of the Anacostia River due to this deforestation and runoff. At this time, the city allowed its sewage to pour untreated into the Anacostia. Marsh grass
began growing in the flats, trapping the sewage and leading public health
experts to conclude that the flats were unsanitary. Health officials also feared that the flats were a prime breeding ground for malaria
- and yellow fever
-carrying mosquito
es. By 1876, a large mudflat had formed just to the south of the western end of Benning Bridge, and another mudflat about 740 feet (225.6 m) wide had developed in the river south of that. By 1883, a stream named "Succabel's Gut" traversed the upper flat and another dubbed "Turtle Gut" the lower, and both flats hosted substantial populations of American lotus
, lily pads
, and wild rice
.
In 1898, officials with the United States Army Corps of Engineers
and the District of Columbia convinced the United States Congress
that the Anacostia River should be dredged to create a more commercially viable channel that would enhance the local economy as well as provide land where factories
or warehouse
s might be built. The material dredged from the river would be used to build up the flats and turn them into dry land, eliminating the public health dangers they caused. Most of the reclaimed mudflats were subsequently declared to be parkland and named Anacostia Water Park (now Anacostia Park
) in 1919.
The original dredging plan called for a for a channel 15 feet (4.6 m) wide on the Anacostia's west bank from the 11th Street Bridges
to Massachusetts Avenue SE
, narrowing to a 9 feet (2.7 m) wide channel from Massachusetts Avenue SE to the Maryland
-District border line. In addition to this channel (which was meant to facilitate the passage of cargo ships) the McMillan Commission proposed building a dam across the Anacostia River at Massachusetts Avenue SE or at Benning Bridge to form a large lake for fishing and recreational boating. The Commission also proposed using dredged material to build islands within the lake. The Washington Post
reported in July 1914 that Congress had approved the plan for a dam on the river at Massachusetts Avenue SE. By 1916, the Corps of Engineers was still planning a dam, with access to the 9 feet (2.7 m) deep lake behind it controlled by locks
. The Corps also planned to create several large islands in the lake and planned to replace Benning Bridge with a drawbridge
to accommodate the cargo traffic through the lake. The firm of Sanford and Brooks began the dredging in January 1903, at which time the Army Corps of Engineers began surveying the surrounding land to determine whether the federal government or private landowners had title to the marshes themselves.
By 1920, the Corps of Engineers had dropped the dam idea and proposed creating a 6 feet (1.8 m) deep lake on one side of the Anacostia River by linking several of the mid-river islands it had built with dikes. That same year, Congress specifically prohibited the Corps from extending Anacostia Park beyond Benning Bridge, which forced the Corps to drop its plans for a drawbridge.
Dan Christie Kingman
. The name was formally proposed in September. Improvements to the island and lake continued: The Corps spent $55,000 for a rock and concrete riprap
wall around Kingman Lake, and another $20,000 for gates and conduits at the north and south ends of the lake to maintain a constant water level in lake. The Corps wanted to install a lock in the southern end of the lake to give pleasure boats access to it, and began laying plans for a second lake (East Lake) on the eastern side of the Anacostia River opposite Kingman Lake. That same year, the National Aeronautic Association
proposed filling in all or part of Kingman Lake to build a new city airport. In early 1929, a channel 6 feet (1.8 m) deep was dredged under Benning Bridge as it passed over Kingman Lake. (As of 1998, due to the reconstruction of Benning Bridge and other changes, this had been replaced with a 30 feet (9.1 m) wide culvert.) The dredging ship Benning also dredged about half of Kingman Lake to deepen it. By this time, the conduit and gates had been installed in the lake's lower exit, and the upper gates were expected to be installed soon. About 200 acres (80.9 ha) of the western shore of Kingman Lake between Gallinger Hospital and Benning Bridge were set aside for gardens in March 1933 to provide food for the needy.
The drainage of raw sewage into Kingman Lake and the Anacostia River first became an issue in the early 1930s. An open sewer channel drained into Kingman Lake through the middle of this tract, but a footbridge was constructed over it to link the two areas. Later that year, the Army Corps of Engineers spent $853,000 to extend Washington's sewer system to Bladensburg to collect raw sewage being dumped into the Anacostia River and Kingman Lake.
In 1934, the Corps of Engineers transferred ownership of the Anacostia Flats and Kingman Lake to the National Park Service. As the Corps continued to dredge fill, it expanded the flats on the eastern side of Kingman Lake, making it smaller than originally intended. Work on the lake stopped in 1941 due to budgetary and resource shortages associated with the advent of World War II
.
