From Whence This Sand?

From Whence This Sand?

A simple question unearths a surprising history

Did you know that Howitt Park was a popular swimming hole in the 1930's?

Here's how we found out:

Low in one of the ravines, we came across some tracks in wet sand – A LOT of sand. Where did it come from? It didn't make sense... Follow the ravine and it leads to a cattail marsh, hedged in by dilapidated walls. Who built the walls? And why here?

Turns out the walls are part of a nineteenth-century dam, reservoir and chute system. The reservoir – known as 'Howitt Pond' – held water to feed two mills further down the hill, by Waterloo Avenue. Here’s a picture taken of that holding pond (from the 1970’s):

Nearly a century after the dams were built, in the 1930's, the city trucked in a bunch of sand around the holding pond, and community members spread it out to make a beach. There was a diving platform, and the city built some changeroom shacks, too. Here’s an image of the beach from the 1930’s:

We're still not quite sure where everything stood, how the water flowed, and where the beach was, but we're learning...

We’re amazed at how much we learned by following a simple question: Where did the sand some from?

More learning — and questions — ahead, for sure!

Shout out to CELP and Waterloo Region Record for the helpful resources. The vintage pics courtesy of Guelph Museums (no. 2013.39.300 & 2009.37.1)