Swan Lake, New York

41°45′02″N 74°46′41″W / 41.75056°N 74.77806°W / 41.75056; -74.77806CountryUnited StatesStateNew YorkCountySullivanElevation1,345 ft (410 m)Time zoneUTC-5 (Eastern (EST)) • Summer (DST)UTC-4 (EDT)ZIP codeArea code845GNIS feature ID966887^[1]

Swan Lake (formerly Stevensville) is a hamlet and census designated place in the town of Liberty, Sullivan County, New York, United States.^[2] The lake inside the town is also named Swan Lake.

A hotel and tourist industry was founded in Swan Lake in the 1880s.

Swan Lake was originally called Stevensville, named after the Stevens brothers who built a large sole leather tannery there. The tannery was in existence until about 1873.^[3][4]

Since the 1880s the Swan Lake area has been noted for its hotel and tourist industry. Many of the local farm girls found jobs there in the early 1900s. ^[5]

Alden S. Swan arrived there from New York about 1895 and by the time of his death in 1917 owned much of the land and all of the lake. The name was changed to Swan Lake in January 1927.^[6]

The Swan estate was purchased by Siegel and Kretchmer and the Siegels went on to build the Commodore and Stevensville the latter developing into a large sprawling hotel run by the Dinnerstein family.^[7][8]

^{[9][10][11][12]} Walter Sage was a New York area gangster who was caught by his affiliates skimming money off the top of gambling rackets. He was murdered with an ice pick and his body was disposed of in Swan Lake (the lake inside the town also called Swan Lake) tied to a 30 pound rock and a slot machine frame. On July 31, 1937 his body was discovered by tourists floating in Swan Lake. Jack Drucker would be convicted of the murder for his part in this. Harry Strauss known as "Pittsburgh Phil" had already been executed by death penalty for his part in other murders related to his involvement with the gang of killers dubbed by the press as Murder, Inc. Irving “Big Gangi” Cohen ^[13] who was also alleged to take part in the murder managed to not be convicted of this crime. This infamous murder would also be documented in the Classic Catskills series with Barry Lewis. ^[14]

The community is located along New York State Route 55, 3.9 miles (6.3 km) south-southwest of Liberty, located at the eastern end of a lake called "Swan Lake".

The Bikur Cholim B'nai Israel Synagogue in Swan Lake is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.^[15]

The town of Bethel Pool and Park is located in Swan Lake.^[16]

The lake also known as Swan Lake inside the town is known for its fishing. It has been known to have ice fishing tournaments during the winter months. [1] The lake is known to have chain pickerel, bluegill, crappie, smallmouth bass, largemouth bass and bullhead. [2] The lake is 326 acres in size.[3]

Swan Lake Park [4] is available from May 1st to September 30th each year. It has basketball and tennis courts and is along the shore of the lake in Swan Lake. The Borscht Belt Marker Project erected a sign in the park to commemorate the towns history regarding the Borscht Belt. [5] The parks address is 1658 Briscoe Road, Swan Lake NY 12783

The Moshini Stone Castle is a small park garden within the town near the lake. [6]

Swan Lake post office opened in 1849.^[17][18]

The Swan Lake Fire Department is a volunteer fire department with around 30 members.^[19]

• New York State Route 55
• New York State Route 17B

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