Health issues regarding Kingman Lake again became prominent in the mid-1950s. An American University
biologist found that the bed of Kingman Lake was composed almost entirely of fecal matter
, and warned that no one should swim in the lake due the extensive pollution. The immense amount of raw sewage in the lake was attributed to low water flows, and the lack of southern locks to allow water to more freely pass out of the lake. Nonetheless, a year later city officials were advocating that a playground be built on the shores of Kingman Island.
A number of development proposals were made for Kingman Lake throughout the 1960s. The National Capital Parks Commission banned boating on the lake in October 1961. The Commission also proposed filling in 59 acres (23.9 ha) of Kingman Lake (about 50 to 60 percent of the lake's total area) and relocating some of the riprap walls, making Islands 3 and 4 part of the mainland and adding an additional 19 acres (7.7 ha) to Langston Golf Course
(located on the northern half of Kingman Island). This plan was never acted on.
. The Corps said it would remove some of the riprap wall and create 42 acres (17 ha) of marsh north of Benning Bridge and 7 acres (2.8 ha) of marsh between Benning Bridge and East Capitol Street Bridge. Work on the tidal marsh would be complete by March 2000, and during the summer of 2000 the Corps intended to plant tens of thousands of aquatic plants in the new marshlands. The cost of the wall removal, marsh restoration, and plantings was estimated at $4 million. A five-year scientific effort would monitor changes in the tidal marsh from 2001 to 2006.
Some of the more unusual accidents and deaths involving the lake include:
Anacostia River
The Anacostia River is a river in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States. It flows from Prince George's County in Maryland into Washington, D.C., where it joins with the Washington Channel to empty into the Potomac River at Buzzard Point. It is approximately long...
in Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C.
Washington, D.C., formally the District of Columbia and commonly referred to as Washington, "the District", or simply D.C., is the capital of the United States. On July 16, 1790, the United States Congress approved the creation of a permanent national capital as permitted by the U.S. Constitution....
, in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
. The lake was created in 1920 when the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
used material dredged from the Anacostia River to create Kingman Island. The Corps of Engineers largely blocked the flow of the Anacostia River to the west of Kingman Island, creating the lake (although some water is permitted to enter the lake to prevent it from completely evaporating and to refresh its waters). Kingman Lake is currently managed by the National Park Service
National Park Service
The National Park Service is the U.S. federal agency that manages all national parks, many national monuments, and other conservation and historical properties with various title designations...
.
Early history of the Lake
Prior to the arrival of European settlers in the 18th century, the Anacostia River was a fast-flowing and relatively silt-free river with very few mudflats or marshes. White settlers cleared much of the surrounding forest for farmland, however, and extensive soil erosion led to a heavy load of silt and effluent in the Anacostia. In 1805, local landowner Benjamin Stoddert built a wooden bridge over the Anacostia River at the present site of Benning Bridge. The bridge was sold to Thomas Ewell, who in the 1820s sold it to William Benning. Thereafter the structure was known as Benning's Bridge (or Benning Bridge). The wooden bridge was rebuilt several times after 1805. This included construction of a steel bridge in 1892. The construction of Benning and other bridges and the diversion of inflowing streams to agricultural use also slowed the river's current, allowing much of the silt to settle and be deposited.Between 1860 and the late 1880s, large mudflats ("the Anacostia flats") formed on both banks of the Anacostia River due to this deforestation and runoff. At this time, the city allowed its sewage to pour untreated into the Anacostia. Marsh grass
Poaceae
The Poaceae is a large and nearly ubiquitous family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called grasses, although the term "grass" is also applied to plants that are not in the Poaceae lineage, including the rushes and sedges...
began growing in the flats, trapping the sewage and leading public health
Public health
Public health is "the science and art of preventing disease, prolonging life and promoting health through the organized efforts and informed choices of society, organizations, public and private, communities and individuals" . It is concerned with threats to health based on population health...
experts to conclude that the flats were unsanitary. Health officials also feared that the flats were a prime breeding ground for malaria
Malaria
Malaria is a mosquito-borne infectious disease of humans and other animals caused by eukaryotic protists of the genus Plasmodium. The disease results from the multiplication of Plasmodium parasites within red blood cells, causing symptoms that typically include fever and headache, in severe cases...
- and yellow fever
Yellow fever
Yellow fever is an acute viral hemorrhagic disease. The virus is a 40 to 50 nm enveloped RNA virus with positive sense of the Flaviviridae family....
