Sackett Lake

Sackett Lake refers to both a lake in Thompson, New York and the small community that revolves around the lake.

It includes Fireman's Camp - for use by the volunteer firefighters in the area, Beaver Dam, Winston Day Camp, and a JCC. During the height of the "Borscht Belt" in the catskills, The Laurel's Hotel and Country Club occupied the northern section of Sackett Lake. On summer weekends you could hear the top singers and bands, such as Louis Armstrong, playing in the nightclub. The Laurel's Hotel and Country Club boasted an outdoor pool, indoor pool, 9 hole golf course, ice skating rink, boat rentals, and a ski lift located behind the golf course's Pro Shop. There were also several bungalows near the golf course that were rented out for the summer. The Laurel's closed in the mid 1970's and had a devastating, suspicious fire in 1980. The buildings stood for several years and were torn down in the 80's. The land is now home to many species of wild birds, such as the blue heron. Two other hotels were located on the other side of Sackett Lake Road - The Bellmore Hotel and the Old Congress Hotel. Both had "casinos" or halls on lakeside property. The Bellmore Hotel burned down in the late 1960s. The Old Congress Hotel reopened several times, but failed. It opened as a high school football camp in the early 1970s, but that also failed. The land was unused for many years, but now contains a community of private homes called Sackett Lake Estates. There were three sleepaway camps on the lake - Camp Winston, Camp Roosevelt, and Camp Ta-Go-La. Camp Winston closed in the 1960s and is now a private community of modular homes called Camelot Woods. Camp Roosevelt and Camp Ta-Go-La are now orthodox sleepaway summer camps. There were a few bungalow colonies that dotted the lake, like Goodman's Showboat Colony. The "showboat" was a white building that sat overhanging the lake on the center of the western side. It contained a large room used for weekend gatherings of the bungalow renters and their guests, and also had a small apartment where Abe and Miriam Goodman, the bungalow colony owners, stayed during the summer season. The hotel and bungalow colonies are gone and Sackett Lake now consists of mainly private homes. There was a third small hotel on Sackett Lake Road above the Congress Hotel. It was called the Sackett Lake Lodge.