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History · Lake Carmel

20% of Lake Carmel’s homes were built before 1940

Below: maps from 1892 on.

0on the National Register
20%homes built before 1940
Add an old photoShare a memory
Photo: Daniel Case · CC BY-SA 3.0

What stands out about Lake Carmel’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 Lake Carmel are in the public archives yet. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 18925 editions of the USGS map, 1892 to 1981. Watch Lake Carmel change.Old housesHalf of Lake Carmel’s homes were built before 1957.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Lake Carmel’s collection

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

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
0 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Lake Carmel on the map, 1892 to 1981

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

Lake Carmel on the 1892 USGS mapLake Carmel on the 1928 USGS mapLake Carmel on the 1943 USGS mapLake Carmel on the 1960 USGS mapLake Carmel on the 1981 USGS map1892Carmel 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 Lake Carmel.

The story so far

Lake Carmel, in brief

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

Lake Carmel is a hamlet and census-designated place in the town of Kent in Putnam County, New York, United States. As of the 2020 census, Lake Carmel had a population of 8,069. The hamlet is centered around Lake Carmel, a 1.6 mile long manmade lake in the southeastern corner of the township and just north of hamlet of Carmel within the town of Carmel. The lake and surrounding community was developed by the Smadbeck brothers, who excavated and dammed a swamp in the 1920s and sold lots through the now-defunct New York Daily Mirror. The hamlet is the seat of the volunteer Lake Carmel Fire Department; its fire district covers the eastern half of the township, and of the Kent town government.

Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 8,282 to 8,069 (-3%).

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

By decade

Lake Carmel, decade by decade

Today6 recent
NY 52 wb at Putnam CR 45, April 20262026NY 52 wb at Putnam CR 45, April 2026NY 52 wb at NY 311, April 20262026NY 52 wb at NY 311, April 2026Lake Carmel from NY 52, April 20262026Lake Carmel from NY 52, April 2026NY 52-311 junction at2008NY 52-311 junction atNY 311 crossing2008NY 311 crossingLake Carmel, New York2008Lake Carmel, New York
Famous people

Famous people close to Lake Carmel

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

See all →
T
Tom WellingAmerican actor, director, and model · b. 1977
Charles IvesAmerican modernist composer · b. 1874
Jonathan BrandisAmerican actor · b. 1976
Fanny Crosby19th century Christian hymnist · b. 1820
Lindsey JacobellisAmerican snowboarder · b. 1985
Jenna von OyAmerican actress · b. 1977
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

KentIts storyB−PattersonIts storyC+Carmel3 historic placesB+

Questions about Lake Carmel’s history

Memory lane

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

Town Square →
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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 Wikimedia Commons (6) and U.S. Geological Survey historical maps. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.