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INTERESTING HISTORICAL FACTS ABOUT NAINITAL
"It is by far the best site I have witnessed in the course of a 1,500 miles trek in the Himalayas" in words of P. Barron who is said to have constructed the first European house (Pilgrim Lodge) in 1841. However, Nainital is first believed to have been seen in the year 1823 by G. W. Traill, Commissioner of Kumaon and Garhwal. Throughout the 19th century Nainital remained primarily a British reserve and it was only in the 20th century that it started transitioning to its modern day face. The Nainital district was known to have 60 lakes and was called 'Chakta' - City of 60 lakes. 40 of those lakes have dried up now.
Nainital is home to some very famous day and boarding schools. These "European" schools were established in the 19th century for the children of the British in Nainital. Diocesan Boys' School which was later renamed Sherwood College was established in 1869. St. Joseph's College, a Roman Catholic school was founded in 1888 and will be celebrating its 125th year in 2013. St. Mary's Convent was established in 1878 and All Saints Diocesan High School for Girls, under the Church of England was established in 1869.
The landslide of 1880 changed the face of Nainital forever. It occurred on Saturday Sep 18th 1880 at the North end of the town, destroying several landmarks such as the Naina Devi temple and Victoria House and burying 151 people.. Later on a recreation area which is now popularly known as 'The Flats' was later built on the site and a new temple was also established.
Nainital was called "Khasdesh" in ancient times and "Khasis" ruled this region in centuries before Christ. According to a legend, Nainital is one of the Shakti Peeths where the fifty one places Sati's body parts fell while her body was being carried by Lord Shiva to Kailash Parvat. It is the local belief that Sati's eyes dropped in Nainital and the lake represents that. Hence, the lake derives its name "Nainital" or " Naini Lake" from this belief.
It is also believed that the the Tririshi Sarovar ( lake of the three sages) mentioned in the Manas Khand (chapter) of the Skanda Purana (scriptures) is actually the Naini Lake. It is believed that three sages - Atri, Pulastya and Pulaha arrived in Nainital and found the place without water. They then used their meditation and powers to dig a hole here and fill it with water from the holy Mansarovar Lake.