History of Sandy Beach

The lake as we know it today was originally known as Long Pond. The name Long Pond appears on maps as late as 1894. Subsequent references to the lake that appeared in litigation with the Boyd’s also make reference to the lake as Beach Pond.

Sometime in the late 1700`s, the Heller Saw Mill was built at Long Pond (Lily Lake). Water power was needed for the saw mill and the outlet was dammed. The dam resulted in the flooding of the land which resulted in Lily Lake being formed.

(For a more in-depth memory of the area read a document by Ted Fenstermacher for The Press-Enterprise which relates a history written by Walter Hontz.)

A portion of Lily Lake was purchased from the Boyd’s, with money provided by the Federal Government as part of Project 70. The lake was purchased by the Fish and Boat Commission.

The Lily Lake Property Association was originally formed in 1969 to defend our property rights against the Fish and Boat Commission.

The Wormser Plot Association Inc. was formed in July 1970 to defend their property and water rights and registered with the Department of State.

Submitted by Frank Higgins

Sandy Beach was truly a sandy beach. You could walk 20 to 30 yards in either direction in the water and have nothing but deep sand under your feet. In addition the sand continued out into the lake for 20 yards or more. It was a wonderful place for children and adults to swim from or just relax and sit by the water.

The beach was ruined in the early fifties when someone dumped truck load after truck load of rock and soil directly in the water at Sand Beach.

The Diving Board

There was a tall diving board tower made of wood located straight out from the center of Sandy Beach about 40 yards out into the water. There was a diving platform located about 8 to 10 feet up the tower and a second platform located at 16 to 20 feet up the tower. It was a great place to dive and swim off of and was in use almost every day during the summer.

There was also a large floating (dock) swimming platform located half way between the Beach and the Tower.

Unfortunately the tower fell into disrepair and after an unfortunate accident that occurred when Mary Lou Rule got her arm hung up on a broken piece of the ladder and had to be rescued, we were not allowed to use it any longer.

Outlet Photograph

The photograph below shows a building (Year Unknown) at the outlet of Lily Lake, currently where the bridge and "waterfall" are today.

Certain information we have obtained listed this structure as an ice house. The ice was cut in the winter and stored in this building then sold in the summer. It allowed the cool water to run underneath the building and keep the ice frozen. Look carefully and you will see a tall platform to the left of the building that may have been used for the ice house.

Other information suggests the structure, following the closure of the logging business that an ice cream factory was opened at the site.

Some others opinion was the structure was a boat house.

Boyd's Bath House

Boyd's public bath house in a photograph dated 6-1-1926. This bath house was located around the current area of the T-Docks.

Boyd's Park at Lily Lake

This is a photograph of Boyd's park at Lily Lake. The photo is undated and location is unknown.

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