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LAKE RONKONKOMA  |
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| The 243 acre Lake Ronkonkoma
is Long Islands largest lake that was formed by a glacier about 20,000 years
ago. The
land surrounding the lake itself is in the jurisdiction by three different
townships - Islip, Brookhaven and Smithtown. When the Native Americans sold their land around the lake, they
wanted to make sure that no one had sole control of the land surrounding the
lake. The early settlers of Long
Island were mostly people of English descent who had come from Massachusetts in
the 1600s. Growth was generally slow in the lake area. They were in no hurry to
leave the safety of the Long Island Sound where they had access to boats to
carry them away in case of danger. It is no wonder, therefore, that Lake
Ronkonkoma, which was a mere six miles from the shores of Setauket, remained
unsettled for almost a hundred years.
The lake is the subject of several Indian legends and myths, mainly rooted in the area's rich Native American heritage. *It's bottomless (or empties into the Long Island Sound). In fact, the lake is relatively deep (approx. 100 feet) at its southeastern side, and is what's known as a kettle hole lake. *Every year the lake sacrifices someone. Specifically, "The Lady of the Lake" calls young men out to the middle of the lake and drowns them. In all versions, the lady is an Indian princess who herself drowned in the lake, for reasons that vary depending on the story. *There is a mysterious rise and fall of the lake that doesn't have any noticeable relationship to local rainfall totals. This has not been sufficiently explained either way. As a result of the lake's existence, Lake Ronkonkoma was once a resort town, until the area experienced a population explosion in the mid-1900s. Remnants of old resorts and hotels can still be seen around the lake's shores. Many summer cottages and bungalows from that period remain, now converted to year-round use. Lake Ronkonkoma became known as a summer resort in the late 1800s
and early 1900s. |
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There were few boarding houses in town.
One of the better known hotels on the lake was the Lake Front Hotel.  Most of the original settlers and local residents chose to live away from the lake. The land a half a mile or more away was flatter and more suitable for farming. Little by little the lakefront developed into a fashionable haven for the wealthy who had summer estates there.
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Lake Ronkonkoma became a summer resort but in the beginning it didn’t cater or try to attract masses of people. Instead it was a quite exclusive place catering to the wealthy and famous from NYC.
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Each season was important and enjoyed at the lake. In the winter when the ice was safe, the young arranged skating parties. In the fall is when hunting around the lake began. All summer long there was boating and swimming at the lake. Girls having to wear cumbersome bathing suits, stockings and shoes when bathing.
Boys often went skinny dipping when no one was around.
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The perimeter of the lake itself began to change from residential
to commercial. As the lake front became less exclusive, some of the people sold
their homes and moved away Raynor Beach |
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The Green & Hollywood Pavillions
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Jack Yerks & Lake Front Hotel |
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Petit Trianon (built in 1910 by Vanderbilt |
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Lake Shore Inn (also known as Rugens) & Owanda Hotel
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In the 1950s, the original owners began to sell their beaches to
others. Many of the pavilions, which were left unattended, burned down.On October 4, 1962, Brookhaven Town purchased land for the first
town-owned beach on the lake.  |
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