Massapequa Lake & Preserve

The man-made lake at the corner of Ocean Avenue and Merrick Road began being constructed in 1837. As the lake bed began to take shape, more and more soil was piled around the perimeter of the project. At the conclusion of the excavation work, the water from the dammed and diverted Massapequa Creek was allowed to flow into the scooped-out area. David S. Jones had the Massapequa Creek that flowed from Bethpage to the Great South Bay, diverted in order to cut down trees and remove stumps and brush to create the lake for his third wife Mary Clinton. Jones created the island in the center and named it Mary’s Island. Spillways were built and the water was allowed to flow to the Great South Bay under South Post Road, known now as Merrick Road. The Jones family lived in a mansion near the lake. During the 1940s, the Richard A. Corroon family took up residence in the mansion. It was also known as the Corroon Estate by the residents and the lake as Corroon’s Lake. 

The Peter J. Schmitt Massapequa Preserve was originally part of the New York City water supply property and was acquired by Nassau County in 1981. The preserve is divided into three sections bounded by major roadways. The southern section, from Merrick Road to Sunrise Highway, contains the most diverse and ecologically valuable lands. Freshwater swamps, marsh, stream, lake and sandy-bog area provide habitat for many rare and endangered Long Island plants, including orchids, carnivorous sundews and bladderworts. The longest hiking trail in Nassau County, the Nassau-Suffolk Greenbelt Trail, begins at Merrick Road and Ocean Avenue and continues through the length of the preserve, ending at Cold Spring Harbor. 

Sources:

Meyer, John H. “A Lake in Massapequa Made Just for Mary.” Massapequa Post , 4 Jan. 2019, www.massapequapost.com/articles/a-lake-in-massapequa-made-just-for-mary/. 

“Peter J. Schmitt Massapequa Preserve.” Peter J. Schmitt Massapequa Preserve | Nassau County, NY - Official Website, www.nassaucountyny.gov/2905/Peter-J-Schmitt-Massapequa-Preserve. Accessed 16 July 2024.