Ashley Pond Park

Ashley Pond Park. Los Alamos Historic District Walking Tour. Homesteaders in the early 20th century used a small depression in the landscape on this site, fed by snow melt and rainfall, for watering stock. Then in 1923, the Ranch School constructed a low dam in Los Alamos Canyon, dredged out the depression, and brought water in a gravity fed pipe, creating a shallow pond. Although many other students and faculty members tried to take credit, William Mills, a teacher known for his sense of humor, was first to call the pond "Ashley Pond" after the founder of the Las Alamos Ranch School, Ashley Pond, Jr. Throughout most of the school's history, the pond had enough water for students to swim and canoe in warm months and to ice skate and toboggan in winter., During the Manhattan Project, the army built the Laboratory around the pond. The army fenced off the area, but firefighters frequently used its water to put out fires in the Lab area. The Lab buildings dwarfed the small body of water, and most residents forgot about it. In the 1950s, as the Laboratory moved south across Los Alamos Canyon and the Atomic Energy Commission tore down the temporary wartime buildings, officials considered filling the pond with construction debris and creating a park. A group of citizens vehemently objected to destroying the pond and set about proving its historical and cultural importance to the town. In 1967, the first County Municipal Building was built to the west of the pond, solidifying the value of the park in the heart of downtown Los Alamos. When County operations were relocated and the old Municipal Building was torn down in 2010, plans for renovation and improvements to the park began. The project was completed, and Ashley Pond Park was dedicated to the public on May 9, 2014., Today, the park remains a focal point for the community. It is the scene of concerts, picnics, fairs, winter light displays, and much more. Geese and ducks began making the pond their home in the earliest days of its creation. Today these waterfowl are beloved members of the community, living at the pond year-round., Below left: Ranch School boys playing hockey on the pond, circa 1920s: Below right. Ashley Pond on horseback, circa 1920s: Right top to bottom: Jim Tuck, Dan Dodder and others on Ashley Pond in their efforts to save it from being destroyed, circa 1940s; Los Alamos community members enjoying the pond, circa 1960s; Ashley Pond Park in the 1970s with the first Municipal Building situated to the west (photos courtesy Los Alamos Historical Society); Ashley Park in 2019, during a Summer Concert Series event, a fan favorite held on Friday nights throughout the warmer months., Pick up a copy of the Historical Walking Tour Guide at the Los Alamos History Museum, Bradbury Science Museum, Los Alamos Nature Center, any of the Visitor Centers, or one of the visitor guide kiosks around town. Download one by scanning the QR code, or go to visitlosalamos.org.