Association History - Arrowhead Point HOA

Arrowhead Point Homeowners Association History

Arrowhead Point began its existence as a part of New Fairfield, CT to our west on the opposite side of Candlewood Lake. In 1929, when the US Army Corp of Engineers and Connecticut Light and Power flooded the “Great Swamp” valley from Danbury to Jerusalem (now under water), the area which is today Arrowhead Point was separated from the rest of New Fairfield by water. For years, the burgeoning community felt cut off from the rest of New Fairfield – having to travel significant distance around the lake to participate in town activities. Notably, before 1929, Kellogg Street was the main road from the Arrowhead Point area directly to the center of New Fairfield.

Central to the issue of travel was the amount of time children now had to spend on school busses. Many local mothers petitioned both towns to consider a land swap and, in 1961, the entire “orphaned” peninsula was annexed away from New Fairfield and incorporated into Brookfield as Candlewood Orchards. Eventually, the area was then sub-segmented to officially recognize the communities of Arrowhead Point, Candlewood Shores, and Hickory Hills. Depending upon the original date of construction, many/most of the original deeds to Arrowhead Point homes were initially created and recorded in New Fairfield.

The history of the association dates to June of 1943 when the Arrowhead Point Realty Company (a New York Real Estate Company) purchased the property with the intent of residential development around the still-new Candlewood Lake. Roads and water mains were built, a common beach lot was identified, and individual residential building lots were subdivided, sold, and developed. It is believed that Arrowhead Point Realty, managed by Milton Sandberg, David Grossman, and William Steele, were quite welcoming to Jewish buyers at a time when other nearby communities were not. Sadly, over the next three decades, maintenance of the infrastructure was not properly funded by The Arrowhead Point Realty Company and resident homeowners were forced to develop a plan to legally “reclaim” the assets. In 1973, “A Plan to Purchase Arrowhead Point” was developed by residents – claiming “the general condition of Arrowhead Point Realty Corp-owned property has deteriorated substantially” and “negotiations during the past three years have been unsuccessful in bringing about any improvements to the roads, beach or water systems.”

Step one toward independence from APRC was to create a new corporation and, as such, The Arrowhead Point Homeowners Association was established in August of 1974. The initial Board of Directors was Charles Magin as President, William Kahl as Vice-President, Alice Donnelley as Secretary and Treasurer and Edward Miller and Bernard Strauss as Directors at large.

Step two was to negotiate with Arrowhead Point Realty Company’s treasurer Milton Sandberg to purchase all the common property and physical assets which were initially valued at $51,000 – but the selling price was negotiated down to $33,000 upon review of the true condition of the assets. A month after the new HOA was established, on September 6, 1974, the asset purchase from Arrowhead Point Realty was complete. Given the history of shoddy infrastructure, the new HOA began a legacy of collecting capital reserve funds annually – allocated against beach, roads and water – a tradition which continues today. As a result, APHA remains well-funded to meet planned community repairs and expenses for the foreseeable future.

Interestingly, before the annexation by Brookfield, Arrowhead Road had been known as “Lakeview Drive.” The name was changed since another Lakeview Drive existed in Brookfield. Also, noteworthy, while the streets of Myron, Willie, Morton, and Taylor all still exist today, apparently there was once a Graham Street and a Richard Street somewhere in the neighborhood. Perhaps they were likewise renamed when Lakeview Drive was changed. Does anyone know this backstory?

There are two notable homes in our area that predate the lake — surviving the flooding due to their high-ground locations. Built in 1820, the white farmhouse at 104 Kellogg (and its smaller carriage houses at 4 Taylor and 6 Myron) existed long before any other nearby development began. Incidentally, the association’s first community well was in the basement of 6 Myron and has long-since been decommissioned. Additionally notable, while officially just outside the entrance pillars to Arrowhead, the brick, Greek Revival style Barzillai B. Kellogg House was built in 1845. Stately perched on a hill, it provides a grand presence as you approach the welcoming stone pillars of our community. It is, incidentally, connected to our community water system.