The lake, located between Indian Creek and Paint Branch, was constructed during the late-1980s completion of the Washington Metro's Green Line, which runs alongside the lake. Sand and gravel were excavated from the site of a smaller lake and the surrounding area to construct the rail beds and parking lots for the College Park–University of Maryland and Greenbelt stations.[2] Metro saved $10 million by sourcing the material locally and in return spent $8 million constructing the lake and natural area to repair the excavation damage. During the construction phase, signs identified the site as "Lake Metro."
The park is named for Artemesia N. Drefs, who donated ten lots to the county for preservation as open space in 1972.[3] The smaller lake that existed on the site, which was created in the mid-1800s when stone was quarried from the area for use on the B&O Railroad's Washington Branch line,[4] was already named Lake Artemesia after Artemesia's mother and grandmother, who shared the same name. Drefs's father, Arthur, surveyed the land for his Lakeland development in the 1890s; according to Drefs, the pre-existing lake was originally used to raise goldfish, but was later stocked with bass.[5][6]
The site of Lake Artemesia Park was once home to about one third of the Lakeland community,[7] an African-American community which became part of College Park, Maryland in 1945.[8]
