{"id":3307,"date":"2016-06-27T15:04:38","date_gmt":"2016-06-27T19:04:38","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/glenprovidencepark.org\/?p=3307"},"modified":"2016-06-27T16:32:01","modified_gmt":"2016-06-27T20:32:01","slug":"a-wpa-pond","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/glenprovidencepark.org\/2016\/06\/27\/a-wpa-pond\/","title":{"rendered":"A WPA Pond"},"content":{"rendered":"

One of the most beloved features of the Glen Providence Park is the man-made pond at its center – created 80 years ago for fishing and skating!<\/strong> Like the other original park structures and trails, it was constructed by the Works Progress Administration (WPA),<\/strong> a Depression-era jobs program – which is part of what made the park eligible for the National Register of Historic Places!<\/a><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n

Creating a pond<\/h3>\n

Samuel L. Smedley envisioned the pond when he founded Glen Providence in 1935,<\/strong> and effusive Chester Times articles about the new park tracked the pond’s construction. Work had begun on the \u201clake\u201d by April 1936: <\/span>\u201cEntering from the Third street end\u2026 From here the nature lover, following paths recently completed by the WPA will see springs, and a small lake in the course of completion.\u201d <\/span><\/i>The pond was \u201cnearly completed\u201d by August.<\/span><\/p>\n

A 1937 article about Glen Providence described the new pond in detail:<\/strong>\u00a0\u201c<\/span>The most outstanding object of interest is \u201cMirror Lake,\u201d 400 feet long, 100 feet wide, irregular in outline, constructed near the middle of the property, and to the west of Broomall\u2019s Run. The \u00a0water supply is by a by-pass, from Broomall\u2019s Run\u2026 A second supply is from the larger spring [the historical drinking spring near Broomall’s Dam<\/a><\/strong>]\u2026 the water being carried through about 500 feet of pipe and liberated over an artificial cascade into the lake, making a very attractive feature.”\u00a0<\/span><\/i>That cascade would later be improved in 1948 by the Providence Garden Club as the Eleanor Reed Butler Waterfall<\/a> <\/strong>– with her husband, Eleanor had donated the majority of the land for the park as a Bird Sanctuary and Arboretum.<\/span><\/p>\n

Fishing, skating, ducks\u2026 and the Swamp Man!<\/h3>\n

True to its intended purpose, the pond was the site of years of fishing derbies for children in summer,<\/strong> and was regularly stocked with perch, bass, and sunfish. Enchantingly, there were lights around the pond for nighttime skating in winter! The pond also hosted a cast of feathered characters, with ducks and geese that were named by the park guards – and some of their antics made the newspapers!* <\/span><\/p>\n

Any manmade body of water requires maintenance over time, and by the early 1980\u2019s, the pond had virtually dried up.<\/strong> Under Recreation Supervisor Terry Smith, Delaware County Parks & Recreation held a \u201cSherlock Holmes Mystery Walk\u201d in 1981<\/strong> at the dried-up pond, which \u201cwon rejuvenation thanks to public awareness.\u201d The pond was dredged, and in 1983 and 1984, “Great Bullfrog Releases”<\/strong>\u00a0were held inviting volunteers \u201cto help release bullfrogs into the park’s revitalized pond.\u201d<\/span><\/p>\n

The pond went on to play a role in the park’s \u201cHalloween Hauntings\u201d in the 1980\u2019s –<\/strong> \u00a0we\u2019ve heard from many people about the scary \u201cSwamp Man\u201d who hid in the pond (in scuba gear!), jumping out at passers-by! <\/span>\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

The pond today<\/h3>\n

While still full of wildlife including several species of turtles, fish, and frogs,<\/strong>\u00a0the pond is again filling with sediment. Sometime since 1975, the pipes feeding the Eleanor Reed Butler Waterfall caved in, eliminating a source of water and aeration for the pond. A fountain was installed in the pond in the early 2000\u2019s to help with aeration, but was ultimately vandalized. The pond’s shallowness, combined with insufficient aeration and inadequate vegetation around the pond, contribute to it being overgrown with algae in summers.\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

There are potential\u00a0upcoming changes to the pond<\/a> as a result of the Broomall\u2019s Dam replacement<\/strong> (now anticipated for 2018<\/a>), including the possible creation of wetlands at one end of the pond. In any case, t<\/span>he pond will need dredging, stabilization of the intake and outlet, and planting of trees, shrubs, and appropriate native vegetation around, and in, the water to restore and preserve its ecosystem.<\/span><\/p>\n

We hope that revitalization is successful, and that future generations are able to enjoy this WPA pond! \u00a0\u00a0<\/span><\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

*I\u2019ll write more about the fishing derbies, illustrious ducks, and winter skating in future articles! <\/span><\/i><\/p>\n

Click below to see the charming 1939 photos by local resident GJ Ulshafer<\/a><\/strong> showing what the new pond looked like, an undated postcard, and photos from 1944, 1959, and 2016.\u00a0<\/span><\/i><\/p>\n\n\t\t