-carrying mosquito
Mosquito
Mosquitoes are members of a family of nematocerid flies: the Culicidae . The word Mosquito is from the Spanish and Portuguese for little fly...
es. By 1876, a large mudflat had formed just to the south of the western end of Benning Bridge, and another mudflat about 740 feet (225.6 m) wide had developed in the river south of that. By 1883, a stream named "Succabel's Gut" traversed the upper flat and another dubbed "Turtle Gut" the lower, and both flats hosted substantial populations of American lotus
Nelumbo lutea
Nelumbo lutea is a species of flowering plant in the monogeneric family Nelumbonaceae. Common names include American lotus, yellow lotus, water-chinquapin, and volée. It is native to North America...
, lily pads
Nymphaeaceae
Nymphaeaceae is a family of flowering plants. Members of this family are commonly called water lilies and live in freshwater areas in temperate and tropical climates around the world. The family contains eight genera. There are about 70 species of water lilies around the world. The genus...
, and wild rice
Wild rice
Wild rice is four species of grasses forming the genus Zizania, and the grain which can be harvested from them. The grain was historically gathered and eaten in both North America and China...
.
In 1898, officials with the United States Army Corps of Engineers
United States Army Corps of Engineers
The United States Army Corps of Engineers is a federal agency and a major Army command made up of some 38,000 civilian and military personnel, making it the world's largest public engineering, design and construction management agency...
and the District of Columbia convinced the United States Congress
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the bicameral legislature of the federal government of the United States, consisting of the Senate and the House of Representatives. The Congress meets in the United States Capitol in Washington, D.C....
that the Anacostia River should be dredged to create a more commercially viable channel that would enhance the local economy as well as provide land where factories
Factory
A factory or manufacturing plant is an industrial building where laborers manufacture goods or supervise machines processing one product into another. Most modern factories have large warehouses or warehouse-like facilities that contain heavy equipment used for assembly line production...
or warehouse
Warehouse
A warehouse is a commercial building for storage of goods. Warehouses are used by manufacturers, importers, exporters, wholesalers, transport businesses, customs, etc. They are usually large plain buildings in industrial areas of cities and towns. They usually have loading docks to load and unload...
s might be built. The material dredged from the river would be used to build up the flats and turn them into dry land, eliminating the public health dangers they caused. Most of the reclaimed mudflats were subsequently declared to be parkland and named Anacostia Water Park (now Anacostia Park
Anacostia Park
Anacostia Park is operated by the United States National Park Service. It is one of Washington, D.C.'s largest and most important recreation areas, with over 1200 acres at multiple sites. Included in Anacostia Park is Kenilworth Park and Aquatic Gardens and Kenilworth Marsh...
) in 1919.
The original dredging plan called for a for a channel 15 feet (4.6 m) wide on the Anacostia's west bank from the 11th Street Bridges
11th Street Bridges
The 11th Street Bridges are a pair of one-way bridges across the Anacostia River in Washington, D.C., U.S.A. The southbound structure is officially named the Officer Kevin J. Welsh Memorial Bridge, while the northbound structure is officially named the 11th Street Bridge. The bridges convey...
to Massachusetts Avenue SE
Massachusetts Avenue (Washington, D.C.)
Massachusetts Avenue is a major diagonal transverse road in Washington, D.C., and the Massachusetts Avenue Historic District is a historic district that includes part of it....
, narrowing to a 9 feet (2.7 m) wide channel from Massachusetts Avenue SE to the Maryland
Maryland
Maryland is a U.S. state located in the Mid Atlantic region of the United States, bordering Virginia, West Virginia, and the District of Columbia to its south and west; Pennsylvania to its north; and Delaware to its east...
-District border line. In addition to this channel (which was meant to facilitate the passage of cargo ships) the McMillan Commission proposed building a dam across the Anacostia River at Massachusetts Avenue SE or at Benning Bridge to form a large lake for fishing and recreational boating. The Commission also proposed using dredged material to build islands within the lake. The Washington Post
The Washington Post
The Washington Post is Washington, D.C.'s largest newspaper and its oldest still-existing paper, founded in 1877. Located in the capital of the United States, The Post has a particular emphasis on national politics. D.C., Maryland, and Virginia editions are printed for daily circulation...
reported in July 1914 that Congress had approved the plan for a dam on the river at Massachusetts Avenue SE. By 1916, the Corps of Engineers was still planning a dam, with access to the 9 feet (2.7 m) deep lake behind it controlled by locks
Lock (water transport)
A lock is a device for raising and lowering boats between stretches of water of different levels on river and canal waterways. The distinguishing feature of a lock is a fixed chamber in which the water level can be varied; whereas in a caisson lock, a boat lift, or on a canal inclined plane, it is...
