History of the Yaphank Lakes

"As long as the waves murmer on the shores of Willow Lake, and the groans of Swezey's Mill are wafted to the ears of the villagers, the name of Swezey will remain fresh on the annals of Yaphank's history."-"Yaphank As It Is and Was", L. Beecher Homan, 1875; courtesy Yaphank Historical Society

"A regatta on the lower lake is a probability."-Patchogue Advance, August 17, 1878; "We Always Loved our Lakes", courtesy Yaphank Historical Society

"The draining of the lower pond and repair of a defective flue, was a picnic for small boys this week. The number of stumps and logs exposed proves that the ponds were once large swamps, through which a small stream probably meandered its way to the ocean." - Patchogue Advance, July 27, 1878; "We Always Loved our Lakes"

HISTORY OF THE YAPHANK LAKES

Permission to publish the following documents and photographs from the early years of the Yaphank Community and the Lakes was generously provided to us by the Yaphank Historical Society

Feathered Friends on the Lake, by Ernest Wolf, a long-time Yaphank resident, who lived to be 99.
The Early Years in Middle Island, Coram, Yaphank & Ridge
by Thomas R. Bayles, 1973
Upper (Willow) Lake Mills at Yaphank, by Karen Mouzakes, 2007
Lower (Lily) Lake Mills at Yaphank, by Karen Mouzakes, 2007