History and images have been compiled from various sources including, among others, the 1987 National Register of Historic Places, Stack & Beasley's 1902 Sketches of Monroe and Union County, Union County Public Library (Patricia Poland, Genealogy & Local History Librarian), the Heritage Room Photo Collection, North Carolina Map Collection, Rootsweb - An Ancestry.com Community and Ancestry.com family histories.

Lake Tonawanda

Developed by J. T. Shute Jr., five-acre Lake Tonawanda was just north of the Seaboard tracks between Charlotte Avenue and the present Skyway Drive. It began as a pond or swimming hole. It is labeled "Shute's Pond" on the 1914 Sanborn Map of Monroe - below.

In the early 1900s, Lake Tonawanda was one of the most popular swimming places in North Carolina. Besides swimming facilities, the spot consisted of an amusement park with rides, a picnic area, a dance hall and concession stands. The carousel came from Tonawanda, N.Y.--thus the name.  Click images to enlarge and open photo viewer.



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