Elgin Pond Uxbridge

Location

Elgin Pond is located right in the heart of Uxbridge at the corners of Main Street South and Mill Street.

 

 

History

The photo above is a post card showing the view of the pond looking north from Main Street, taken in 1905.  You can see the Oatmeal Mill at the north end of the pond beside the dam.   If you look closely you can see the Library Tower and the Bell Tower on Toronto St.  The photo below was taken in December 2021 showing the same view.

https://scugogheritage.com/postcards/uxbridge.htm

 

 

 

Elgin Pond was created by John Plank in 1828 to run a sawmill and was originally known as Park Pond.

 

 

The above photo shows the Oatmeal Mill on the north end of the pond which was build by Isaac J. Gould in 1885.  The building to the right of the mill is the Gould saw mill.  The building to the left is the Oatmeal Kiln which is still standing today and has been converted to a home (shown below)

 

 

 

 

 

 

Summer On The Pond

Through the 1950’s to 70’s Uxbridge residents cooled off in the waters of Elgin Pond during the hot summer months.  Quite often children would first dunk themselves in the spring fed water trough and then jump in the pond.  This would make the pond water feel warmer.

 

 

 

 

Winter on the Pond

Another memory of our youths is the “Old Man Winter” van on the ice (I believe it was called).   They would place a van (stripped of all its parts of course) on the north end of the pond.   You could purchase tickets and guess when you thought the van would fall through the ice.   There was a clock mounted in the windshield that would stop the moment it hit the water.   In the spring we would make mom and dad drive by everyday so we could see how far it had sunk into the ice until it was gone.

 

 

The above photo was taken just west of the dam.  You can see the barricades that would keep skaters away from the thin ice near the dam.  In winter sections of the pond are cleared for skating and hockey.  The township monitors the ice safety using flags. A red flag means the ice is not safe to use, while a yellow flag means skate with caution.

 

Elgin Pond Today

Even though the pond has changed over the years and is not the swimming hole it used to be it still has its share of community fun.   Every spring for the last 18 years it has been the location for the Huck Finn Youth Fishing Day and in the winter it becomes a favourite spot for a game of hockey or just some leisure family skating.

 

 

Below are some photos taken of the pond in the summer of 2020

 

 

 

 

 

Elgin Pond on the Big Screen

In 1996 Elgin Pond appeared in the movie The Long Kiss Goodnight starring Geena Davis and Samuel L. Jackson. (below)

 

 

 

 

Watch the chase scene from The Long Kiss Goodnight.  The scene starts at the corner of Dominion Street and First Avenue and ends on Elgin Pond.