. The Corps also planned to create several large islands in the lake and planned to replace Benning Bridge with a drawbridge
Bascule bridge
A bascule bridge is a moveable bridge with a counterweight that continuously balances the span, or "leaf," throughout the entire upward swing in providing clearance for boat traffic....
to accommodate the cargo traffic through the lake. The firm of Sanford and Brooks began the dredging in January 1903, at which time the Army Corps of Engineers began surveying the surrounding land to determine whether the federal government or private landowners had title to the marshes themselves.
By 1920, the Corps of Engineers had dropped the dam idea and proposed creating a 6 feet (1.8 m) deep lake on one side of the Anacostia River by linking several of the mid-river islands it had built with dikes. That same year, Congress specifically prohibited the Corps from extending Anacostia Park beyond Benning Bridge, which forced the Corps to drop its plans for a drawbridge.
Early development efforts
By March 1926, the Corps had begun calling the lake it had created Kingman Lake, after the well-regarded former head of the Corps, Brigadier GeneralBrigadier general (United States)
A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
Dan Christie Kingman
Dan Christie Kingman
Dan Christie Kingman was born in Dover, New Hampshire. He graduated second in the United States Military Academy class of 1875 and was commissioned in the Corps of Engineers. He served as an instructor at the Military Academy and as the engineer officer of the Army's Department of the Platte...
. The name was formally proposed in September. Improvements to the island and lake continued: The Corps spent $55,000 for a rock and concrete riprap
Riprap
Riprap — also known as rip rap, rubble, shot rock or rock armour or "Rip-rap" — is rock or other material used to armor shorelines, streambeds, bridge abutments, pilings and other shoreline structures against scour, water or ice erosion.It is made from a variety of rock types, commonly granite or...
wall around Kingman Lake, and another $20,000 for gates and conduits at the north and south ends of the lake to maintain a constant water level in lake. The Corps wanted to install a lock in the southern end of the lake to give pleasure boats access to it, and began laying plans for a second lake (East Lake) on the eastern side of the Anacostia River opposite Kingman Lake. That same year, the National Aeronautic Association
National Aeronautic Association
The National Aeronautic Association of the United States is a non-profit 501 organization and a member of the Fédération Aéronautique Internationale , the international standard setting and record-keeping body for aeronautics and astronautics. NAA is the official record-keeper for United States...
proposed filling in all or part of Kingman Lake to build a new city airport. In early 1929, a channel 6 feet (1.8 m) deep was dredged under Benning Bridge as it passed over Kingman Lake. (As of 1998, due to the reconstruction of Benning Bridge and other changes, this had been replaced with a 30 feet (9.1 m) wide culvert.) The dredging ship Benning also dredged about half of Kingman Lake to deepen it. By this time, the conduit and gates had been installed in the lake's lower exit, and the upper gates were expected to be installed soon. About 200 acres (80.9 ha) of the western shore of Kingman Lake between Gallinger Hospital and Benning Bridge were set aside for gardens in March 1933 to provide food for the needy.
The drainage of raw sewage into Kingman Lake and the Anacostia River first became an issue in the early 1930s. An open sewer channel drained into Kingman Lake through the middle of this tract, but a footbridge was constructed over it to link the two areas. Later that year, the Army Corps of Engineers spent $853,000 to extend Washington's sewer system to Bladensburg to collect raw sewage being dumped into the Anacostia River and Kingman Lake.
In 1934, the Corps of Engineers transferred ownership of the Anacostia Flats and Kingman Lake to the National Park Service. As the Corps continued to dredge fill, it expanded the flats on the eastern side of Kingman Lake, making it smaller than originally intended. Work on the lake stopped in 1941 due to budgetary and resource shortages associated with the advent of World War II
World War II
World War II, or the Second World War , was a global conflict lasting from 1939 to 1945, involving most of the world's nations—including all of the great powers—eventually forming two opposing military alliances: the Allies and the Axis...
.
Health issues regarding Kingman Lake again became prominent in the mid-1950s. An American University
American University
American University is a private, Methodist, liberal arts, and research university in Washington, D.C. The university was chartered by an Act of Congress on December 5, 1892 as "The American University", which was approved by President Benjamin Harrison on February 24, 1893...
biologist found that the bed of Kingman Lake was composed almost entirely of fecal matter
Feces
Feces, faeces, or fæces is a waste product from an animal's digestive tract expelled through the anus or cloaca during defecation.-Etymology:...
, and warned that no one should swim in the lake due the extensive pollution. The immense amount of raw sewage in the lake was attributed to low water flows, and the lack of southern locks to allow water to more freely pass out of the lake. Nonetheless, a year later city officials were advocating that a playground be built on the shores of Kingman Island.
