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History · Copake Lake

12% of Copake Lake’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1902 on and the census since 2000.

0on the National Register
12%homes built before 1940
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Photo: No machine-readable author provided. Chromakode~commonswiki assumed (based on copyright claims). · CC BY-SA 2.5

What stands out about Copake Lake’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

A history waiting to be writtenNo old photos of Copake Lake are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19023 editions of the USGS map, 1902 to 1980. Watch Copake Lake change.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Copake Lake’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Copake Lake’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
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On the map

Copake Lake on the map, 1902 to 1980

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Copake Lake. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Copake Lake on the 1902 USGS mapCopake Lake on the 1953 USGS mapCopake Lake on the 1980 USGS map1902Copake sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Copake Lake.

The story so far

Copake Lake, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Copake Lake yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Copake Lake is a community (and census-designated place) in southern Columbia County, New York, United States. The population was 767 at the 2020 census. The community is named after Copake Lake, a lake by the west town line of the town of Copake. Copake means "snake pond" in the native language. Copake Lake is located about 95 miles (153 km) north of New York City and is an area of second homes.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 823 to 767 (-7%).

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

No old photos in the archives yet

Weddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.

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People over time

Copake Lake, census by census

020040060080020002020Peak: 823

Between 762 and 823 people in every census since 2000.

3 censuses, 2000–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Copake Lake’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

Famous people close to Copake Lake

Nobody well known was born in Copake Lake itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Kristanna LokenAmerican actress · b. 1979
Edward LivingstonAmerican jurist and statesman · b. 1764
Richmond LandonAthletics competitor · b. 1898
John C. SpencerAmerican politician · b. 1788
Crane WilburAmerican actor, film writer, director · b. 1886
Sandy BergerUS National Security Advisor · b. 1945

Questions about Copake Lake’s history

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

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Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021). How TownRatings grades history →

From U.S. Geological Survey historical maps and U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.