Janet Rischbieter & Dale Spencer 
Lake Ronkonkoma 

The town of Lake Ronkonkoma began as a small farming community. By the 1870s, the lake’s reputation as a vacation destination was spreading among wealthy New York City residents. The completion of the Long Island Motor Parkway in 1911 made the lake accessible to early automobile enthusiasts, and over time, as more could afford automobiles, the rich and poor alike flocked to its sparkling shores for swimming, boating, and fishing. In 1921, local businessman George C. Raynor created Raynor’s Beach, the first in the lake’s era of grand beach pavilions. By the mid-1920s, beach pavilions were located all around Lake Ronkonkoma’s three miles of shoreline. Lake Ronkonkoma provides a view into the rich history of this unique community and its transformation to a bustling summer resort.