Woodcastle Hotel
In the 19th Century, families of German descent relocated from
Brooklyn to what is now Massapequa Park, and the resulting
community was known as Stad Wurtemburg after a city in Bavaria.
Wurtemburg Road ran from what is today Merrick Road to the present
Clark Boulevard and is now known as Park Boulevard. The main
attraction and center of activity was the Woodcastle Hotel, a
rooming house built in 1868 on Front Street where the firehouse now
stands.
Woodcastle Hotel was built and run by Louis Francois Dessart, and
Clara Sophie Wittfelder Dessart, and became a well known summer
resort. It had a bowling alley, a bar, a dance hall and a general
store, and was a focal point for local social activities. Three
flags always flew atop the hotel – an American Flag on the cupola,
flanked by German & French flags, representing the Dessart’s
heritage.
Around 8 rooms were available and room and board could be had for
$5-$8 per week. After 1905, the hotel remained in the family, but
no longer took in boarders.
Aerial photo circa 1950.
The land was sold to Massapequa Park for construction of the
existing firehouse in 1952. Most of it was torn down, except for
the general store, where many furnishings were stored.
Unfortunately, that was destroyed by fire set by vandals in
February, 1953. The large American Mulberry tree at the firehouse
dates back to when the hotel was built.
Descendants of the hotel's founders still live in the area.
Thanks to Lillian Bryson, granddaughter of the hotel’s owners
for the pictures & information, and her patience with me! Also
Ken at the
Delancey Floyd-Jones Free Library.
The coordinates above take you to a
historical marker for the Woodcastle hotel. Note down the years on
the sign.
To find the cache, take the first year
mentioned on the sign (expressed as 1.xxx) and add it to this
coordinate.
N 40° 38.864
Then take the last year mentioned on the
sign (expressed as 1.xxx) and add it to this coordinate.
W 073° 24.685
The new coordinates lead you to a
camouflaged peanut butter jar. Please be discreet & replace as
found.
FTF gets a signal FTF pin. There are
also 2 lottery scratch-off tickets for FTF & STF. I've been STF
alot and they should be rewarded too!
Congrats to Team Beanz & nyshooterny
for the shared FTF!