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Indian Heart Rock by Samantha People who wanted to settle down and start a new life in Maine, even though there were Indians, sometimes found it hard to get a clear title to their land. There were many claims of land ownership for the same land because most land was already given to people from their ancestors in the 1700’s. In 1773, China was best known to Indians but most of all to Canaba’s tribe. The Abnaki tribes dominated this part of Maine. We still have reminders of the Indians of China, Maine today. One of the most puzzling reminders is a rock that is still visible to us today. What is so special about this rock? Well, the large granite boulder at the tip of a point of land on the south end of China Lake has a large heart carved into it. The heart is about 18”x 20”. Nobody knows who carved this heart or when it was carved, but many people think that the Indians may have carved it. It is now called “Indian Heart Rock." It is just one of the things about our lake that makes it unique.

General Information 1. China Lake was formed about 12,000 years ago during the last Ice Age. It was carved by a glacier. 2. Abnaki and Canabas Native Americans lived in the area on a seasonal basis. They would live on the Maine coast during the summer and then they would use China Lake as part of their migration route to their winter home in central Maine. They often canoed up the Sheepscot River, portaged overland to China Lake, paddled China Lake, went out the Outlet Stream and down to the Kennebec River. 3. One interesting landmark on China Lake is Indian Heart Rock. On this large granite boulder on the lakeshore is a heart said to have been carved by Native Americans. Legend says it was possibly used as a navigation guide for the Native Americans, but no one knows for sure. This rock is now under about 3 feet of water due to seasonally higher water levels. 4. The China Lake region was a summer resort in the late 1800’s into the 1990’s. There were many lodges and summer camps on the shore of the lake. The lake boasted great fishing and boating. There was a paddleboat in the early 1900’s that would transport people around the lake. Many of the resort camps have since closed and some summer camps have been converted to year-round homes. 5. China Lake has two basins – an east basin which is highly developed and a west basin which has virtually no development on it. The west basin is part of the Kennebec Water District. The KWD was incorporated in 1899 as the nation's first water district and is a safe drinking water source for the towns of Waterville, Winslow, Oakland, Fairfield and East Vassalboro. The area dividing the basins is called “the Narrows”. 6. China Lake had several gristmills and saw mills on its shore. It also had ice harvesting, but the ice was only used locally. 7. China Lake is famous for it’s rapidly declining water quality in the 1980’s. This type of problem is now called “The China Lake Syndrome”. The cause of the problem was nutrient-rich runoff going into the lake. This phosphorus, trapped in soil, fed the algae and caused large algae blooms. Once the phosphorus was in the lake, the algae blooms occurred each year. It is considered an eutrophic lake.

The China Outlet Dam There are many dams,this is one of them. This dam is called The China Lake Outlet Dam. It is located behind the old brick school that is now the Vassalboro. When the water is just about to flow over the top of the dam, at that point it is called the spillway. On June 24, 2002 the water level was seven inches over the spillway. On September 12, 1831 the voters of China decided to sue the town of Vassalboro for damage done to the bridge. Vassalboro got sued for $149.50 . That only paid for the railings. Now that the bridge is all fixed up, the people are able to use it. I think the dam is a very important resource and that if it is damaged, at any time, it should be fixed right away. I encourage you to take of China Lake. THANK YOU

The Dam Level by Josh The China Lake water level is controlled by the Vassalboro outlet dam. The actual lale level is decided by the Department of Environmental Protection. If there was no dam the lake would be determined by spring rains and rain throughout the year. The water levels of China Lake have been controversial for many years. Some people think it should be higher, while others think it should be lower.