#81: Hubbell's Pond

It’s been known as Hubbell's Pond or Lake Cornelia.

Hubbell’s Pond is a bit of a mystery to newcomers in Garden City. Some don’t know the pond exists. It’s up over the hill just north of Garden City Middle School and you can’t see it from Stewart Avenue as you drive by.

According to The History of Garden City by Mildred Smith, Garden City founder Alexander Turney Stewart had plans for his little village that included roads and a 30-acre park around the original Garden City Hotel. When enough sand and gravel for the roads and topsoil for the park project had been removed, “this unsightly depression was later turned into a small lake, called Lake Cornelia in honor of Mrs. Stewart. It was made by lining the excavation with a two-foot layer of clay…This lake is now Hubbell’s Pond, and has been a delightful part of village life from the beginning.”

Hubbell’s Pond, for it really is more a pond than a lake, derives its name from George Loring Hubbell who moved to Garden City in 1891. He was one of the main characters in the Garden City story, having worked for the Long Island Rail Road and later as general manager of the Garden City Company that further developed our village in the 1890s and beyond. Hubbell was instrumental in planning the Garden City Golf Club where Hubbells Pond is located.

In the 1960s and 1970s children ice skated on the pond in winter and had a fire to keep warm with a wood enclosure provided by the Garden City Recreation Commission. On Stewart Avenue a sign with a big circle would hang in winter, indicating whether there was skating that day for residents.

Come back next Tuesday at 10 a.m. for suggestion #80. Click here if you missed #82.

Category:  Garden City history

Price:  Free

Season:  Year-round

Note:  The pond is on the private property of the Garden City Golf Club.