Historic Mount Allison: The Pond (1901-present)

Between September and November 1901 a marshy area of the Ladies’ College grounds was excavated to build a pond. The pond was designed by Professor John Hammond of the Owens Art Gallery and originally included two small islands. The water was added in late November and the students were able to use the pond for skating during that winter.

The expenses associated with building the pond were borne by Senator Josiah Wood. By June 1902 a fountain had been installed, a gift from Raymond Clare Archibald. Archibald and an assistant built the foundation of the fountain and then had two stones from the Pickard Quarry cut to shape according to a design by Professor Hammond.

The pond was known as the Ladies’ College Park Pond until the demise of the Ladies’ College in 1935 and was then called the Lily Pond. When swans were acquired for the pond in August 1968, it gradually became known as the Swan Pond and remains so to current time, though there have been no swans since 2015.