History

Sheldrake House was built in the mid 1800's. The house was owned by just a few families prior to being gifted to Eisenhower College (currently the New York Chiropractic College) in 1969. The above photo exhibits the original drive under the portico where the family would enter and exit the house. Notice the original detail on the porch balustrade and shutter color. In the 1980's it was returned to a private residence. The Cornacchio's purchased the house in 2018 from it's previous owners of more than 30 years. The below photo depicts Sheldrake Boathouse after the owners added an interior "cabin" which added privacy and protection from the weather.

Quick Facts about Cayuga Lake: Cayuga Lake is the second-largest of the Finger Lakes of central New York State, extending over 38 miles in length with an average width of 1.75 miles. It is one of the deepest of the Finger Lakes, with a maximum depth of 435 feet. (Seneca Lake is 618 feet)

How Cayuga Lake was formed: About 1 million years ago a river flowed north of the valley of Cayuga, about 200 feet above the present level of the lake. Around that time, great sheets of ice over 10,000 feet thick pushed south, stripping off the ground cover, sweeping away the bed rock, dislodging materials, and depositing it over the entire region. When the ice started to melt faster than it moved, great quantities of gravel, silt, and sand plugged the southern end of the valley. As the ice continued to melt, the water flowed down ravines and gorges and formed the first large lake in the area. The water surface was about 600 feet above the present level of Cayuga Lake and 200 feet above Cornell's campus. This lake lasted until a lower outlet developed as the ice melted northward between Interlaken and Sheldrake. About 6,000 years ago the ice melted enough so that Cayuga, the youngest of the finger lakes, flowed into the St. Lawrence River. (Robinson, Rob. "Cayuga is Formed" Cayuga Lake Boating, 1965.)