History Of Ronkonkoma, NY

History of Ronkonkoma, NY

Ronkonkoma, NY, is a city that grew to fame following the highly rumored Lake Ronkonkoma. However, the city’s history began way back even before the lake became such a big deal. The original residents were Indians, who believed that the waters don at the lake were sacred. Out of the thirteen Indian tribes, four (Setaukets, Unkechaugs, Secatogs, and the Nissequoges) shared the lake’s shoreline. It is uncertain as to exactly when these Indians inhabited the region. However, there is a lot of evidence including stone weapons and arrowheads from around the lake that confirms these original dwellers’ activities. All legendary tales about this city are as a result of the activities of these four tribe. As a matter of fact, even the name Ronkonkoma is believed to be of Algonquin’s name which translates to mean ‘boundary fishing place’.

The early settlers down at Ronkonkoma, NY were majorly of English descent most of whom were from Massachusetts way back in the 1600s. The city started making some progress in terms of growth despite being at a very slow pace. This is owing to the fact that the settlers were not in a hurry to leave; they loved the safety that Long Island offered and in case of any threats, they had access to boats to ship them out of harms way. A survey carried out in 1795 showed that there were only five houses on the northern side of the lake and none to the south. Years later, in the 1830s, there were only a few more dozens of houses.

Things started changing when the Indians decided to sell of their land to the ‘white man’. The Setauket tribe was the first one on the list. The price was quite easy to meet; just a couple of items including 12 hoes, 50 muves, 10 pounds of lead, 10 coats, 100 needles and a few more items. They retained the right to fish, hunt and even live on the land on certain instances. By the time the white settlers were taking over, many Indians had lost their lives to foreign diseases such as small pox.

Every settler who contributed to the price was given a portion of land proportional to their contribution. The only thing that did not work out swell was the fact that there were no legal documents to show the sale, thus all documents needed to be patented in England. One loophole with these patented documents was that the rules agreed upon were not always followed to the letter, something that led to major land disputes. One settler was the Richard Smith Family which later became Smithtown.

Ronkonkoma grew in fame as a resort town early in the 1900s.  There were hotels in town, including Lake Front Hotel, a favorite for many outsiders. Most local residents preferred living further from the lake, where the land was better suited for farming. With time, Ronkonkoma grew in status as a haven for wealthy individuals who owned summer houses there.