Crystal Lake, Tolland County

by Lynn Kloter Fahy, Crystal Lake Historical Society

Overview

Crystal Lake lies between the towns of Tolland and Stafford on a five-mile-long triangular strip of land extending from the northeastern corner of Ellington. Attracted by the lake's sandy shore surrounded by forests of oak, chestnut, pine, and maple, early families of settlers called the lake Square Pond. In the 1890s, Crystal Lake became a destination resort. Its popularity extended through the advent of the interurban trolley and Depression-era auto trippers who stayed in the lake's hotels, cottages, and roadside tourist cabins. In the 1930s, the Sandy Beach Ballroom attracted the big bands of Duke Ellington, Guy Lombardo, and Cab Calloway. The ballroom also served as a roller-skating rink where young people from Ellington, Stafford, Rockville, and surrounding towns spent their leisure hours. Today Crystal Lake remains a popular getaway for fishing, swimming, and boating.

Product Details

ISBN-13:	9780738563688
Publisher:	Arcadia Publishing SC
Publication date:	04/13/2009
Series:	Images of America Series
Pages:	128
Product dimensions:	6.40(w) x 9.20(h) x 0.60(d)

About the Author

Lynn Kloter Fahy, a member of the Crystal Lake Historical Society and a librarian at Trinity College in Hartford, is the author of Ellington. The vintage photographs in Crystal Lake, Tolland County have been compiled primarily from private collections, and many have never before been published.

Table of Contents

Acknowledgments 6

Introduction 7

1 The Wabbaquasset Mountain Home 9

2 Methodism Flourishes 27

3 Hotels and Roadside Cabins 35

4 Rau's Pavilion and the Markerts 45

5 Winter on the Lake 55

6 West Shore and Surdel's 63

7 Wind in the Sails 79

8 Jimmy's 89

9 The Town 97

10 Sandy Beach 111

Bibliography 126

Index 127