Site of Waco Boating and Fishing Club

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm going to do it justice. January 10, 1890. A small group of prominent Waco citizens walked into the McLennan County courthouse with something on their minds.

Now, you might expect courthouse business to involve lawyers and land disputes and all the usual drama. But according to the minutes of that very first meeting, these men had gathered, and I'm quoting here, for the purpose of establishing a boating and fishing club. That was it.

That was the grand ambition. And somehow, that modest little purpose would end up putting its name on a road, a neighborhood, and a stretch of McLennan County that folks still know today. The organization secured a state charter a month after that first meeting.

Fifty members strong, each one purchasing stock in the new venture. They elected Tom Padgitt as their first president, Otis W. David as secretary, and W.

W. Seley as treasurer. Serious men, seriously committed to their fishing.

They didn't waste time. Members started hunting for property almost immediately, and they found it. Fifty acres of land, five miles west of the city, just north of the road running from Waco to Crawford.

They paid two thousand dollars for it. In March of 1890, the board authorized construction of a dam and proper development of a lake. By 1892, an artesian well had been drilled and the lake was stocked with fish.

The members voted to name the place Fountain Lake, built a boat house on the east shore, and settled in to enjoy themselves. Club activities showed up regularly in a local society newsletter called Artesia. These were fashionable people doing fashionable things, and word got around.

Now here's where the story takes a quiet little turn. By the time the 20th century rolled over, people had stopped calling it the Waco Boating and Fishing Club in casual conversation. They were calling it the Fish Pond Club.

And Fountain Lake, that carefully chosen name the members had voted on, had given way to the simpler, stickier term: Fish Pond. The road leading out to the site picked up the name. The surrounding area followed.

Fish Pond Road. Fish Pond. Just like that, a members' vote faded and a nickname took root.

The club's facilities drew members and non-members alike, a fashionable social gathering place that outlasted its own official identity by reputation alone. The Ridgewood Country Club purchased the property in 1985. The Waco Boating and Fishing Club officially dissolved in 1988.

Nearly a century of fishing trips and boat houses and society columns, and then it was done. At the start of the 21st century, the old fish pond site became part of a new residential development. Fifty men walked into a courthouse one January day wanting a place to fish.

They got that, and they got something they probably never planned on: a name that outlived the club, outlived the lake, and settled itself permanently into the landscape of McLennan County. Not bad for a fish pond.

What the marker says

On January 10, 1890, a small group of prominent Waco citizens gathered at the McLennan County courthouse. According to the minutes of that first meeting, they had come together "for the purpose of establishing a boating and fishing club." The organization obtained a state charter a month later. The club originally was comprised of fifty members, each of whom purchased stock in the new venture. Tom Padgitt was elected first president of the club, Otis W. David served as secretary, and W. W. Seley was elected treasurer. Members of the club immediately began looking for property on which to establish their headquarters. They soon purchased 50 acres of land five miles west of the city and just north of the road leading from Waco to Crawford for $2,000. In March 1890, the board authorized construction of a dam and proper development of a lake. An artesian well was drilled in 1892, and the lake was stocked with fish. Members of the club voted to name the site "Fountain Lake" and built a boat house on the east shore of the lake. Reports of club activities regularly appeared in a local society newsletter called Artesia. By the turn of the 20th century, the organization was commonly known as the "Fish Pond Club" and the term "Fish Pond" soon replaced the earlier adopted "Fountain Lake." The club's facilities became a fashionable social gathering place and were used by members and non-members alike. Soon the road leading to the site was named Fish Pond Road and the surrounding area gradually took on the popular name, as well. The nearby Ridgewood Country Club purchased the property in 1985, and the Waco Boating and Fishing Club officially dissolved in 1988. At the beginning of the 21st century the old fish pond site became part of a new residential development. (2000)