A number of development proposals were made for Kingman Lake throughout the 1960s. The National Capital Parks Commission banned boating on the lake in October 1961. The Commission also proposed filling in 59 acres (23.9 ha) of Kingman Lake (about 50 to 60 percent of the lake's total area) and relocating some of the riprap walls, making Islands 3 and 4 part of the mainland and adding an additional 19 acres (7.7 ha) to Langston Golf Course
Langston Golf Course
Langston Golf Course is an 18-hole golf course in Washington, D.C., established in 1939. It was named for John Mercer Langston, an African American who was the first dean of the Howard University School of Law, the first president of Virginia Normal and Collegiate Institute , and the first African...
(located on the northern half of Kingman Island). This plan was never acted on.
Recent development
Since 1999, a variety of proposals have been made for Kingman Lake, most focusing on retaining the lake's character as one of the few remaining wild places within the city's limits. In September 1999, the Army Corps of Engineers—which retained ownership of Kingman Lake—began transforming the lake back into a tidal marshTidal marsh
A tidal marsh is a type of marsh that is found along coasts and estuaries of which the flooding characteristics are determined by the tidal movement of the adjacent estuary, sea or ocean . According to the salinity of the flooding water, freshwater, brackish and saline tidal marshes are...
. The Corps said it would remove some of the riprap wall and create 42 acres (17 ha) of marsh north of Benning Bridge and 7 acres (2.8 ha) of marsh between Benning Bridge and East Capitol Street Bridge. Work on the tidal marsh would be complete by March 2000, and during the summer of 2000 the Corps intended to plant tens of thousands of aquatic plants in the new marshlands. The cost of the wall removal, marsh restoration, and plantings was estimated at $4 million. A five-year scientific effort would monitor changes in the tidal marsh from 2001 to 2006.
Deaths and accidents
Deaths and accidents in and around Kingman Lake have unfortunately been numerous. The first confirmed death in Kingman Lake occurred on August 5, 1937, when William O'Bryant, a 19-year-old African American youth, drowned in the lake in front of two friends after diving from a fishing boat. Over the next four decades, at least 31 people drowned in the lake.Some of the more unusual accidents and deaths involving the lake include:
- On January 22, 1943, a two-engine U.S. Army Air CorpsUnited States Air ForceThe United States Air Force is the aerial warfare service branch of the United States Armed Forces and one of the American uniformed services. Initially part of the United States Army, the USAF was formed as a separate branch of the military on September 18, 1947 under the National Security Act of...
transport plane piloted by Brigadier GeneralBrigadier general (United States)A brigadier general in the United States Army, Air Force, and Marine Corps, is a one-star general officer, with the pay grade of O-7. Brigadier general ranks above a colonel and below major general. Brigadier general is equivalent to the rank of rear admiral in the other uniformed...
Luther S. Smith crashed in Kingman Lake after its engines failed shortly after takeoff at Bolling Air Force BaseBolling Air Force BaseJoint Base Anacostia-Bolling is a military installation, located in Southeast Washington, D.C., established on 1 October 2010 in accordance with congressional legislation implementing the recommendations of the 2005 Base Realignment and Closure Commission...
. Neither Smith nor the four enlisted men traveling with him were injured. - The body of a male transvestite, still wearing women's clothing, was found in Kingman Lake in July 1944. An investigation and autopsy revealed that the man committed suicide after leaping off Benning Bridge where it crossed the lake.
- Four teenage boys drowned in Kingman Lake in June 1951 after a high-speed police chase. The four had stolen several cakes from a local bakery and were attempting to flee from police in a stolen vehicle. The driver lost control of the automobile, which plunged from Benning Bridge into Kingman Lake.
- A seven-year-old boy, which the local media dubbed the "Cold Crusoe" (after the fictional shipwrecked character of Robinson CrusoeRobinson CrusoeRobinson Crusoe is a novel by Daniel Defoe that was first published in 1719. Epistolary, confessional, and didactic in form, the book is a fictional autobiography of the title character—a castaway who spends 28 years on a remote tropical island near Trinidad, encountering cannibals, captives, and...
), was rescued from Island No. 3 in Kingman Lake in February 1956. The boy allegedly swam to the island using a log as a raft. With no sign of a boat, police believed the boy had drowned. After several days, the police finally located the child (who revealed how he got to the island). - A 13-year-old boy in a stolen automobile plunged into Kingman Lake in 1959 while being chased by police. The boy later said he had no idea the lake was there.