https://garylayton.smugmug.com/Farm-Hahira/Pond-pictures-test-for-PondBoss/n-28nhKd/The original dam was built on a creek called Bostick Mill Creek. We discovered the creek name from old property deeds. Mr. W.G. Bostick owned much of the property that was Grandaddy's farm in the 1880's until his death in 1904. Mr. Bostick is buried in a lone grave that overlooks our South Pond. Grandaddy started farming and acquiring land at the Gin Pond in the 1920s. The farm was eventually 500 acres until his death in 1988.
Grandaddy built the E-W road higher in the early 1950's and it became the dam. I found old property deeds and leases that show where had the pond areas logged in the early 50's. That was when he started bring the current ponds to life.
He dammed Bostick Mill Creek at the road to create the Road Pond and South Pond.
The area behind (south of) the "original dam"...sometimes called the Middle Dam now...grew to about 15+ acres. The Fish Pond/Gin Pond you saw in the 1908 map grew from 3-5 acres to over 15. The Road Pond is about one acre.
He built a dam that runs E-W parallel to and north of the road. That made the North Pond.
The freakin' Beaver Pond is probably at least 5-17 acres...we are trying to recover some of that land. It has been flooding out some of our land where we have pine trees planted. That's another story.
The Road Pond, South Pond and the Beaver Pond are what I inherited. The North Pond belongs to my Aunt and cousins. I hope that one day I might be able to buy their property and pond just north of ours and bring part of the original farm back together. It would have the two ponds reconnected again. For now it's just a dream. Farms can eat up a lot of money. We rent the fields out to a cotton/peanut farmer and that helps with taxes and insurance. But there are still a lot of on-going costs.
I have attached a recent Google maps photo of the Road Pond and the South Pond.
