Winter Fun in Noblesville: Skating on Scott’s Pond

By David Heighway, Hamilton County Historian

The City of Noblesville has now installed the ice rink at Federal Hill Commons, and people are preparing to do some skating. To those interested in history, this brings up the question of where people would have gone in the past.

White River was an obvious place. There is a photograph in the Earl Brooks collection of people on the ice below the railroad bridge sometime prior to 1913. There are also descriptions of skating near the present site of the East Bank Apartments, so it’s appropriate that the new site is at Federal Hill, which is fairly close to both of these areas. However, while White River is shallow, it is constantly flowing, which means that the ice is not reliable. It can be very dangerous to use as a skating rink.

A popular spot in the 1850s and 1860s was Scott’s Pond. This was located between present-day Division Street and Greenfield Avenue just south of the former Firestone plant. While it’s not shown on the 1866 map of the county, traces of the pond can be seen on the 1912 soil map and an aerial photo from 1936. Pleasant Street did not go through that area until the 1970s. Being shallow and still, the pond could get a good sheet of ice (though, of course, this meant during summer it was swampy and mosquito infested).

There is a wonderful description of skating on the pond in a January 12, 1907 article in the Hamilton County Times. It was in the form of a reminiscence after seeing a young man go off to hear an opera (probably at the Wild Opera House) which the writer thought was an effete form of entertainment. He felt it was much better to get vigorous exercise in the cold. The article describes how skating parties would start at around 7:30 in the evening and have only moonlight to skate by. There would be a bonfire on the shore, and it was an opportunity for couples to do something appropriate together while being able to hold hands. From a practical point of view, it gives a lot of detail about the types of skates. Other articles from this time say that a common activity on the ice was “shinny,” which was a form of hockey.

Scott’s Pond was drained in 1869 by a channel now known as Wilson’s Ditch. An article at the time said that while it would be mourned by the skaters, many of the local residents were glad to be rid of it. Firestone moved to Noblesville in 1936, expanded the tire plant that was there, and began using the site of the former pond as a dumping ground. The effects of that are still being felt today.

Now, the new public safety building will be built on the site of the old Firestone plant, and, at the same time, Pleasant Street will be upgraded over the old pond site. As you travel over it in the future, imagine the fun times that were had there during winters 160 years ago.