The peninsula that today contains Delta Lake State Park was created when the Mohawk River was impounded in 1908 to form Delta Lake, a reservoir intended to supply water to the New York State Barge Canal. The New York State Canal Corporation leased approximately 350 acres (1.4 km2) to the New York State Office of Parks, Recreation and Historic Preservation for the creation of a state park in 1962. In 2005, it was announced that the Canal Corporation would officially transfer the park's land, along with an additional 370 acres (1.5 km2), to the NYSOPRHP, bringing the park's total area to 720 acres (2.9 km2).[4]