Lake Success

A Reluctant Host to the United Nations

Beginnings: Now remembered for housing the United Nations after World War II, Lake Success is part of the remnants of the last glacier of the Ice Age. One of the largest ``kettle-hole'' lakes on Long Island, it abounded with rumors of an underground channel to Long Island Sound, though geologists dispelled that myth in the mid-19th Century. The Matinecocks, early inhabitants, called the lake Sucut after one of their chiefs, from which Dutch settlers derived the present name.

Turning Points: The area once known as Lakeville was populated by Dutch settlers in the early 1600s and by English immigrants in 1644. In 1790 Queens County Sheriff Uriah Mitchell transported yellow perch from Lake Ronkonkoma to Lake Success in one of the first experiments to stock Long Island lakes with fish. In the late 19th Century, millionaire William K. Vanderbilt II bought $250,000 worth of land around Lake Success for his summer home. The area became a blooming summer resort, so much so that in 1926, residents incorporated as a village to create laws to discourage unwanted tourists. World War II proved a major turning point with the construction of the $40-million Sperry Gyroscope plant in 1941. The plant, employing 20,000 at its peak, became headquarters for the fledgling United Nations in 1946. Lake Success, a reluctant host, was called the ``World's Capital.'' After the UN moved to Manhattan in 1951, the 1.5-million-square-foot facility had a series of defense industry owners.

Where to Find More: ``History of the Village of Lake Success,'' by Kate Van Bloem in Great Neck Public Library.