Old Fish Ponds

Looking for some old homesites, I came upon what looked like an old earthen dam, now covered with trees. Climbing up, I saw that it held an overgrown rectangular pond, about 100 yards long. Looking towards the inlet end, I spied another dam, and walked along the side dam up to it. It held another pond. In the end, I found four ponds lined up one after the other, all enclosed by earthen dams. One pond was almost full, two were partially filled, and one was completely dry. These ponds didn't show on any old topo maps and I had no idea what they had been used for. I asked (Towns Co. historian) Jerry Taylor, who didn't know either. He asked one of his former students who was from the area, and the mystery was solved! It turns out that they were fish ponds from about 1950. The DNR (or possibly USFS, I am checking details) had a sort of fish hatchery operation up here. The former student's parents were actually caretakers here for two years (1950-1951). Update: My friend Sheldon Henderson discovered several old Forest Service documents from the late 1940s relating to these ponds. It turns out that they were constructed by a private group, the (now defunct) Chatuge Fish and Game Club of Towns County. A couple of these documents, from the planning stage to the end of use, are included at the bottom of this album.

My exploration started out following part of the old Unicoi Turnpike. This was one of the few spots in this section that was clear enough to get a pic of the old road...

Climbing up an odd-looking rise, this was my first view of the ponds. View along the grown-over front dam at Pond 1, from the east side.

Pond 1, showing trees growing in pond and drop inlet riser (spillway) on wet side of the dam.

Baffled Pole in Pond 1 Something was obviously once attached, perhaps a duck nesting box.

View from Dam 2 towards back side (SE corner) of Pond 1

View along the dam at Pond 2. Pond 2 is to left, while back end of Pond 1 is to the right.

Drop inlet riser at Pond 2. This pond was only partially filled; I was standing near the water's edge.

The adjacent Hiwassee River is pretty small at this point.

Pond 3 was almost full

Dead tree in Pond 3

Reflection in the pond

Pond 3's drop inlet riser at dam.

View back at pond 3 from pond 4's dam.

This view shows how close the east side dam at Pond 3 is to the River.

Dry bed of pond 4; the front dam is to the right. The drop inlet riser can be seen adjacent to the dam.

Drop inlet riser at (dry) pond 4.

Another pole with a baffle, in the dry bed of Pond 4

Another section of the old Unicoi Turnpike, which runs through the area.

Several huge Pines were growing below the ponds. This one measured 135 inches in circumference. (43 inches in diameter...)

Fish ponds - from a recent satellite view

Document concerning the initial planning for these fish ponds - 1948. Note the typo in the name of the club; in all later documents the "Chauga" was corrected to "Chatuge"... Also note the reference to Charlie Elliott, Georgia's legendary dean of southern outdoor writers...

Special Use Application

Notice of pond closure and end of use - 1956.

One of the "shanties" mentioned in the previous memo was eventually moved and improved as a residence that now sits along GA 17/75.

An undated postcard of the ponds... Published by the Asheville Post Card Co.; this card was mailed on Sept. 20, 1949. "A portion of the rearing pools built by the Lake Chatuge Fish and Game Club. They are located near the source of the Hiawassee {sic} River, and the surrounding beauty makes this a popular spot for picnics."

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