The boathouse was built in 1900 by the then owner of
River Lea, James W. Tillinghast. Mr. Tillinghast rented the River Lea property for
three years from a syndicate of men who bought the property from Lewis F. Allen.
He then bought the property and started to improve it.
Boathouse - 75 foot by 50 foot - 2 stories high with
winches able to pull the boats high above the water.
The Allens sold the property in 1887 to a syndicate and it was then rented to the
James W. Tillinghast family who eventually purchased it in 1899. Because of the riverfront
being almost entirely marshland, Tillinghast had sand dredged from the river, filled
in about ten acres, and erected one of the largest boathouses on the Grand Island
shores.
- Teddy
Linenfelser
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