The Bottomless Lake Theory

The Native Americans inhabiting of the region surrounding Lake Ronkonkoma awere fearful of its waters. Situated near the geographic center of Long Island

Many thought the lake to be bottomless, as victims would often drown and disappear into it depths. Stories describe men dropping 1,000 feet of heavily weighted fishing line into the deep holes in the southwestern section of the lake and failing to reach bottom. Others thought that the lake was connected with the Great South Bay at a place called Pattersquash, which translated means little round place. Early English Settlers tell the story of a wagon that disappeared into the lake and was later found in the Great South Bay

The origin of the lake and outlet remained a mystery for three centuries. In 1875, three men, Elais Lewis, Jr., James Baylis, Esq. and Captain Nat Dickerson, visited the lake with the sole purpose of measuring the depth. The men found the deepest portion of the lake to be 72 ft. near the southwestern corner. The New York State Conservation Department considered the three men’s measurements extraordinary since Ronkonkoma is roughly 60 ft. above sea level.

The bottomless theories were resurrected in the early 1900s when a diving platform was constructed at the right edge of the deep hole in the lake. An occasional drowning would occur when swimmers walked out from the beach and stepped into the hole, so ropes were later erected to warn swimmers. In the 1930s, the rumors again reemerged when the body of a Connecticut bootlegger, who was murdered and dumped into the Long Island Sound, surfaced along the banks of the lake with his hat, his wallet, and his flask.

Locals also spoke of other oddities at the lake, including a powerful whirlpool in the center. Dr. Fredrick Mather, superintendent of the New York Fish Commission, stocked the lake with bass, trout, and other cold-water fish, only to find that, at dozens of feet below the water’s surface, its temperature was upwards of 12 warmerthan that of the surface.