Historical Highlight: A pool called 5 Acre Pond

It seems like Cameron has always had a nice swimming pool and it’s always been a popular place for kids and families to enjoy during the summer months.  Personally, I learned to swim in the old pool that’s now the sand pit for the volleyball courts in recreation park.  I remember the three diving boards including a high dive and the great snack shack just outside, that provided plenty of sugary snacks and soft drinks.  WHB would play through the sound system while little kids were in the baby pool and bigger kids were getting up the nerve to jump off the high dive.

The pool we have now, replaced the old pool in the early 1980s.  Maintenance and safety concerns at the old pool, as well as a desire to attract people from surrounding communities, motivated residents to make it possible to build the new pool. It’s been a popular place ever since.

Long before either of the two pools I’ve mentioned were around, the local swimming pool was a place called the Five-Acre Pond.  It was located on the railroad right of way next to the Zimmerman Dairy farm a mile west of Cameron.

Although it had been used as a popular swimming hole for years, the decision to make it the official swimming pool was made in 1921. For years the Elmer Ellis American Legion Post was responsible for operations.  Eugene Ripley was the lifeguard for nearly its entire operation.  Under Ripley’s watch as the lifeguard the five-acre pond had an excellent safety record.  It had a board walk, beach, diving boards and in 1929 electric lights were installed.

During its life as a pool, it also provided extra water for the Cameron reservoir during drought conditions.  One unconfirmed story says that when the city reservoir, now known as century lake or reservoir #1, was dry, the five-acre pond was drained to fill the reservoir, however the ground between the two was so dry, not a drop of water made it into the reservoir. 

During the WPA in the late 1930s, the five-acre pond was replaced by the swimming pool in Chautauqua Park, now called Recreation Park.  The WPA also helped build a new reservoir, now know as #2 or Sunrise Lake. There are still folks around that have fond memories of what it was like to take a cool dip in the local swimming pool called the Five Acre Pond.