History of Lake Ronkonkoma on Display at Port Jeff Village Center

Enjoy a swim at Duffield’s West Park Beach, book a room at Fielder’s Hotel or buy a cake at Seibert’s Bakery. Watch as the Hawkins Nine plays a baseball game, Maude Adams portrays Peter Pan or Frank Newton drives a horse-drawn sleigh.

You can see all of this and more at the where 120 enlarged photos tracing the history of Lake Ronkonkoma are on display now through Feb. 29.

The exhibit, "Mirrors of the Past," includes rare views of Martin Metzner’s Lake Towers, the Hotel Gables Casino, W. E. Coleman’s General Store, John Kirk’s “Castle” and the Lake Ronkonkoma School.

Vintage images of Straub’s Market, the Ronkonkoma Fire Department, Camp Acadia, the Indian Hill Café, Adolph Wiechers’ Italian Gardens, the motor launch Dark Cloud and Newton’s Garage are featured.

There are also views of Turner’s Corner Park, the original St. Mary’s Episcopal Church, American Legion William Merritt Hallock Post 155, the Bavarian Inn, iceboats, Hollywood Pavilion and the Cenacle Retreat Center.

Photos of John W. Cleary, first chief of the Ronkonkoma Fire Department; Ann Farnum Curtis, author of Three Waves, a history of Lake Ronkonkoma; George C. Raynor, the developer of Raynor’s Lakeview Beach; and Rosemary Cleary, founder of the Cleary School for Deaf Children are displayed.

In addition to photos, the showcases are filled with projectile points, farm tools, antique toys, books, newsletters and other memorabilia.

Maps round out the exhibit, including one of the Lake Ronkonkoma environs in 1917 and another showing the locations of the pavilions, beaches, hotels, inns and restaurants surrounding Lake Ronkonkoma during the 1930s and 1940s.

The photos are from the collections of the Lake Ronkonkoma Historical Society, Helen Hethy Mulvihill, Dolores Holzapfel, Marty Slater, Richard Crucet, Ralph Hilbert and Kenneth Brady.

The images were enhanced, printed and catalogued at the Port Jefferson Digital Archive at Harborfront Park by Ken Brady, who is spearheading a photo preservation project through his work as .

Robert S. Feather, James Mooney, E. E. Brown, Oscar Stephan and H. S. Conklin are among the talented photographers whose pictures are on display. Some of their work appears in Images of America: Lake Ronkonkoma, a book recently released by Arcadia Publishing and written by Keith Oswald and Dale Spencer, the latter curator of the Lake Ronkonkoma Historical Society.

The Recreation Department of the Incorporated Village of Port Jefferson, Lake Ronkonkoma Historical Society and Conservancy are sponsoring the exhibit.

The Port Jefferson Village Center is located at 101A East Broadway and is open seven days a week, except holidays, from 9 am to 9 pm. Admission is free. Call (631) 802-2165 for additional information.