The Lake of Haunting Mystery

The Lake of Haunting Mystery. . , Lake Ronkonkoma was once home to four Native American tribes known as the Nissequogues, Setaukets, Secatogues, and Unkechaugs. The term "Ronkonkomack" is translated according to the Algonquin language "Boundary Fishing Place" which is understood as the four tribes fished and hunted within their boundary of the lake. The Indians believed the lake was bottomless with a terrible whirlpool as the hatch to the beyond. They also told the early settlers of the Indian chief who imposed a curse on the lake after his daughter drowned while canoeing, against his wishes; with a young man. According to the curse, a man would drown in the lake every year after as the legend goes., Forbidden by her family to marry outside of her race, the Indian maiden used the waters of Lake Ronkonkoma to carry messages, written on pieces of tree bark, through an underground stream to her White lover, miles away on the Connetquot River., After seven long years of separation, Princess Ronkonkoma of the Setauket tribe set out in a canoe on the lake one night, only to be found dead floating down the river the following day., Her spirit may still roam the shores of the lake named after her. In mourning, for the drowned Indian princess, the waters of the lake may, as some say, rise and recede every seven years., Though there is no proof of the existence of Princess Ronkonkoma the legend lives on. But there is much more to this lake than its legends. The history dates back to 1655, when the Setauket tribe bartered the Lake Ronkonkoma shoreline in exchange for the White man's valuables. Ronkonkoma has many colorful translations, among them are "glittering white sand", "healing waters" and to most historians "boundary fishing place". In the late 1700's, farming was the chief occupation for the local townspeople. In 1795, Portion Road was built. A path just wide enough for someone on horseback or by foot, then widened to permit wagons. Little by little the lake front developed into a fashionable for the wealthier people who had summer estates here. A sweeping change came over the area with the expansion of the Long Island Rail Road in 1844. By the 1900's, Lake Ronkonkoma was transformed from a sleepy little farming community to a well-known summer resort. In 1908, William Vanderbilt began building Motor Parkway which stretched from Queens to the banks of Lake Ronkonkoma. In the late 1920s the porches of gabled mansions overlooking the lake were splashed in sunshine with the sounds of a couple of thousand middle class people who came to spend the summer. By 1950-1980's people began building housing developments and started calling Lake Ronkonkoma home., So at this site may it bring peace and serenity to those who take the time to enjoy the beauty of this wonderful piece of history called Lake Ronkonkoma., George Cristino , Eagle Scout Project 2006