Picture Ellington - Then And Now

ELLINGTON, CT — Today we return to a fascinating picture book entitled Images of America: Ellington. The book, compiled by Lynn Kloter Fahy for the Ellington Historical Society, was first published in 2005, and contains 128 pages of amazing photos and stories of the small town formerly known as "the Great Marsh." It may be purchased from the Nellie McKnight Museum store here.

It may be late January, and it may have snowed Tuesday, but there is never a bad time to check out Sandy Beach on Crystal Lake. At least, we check out an undated photo of the beach, which was leased by George Bokis beginning in 1923. Bokis dropped many pine trees and built a small amusement park at the beach, as well as a penny arcade, boxing arena and the Sandy Beach Ballroom. World-famous bandleaders such as Duke Ellington, Cab Calloway and Guy Lombardo performed over the years at the dance hall.

In 1971, the town of Ellington purchased Sandy Beach, tore down the buildings and turned the property into mainly beach. The town still operates the site today.

Here is a more contemporary look at Sandy Beach, taken by yours truly.

Do you have a photo of an old Ellington business which no longer exists, to which you own the copyright and which we could feature in this column? Email tim.jensen@patch.com.

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