Taking a tour of historic Freeport: the Crystal Lake Hotel

You ever notice how you'll learn something for the very first time, in any arena in life, and suddenly, you're seeing that thing or hearing about it *everywhere*, even though before then you'd never heard of it before?

This sign was recently put up three blocks north of my house at the corner of Guy Lombardo Avenue and Southside Avenue. It reads: "Crystal Lake Hotel and cottage opened 1895 by Ward and Allie Frost. Accomodated 150 guests. Destroyed by fire 1958."

I know a bit about historic Freeport but I'd never heard of the Crystal Lake Hotel before (and what a fancy-schmancy name, too, right?) But when I was recently going through my great-grandfather Timothy Cronin's sister Julia's petition to become the administrator of their mother Nora's estate I found this - in petitioning the Brooklyn Surrogate's Court for administration, her brothers Timothy and Cornelius, both residing in Freeport, were served on March 30, 1921 with citations to appear in court if they wished to contest her petition. The page in the records reads: "William P. Jones, being duly sworn, deposes and says that he is over the age of twenty-one years and resides at the Crystal Lake Hotel, Southside Avenue, Freeport, N.Y., that he made personal service of the annexed citation...by delivering to and and leaving with each of them personally a true copy of said citation, as follows: On the 30th day of March, 1921 at 7:30 p.m. on Cornelius Cronin and Timothy A. Cronin, both at No. 270 South Main Street, Freeport, N.Y."

This is a postcard depicting the hotel in 1906 from a view from the southeast, looking west toward the hotel.

I just thought it was interesting that this probate record I found in the Brooklyn estate files mentions as a place of residence the hotel that used to exist up the block from where I now live - there are connections everywhere, you just have to look for them!!