History by John J. Murphy

Candlewood Knolls was developed as a lake community in 1929 by three men; Albert Jenks, Clarence Martens and Edward Goos. These men realized the potential of the newly made lake to attract nearby "big city" residents to the scenic beauty of the area located in a small rural community. They and others instilled a sense of community in the fledgling development and the Knolls residents have continued that spirit to this day.

Prior to the Knolls development, the area had been used as a summer camp - Camp Arden - and before that it was a farm. The camp buildings and farm buildings provided excellent community centers and are preserved in the main body of the Clubhouse and the Apartments (the "Farm House"). With tongue in cheek, and perhaps an eye to posterity, the developers included their names in the streets Al Mar Go and Clar Ed Al. Similarly, the Old Town Road (now Candlewood Knolls Road) designation is a reminder that the highway to the north and west once wound its way through the developing community.

The northern segment of the Knolls developed first as a group of vari-colored one and one-and-one-half story cottages. The acquisition of treed hillside land brought into being the cabin section with its rustic structures. The Clubhouse serves as the demarcation point so that structures north of the Clubhouse are cottages and structures south are rustic cabin types.

The lake visible from most sites is only a small segment of the total body of water. To adequately view all portions of the lake and its eighty miles of shorefront requires a boat. Our bay, the New Fairfield Bay, provides a scenic panorama of natural beauty that changes with the seasons.

The over-a-mile of Knolls shorefront contains, besides private docks and beaches, three community swimming areas and three boat docking facilities. At the North Community Beach there is a swim area, boat docks, a boat launching ramp and substantial parking. There is limited parking available at Middle Beach which has boat docks but no swimming facilities. The Club Beach includes the swim team practice area as well as a small beach. The South Beach has an expanded beach area, swimming area and boat docking, but with limited parking.

The Knolls lists, among its assets, the Clubhouse, the beaches and boat dock facilities, a playground, a ball field, a basketball court, a tennis court, a central mailbox facility where mail for the community is delivered by the US Postal Service, an office building and a central water utility. These assets are maintained by a full-time maintenance manager with occasional part-time assistants and contractors. These assets are available to all residents of the Knolls in accordance with rules and regulations set up for each asset.

Two elected boards administer the community providing for the care and maintenance of all assets, providing water service to resident who opt for such service, collecting taxes and otherwise administering to the needs of the community. All of the assets of the community are owned by Candlewood Knolls Community, Inc., a private not-for-profit organization to which all property owners are eligible to join as stockholders. These assets are administered by the Candlewood Knolls Community, Inc. Board of Directors elected by the stockholders. All eligible taxpayers of the Knolls, whether stockholders or not, elect the Board of Directors for the Candlewood Knolls Tax District, which leases many of the community's assets for the use of all residents.

Written by John J. Murphy, Knolls Historian