What's It Wednesday - Where's the Beach?
We're in an incredible heat wave. Where do you want to go to cool off?
I grew up in Maryland, just outside of D.C. so I did not have much opportunity to spend time at the beach or shore. Occasional trips with high school friends’ families were to Ocean City, Maryland, an excursion that involved a 3-to-5-hour trip, one-way. And the summer water was usually laden with jellyfish! That didn’t stop us from jumping through the waves though!
For the most part, summers were spent at a community pool in our neighborhood, except when I visited my aunt and uncle in Vermont. Then I swam in a spring-fed lake. No sandy beach, but it had clear water and plenty of fish to tickle the toes.
As an adult living in Massachusetts, I usually head for Rye, NH or Plum Island for the endless ocean vista and the sound of the waves. However, recently I spent 4 lovely days at a lake in the Adirondacks. It was so clear that you could see the bottom. The quiet lap of the water on the shore was incredibly peaceful. For me, summer means water activities.
In Andover, we have many options for cooling activities on ponds and the Shawsheen River. Historically, Haggett’s Pond was the place to go for summer entertainment, picnics, and to escape from the heat.
Haggett’s Pond in Andover was an outdoor attraction for well over a century. In the late 1800s, Bailey’s Grove on Haggett’s Pond afforded guests the chance to boat, picnic, swim, dance and bowl at a private recreational spot.
Samuel Gilman Bailey owned and operated Bailey’s Grove. It included a saloon, cook house, restaurant, dance hall and bowling alley. He rented the Grove out to local residents, groups, and organizations for family gatherings, church picnics and employee outings.
Haggett’s Pond was convenient to Andover locals by carriage; other visitors came by way of the small Lowell and Lawrence Railroad line, established in 1846. In the 1880’s, visitors could even enjoy a tour around Haggett’s Pond on the Spitfire, a small steamer boat with a capacity for 35 passengers.
Haggett’s Pond and Bailey’s Grove remained a popular summertime spot even after 1889 when the Town of Andover made the pond the main source for Andover’s drinking water and so banned swimming.
In August 1901 there was a somewhat suspicious fire at Bailey’s Grove that destroyed three buildings – the dance hall, bowling alley and dining hall.
Today Pomp’s Pond is Andover’s local swimming and recreational area.
Many in town are probably not aware that the pond is named after formerly enslaved man, Pompey Lovejoy. Pompey was married to Rose Foster, also formerly enslaved. When they married, they were gifted land in the woods near a pond on the west side of town in what was then the South Parish of Andover They built a cabin and lived there, fishing in the pond and farming nearby land until their deaths in 1826.
Over the years, the pond has been home to several residential summer camps, including Camp Andover (operated by the City Missionary Society of Boston from 1918 to1926) and the Girl Scout Camp Maude Eaton (from 1940 to the present) on the northern side of the pond. Camp Manning was operated on the south-eastern side of the pond by the Malden Boy Scout Council from 1921 until the mid-1950s.
Long an informal source of relief from hot summer days, the pond became a public beach in 1923, when a town committee raised funds for bathhouses, rafts, and lifeguards to be built on the east side of the pond. In 1947, the beach was purchased by the town for $1000. Now it is the place to be in Andover on a hot summer’s day.
Of course, there are many other lake options in the area, as well as favorite beaches in Massachusetts - North Shore, South Shore and the Cape and Islands. Some have a very long history of being beach destinations.
Beach at Ebb-Tide Chatham Beach, Cape Cod, MA by W. N. Bartholomew 1892 Commons. WikiMedia Public Domain
Going to the beach wasn’t always an acceptable activity.
Prior to the 1800’s it was considered dangerous and unhealthful. The popular belief was that sea monsters and serpents lived in the ocean. It was considered certain death to go into the water.
How and when did going to the beach become a summertime pleasure excursion and a must in hot weather?
I have fallen down a very deep “rabbit hole” researching that question. I’ve encountered tales of Kracken and Leviathan, Scylla and Charybdis. I’ve met up with references to sandy beaches and Dante’s third ring of Hell, as well as tales of real hazards of pirates, bandits, Black Death and small pox.
Once I dig myself out of the sandy rabbit hole of research, I’ll post more of the history of beach vacations. Stay tuned.
In the meantime, enjoy the lake, pond, ocean, backyard swimming pool or sprinkler for a respite from the heat.
Stay cool and watch out for sea monsters!
Thanks for reading!
Let me know your favorite beach, lake or place for summer water activities or memories of beach vacations
You can comment below or email me at mhelmers@andoverhistoryandculture.org
Click here to open a free Substack account, so you can like, share, and comment.
Marilyn Helmers
History Buzz is a reader-supported publication. To receive new posts and support our work, consider becoming a free or paid subscriber.
Resources
Andover Center for History and Culture
Andover Historic Preservation Commission
Andover Stories - Haggett's Pond Camp Gave Boxer a Fighting Chance by Elaine Clements
What our ancestors did for summer fun by Joan Patrakis
I went to pomps a lot as a kid. I was in a day camp program at Rec Park. I've spent a lot of time at the beaches on Cape Ann and in Ipswich. Spoiler alert: my next HB post talks about Andover-ites in Nevada and I am lamenting the fact that I no longer have an excuse to visit the rockies every summer. At least there's a/c.
Growing up in west Andover we sent a lot of time on the trails around Haggett's pond. Always tempting to jump in!