Packanack Lake's Spooky Hollywood Connection
Updated: Feb 26
By: Tessa Payer, Museum Specialist at the Wayne Museum and Staff Member of the Passaic County Department of Cultural & Historic Affairs
Wayne Township is made up of several communities and areas, among them Preakness, Mountain View, Pines Lake, and the subject of today's blog post, Packanack Lake!

Like Pines Lake, Packanack Lake is an unincorporated community surrounding a man-made body of water. It was the brainchild of Joseph Castles, who purchased 700 acres of land in Wayne with the dream of creating a model community. By the late 1920s, the acreage was turned over to Packanack Lake Inc., which a manged the construction of a dam, the lake area, roads, a clubhouse, cabins and houses, and other community properties. In Images of America: Wayne Township, Cathy Tobin describes how “beach sand was brought from the New Jersey shore, fish were stocked in the lake, and tennis courts, a bathhouse, and polo grounds were built.”[1] Opening day was held on May 6th, 1928. Initially, the Packanack Lake Country Club and Association had 600 members; today, they advertise about 1500 eligible residences on the property.[2]
A Packanack Lake marketing booklet, likely from the early 1930s, survives in our collection today, and illustrates many of the qualities that first drew residents to the community- and continues attracting people today! Packanack Lake, "where life is a delight", offered "glorious views", "pretty and practical" homes, "plenty of fun all year round", and "folks of the sort you will be glad to meet and fraternize with."