Swains Lake in Barrington, New Hampshire
the boat launch for fishing but no swimming areas on the lake are open for public use. The is an association beaches for residence near
Lakeside drive well off Lakeside Road Motor boats, fishing boats, paddle boats, canoes and kayaks are all allowed on Halfmoon Lake. There are no public beaches, but several vacation rentals have private beaches.
The Swains Lake Association was found-
ed in 1975, and has been commited to One of the prime lakes in the town of Barrington in Strafford County set against the backdrop of conservation land and fine lake homes is a beautiful, quiet lake in New Hampshire close to the Seacoast, UNH, and all that makes New Hampshire great. It has a couple of islands and many coves hiding some great fishing spots. The lake covers 341 acres with a maximum depth of 25 feet. Classified as a mesotrophic lake, it is a moderately fertile lake supporting healthy populations of fish.
Pickerel, horned pout, and white perch all make their home in the lake, and anglers can try their luck against the lake’s largemouth bass.
There is a public launch off of Young Road. The
only form of public access to Swains Lake. There is a small area at
protecting and improving the lake. Bar-
rington was incorporated in 1722. The town was made up
of two grants, the first containing all of Strafford and pres-
ent-day Barrington except for a parcel two miles wide called New Portsmouth, or the Two Mile Streak. This second grant
had been set aside to provide fuel and home sites for im-
ported workers at the Lamprey River Iron Works, chartered in 1719 by the Massachusetts General Court to encourage industrial development in the province.
Slow at first to be settled because of rocky soil, Barrington by 1810 had 3,564 residents, then the state’s third larg-
est town, its primary industry the smelting of iron ore.
The Isinglass River, together with its tributaries, provided water
power for grist, fulling and saw mills. In 1820, Strafford was set off
from Barrington, reducing its land area by about half, because of lengthy travel required to attend town meetings.
Swains lake is within an hour
from Concord, Portsmouth, the seacoast and the White
Mountains. It is also around 90 minutes to Boston.
Life on Swains Lake is
always rich with fond memo-
ries for generations to enjoy. Make it The place to be for your lake home.
Swains Lake
• Swains Lake is 341 acres • 25 feet deep, 5 ft average • Loon nesting grounds • Water from Swains Lake flows via the Bellamy River to the Piscataqua River estuary. • Twitter: @SwainsLakeAssoc
Provided by Michael Travis, Realtor®, Bean Group • www.WaterfrontAgent.com • 800-450-7784 ext 7344 • 603-303-2599