Singletary Lake State Park is a North Carolina state park in Bladen County, North Carolina in the United States. Located near Elizabethtown, it covers 1,221acre, including Singletary Lake, one of the largest Carolina bays. Singletary Lake State Park is southeast of Elizabethtown on North Carolina Highway 53 in North Carolina's Coastal Plain region. It serves primarily as a group camp but is open on a limited basis for year-round recreation, including hiking, fishing and observing nature.HistoryThe Singletary Lake area was settled by colonists under the leadership of Richard Singletary who received a grant for land in Bladen County from the government of the Province of North Carolina in 1729. The early settlers quickly cleared the land for farming, ships masts, other wood products and naval stores. Singletary Lake, a Carolina Bay was not drained for farming as many of the bays in the surrounding area.The government of the state of North Carolina began to take an interest in Singletary Lake and other Carolina Bays in the 19th century. The North Carolina General Assembly blocked all further private claims on lakes. Soon after, the state assembly pass legislation that granted ownership of all lakes greater than 500 acres (2.02 km²) in Cumberland, Columbus and Bladen Counties to the state. The formation of Jones Lake, Lake Waccamaw and Singletary Lake state parks can be traced back to this piece of legislation.
