History Of Lake Ronkonkoma, NY
History Of Lake Ronkonkoma, NY
Located mainly in Brookhaven town and partially in the towns of Islip and Smithtown on Long Island, Lake Ronkonkoma is a well-established residential community with a rich historical past and a very promising future. As a CDP, Lake Ronkonkoma has a fast-growing population of a little over 20,000 residents. Although the community is popularly associated with Lake Ronkonkoma, NY, the largest freshwater lake on the Island, the CDP itself is purely made up of land.
History has it that Lake Ronkonkoma was originally the ancestral home of several native Indian tribes namely the Unkechaugs, the Setaukets, the Secatogs and the Nissequogues. Ecological evidence shows that these tribes operated within a five-mile radius of the lake. The name Ronkonkoma which is shared by the lake and two other communities is a refined Iroquoian term that roughly translates to “boundary fishing place.”
The infamous Legend of the Indian Princess who drowned in the river thousands of years ago is one of the reasons why Lake Ronkonkoma is very popular.
The indigenous Indian tribes dominated Lake Ronkonkoma, NY until the arrival of the British settlers in the early seventeenth century. It is believed that most of the native residents of the Lake Ronkonkoma area were wiped out by “new world diseases” like smallpox, while the few remaining individuals abdicated their claim to the land in exchange for different merchandises from the Englishmen.
Following the establishment of the initial English settlement in the Lake Ronkonkoma area, no major developments were recorded in the area for many years until the mid-1800s when the Long Island Railroad was completed. The railroad opened up the lake area to the outside world. Consequently, the area quickly transformed from a remote farming community into a prized summer resort.
As the popularity of this treasured gem of the Long Island continued to grow, the area lost its exclusivity and became accessible to the general public. Most of the rich property owners in the area sold out their homes and lands and moved away. Consequently, the area underwent a population explosion in the mid-1900s and slowly transformed into a residential and commercial hub.
Today, Lake Ronkonkoma is predominantly a residential community with beautiful modern neighborhoods. Despite being a simple CDP, the area boasts of being home to world-class infrastructure, a well-established education system, and a thriving economy. It is one of the most prized real estate locations in Suffolk County.