In top photo, historic photo of the Killian Hotel. The long trek by stagecoach from Massapequa to Manhattan took a full day. Those coming to or from Massapequa were usually exhausted after so many hours on the dusty dirt roads that joined the communities of Long Island, Brooklyn and Queens to New York City.

When the steam powered railroad was built along the South Shore in 1868, the trip was made a lot easier and reduced a full day travel to a few hours. Once they arrived in Massapequa, however, all travelers were offered a spate of much-needed rest and relaxation in the form of the Killian Hotel, which offered a warm fire, a well-stocked bar and a hearty meal.

At the corner of what is now Hicksville Road and Sunrise Highway, the hotel served locals as well as visitors who came here to fish and hunt and enjoy all that the area had to offer. Long gone, its memory has been preserved by the Massapequa Historical Society which, last week, placed a dedication marker at that location, commemorating part of Massapequa's colorful past.

Center, members of the Massapequa Historical Society pose for a photo beneath the newly placed marker for the hotel. "Look around you and then close your eyes and see the plain but comfortable hotel," said Lillian Rumsfeld Bryson, an officer of the Historical Society who spoke at the dedication Oct. 25. "Find your way to the bar, step up and imagine what the hunting was like at a time when, according to a piece in the Brooklyn Eagle in 1906, Killian's housed as many, if not more distinguished men than a majority of similar hotels in the United States."

Originally built by Francis Killian as a home for his family, the hotel became famous after 1860, and offered 18 guest rooms, hospitality to scores of businessmen, professionals and politicians who were attracted to it because of its proximity to the great hunting and fishing areas in and around Massapequa.

During the business part of the hunting season, a lack of available guest rooms did not deter these men from returning to the Killian Hotel. In fact, many are said to have slept on the floor, in chairs as well as on the pool table, according to the Massapequa Hi s tor ical Societ y records. Over time, the register of the hotel acquired the signatures of many famous figures including Vice President Chester A. Arthur who served under President Garfield. Arthur, a former president of the New York Stock Exchange, was a frequent visitor of room No. 6. Many of the hotel's guests came from as far away as the Western Plains and the Northern mountains.

Bottom, right, the marker is unveiled. Photos by Ed Cox. "Fishing and shooting, which could be enjoyed to the fullest in Massapequa, were the magnets that brought so many well-known men to this area," said Bryson. "Ducks, meadow hens, geese, quail and rabbits and other wild game were the quarry of sportsmen and but a few returned from a day's quest without a good bag of game. Local guides, raised in the awareness of the wild were in demand for early morning starts to hunting grounds in the woods near the hotel in the meadows or on the bay."

In 1906, the Killian's Hotel was torn down to make room for a new pipeline, which brought additional water to many Brooklynites. Other sources say the hotel was moved, but to date no records have been able to confirm that except for a piece in the Amityville Record newspaper, which does not list its new location.

"This was the first building in Massapequa to be moved for what we call progress today," said William Colfer, president of the Historical Society. "We are happy to be able to preserve this small part of our history for ourselves and future generations."