Pond Health

2023 Water Test

Pat Lavoie has had the pond water test done and the results were good. Excellent for swimming.

Ecology

Wadleigh Pond- Ecology and Health

Many of Maine’s ponds and lakes have been invaded in recent years by an invasive non-native aquatic plant called “Eurasion milfoil” (often just shortened to “milfoil”). Thankfully, Wadleigh Pond has not been invaded by the non-native Eurasion milfoil to date. The Wadleigh Pond watershed does have a native aquatic plant that has been identified by the State as “bladderwort”. This free-floating native aquatic plant is often mistaken for milfoil, but is not as aggressive as the non-native Eurasion milfoil that has invaded so many bodies of water in the New England area and elsewhere. According to the State, the presence of a native bladderwort can actually discourage invasion by the non-native milfoil.

 

The Dam

See Home page for a more detailed history of the pond.

I.  History

Steve Lord from the Lyman Historical Society has researched and compiled by Steve Lord from the Lyman Historical Society. The complete 25-page document, including the deeds and maps, will soon be available by email. All details are confirmed by cited sources. Here is a summary.

The earliest deed referencing the Wadley Pond Mill (so far) shows Magness Smith of Lyman selling…part of Wadley’s Mill to James Smith in 1862. Another reference refers to a shingle machine two miles north of Goodwins Mills on Wadlin Pond Stream. The Wadley Mill was built using money from proprietors (investors) led by Magness Smith. The names of all the investors is included in the complete document. Many names will be very familiar to the reader. In 1882, a controlling interest in the mill was sold to William Francis Warren. This means they have the ability to mill lumber and sell it.

There is an 1872 map of Lyman showing a tiny pond labeled with SM (sawmill) so this sawmill was built prior to 1872. It’s also shown on an 1885 map of a portion of York County. The first topographical maps were printed in 1884 and two from1889 and 1892 both show a small Wadleigh Pond,

William Warren transferred his “mill privilege” to his son, Clinton, in 1899 and HE transferred it to his brother, Leonard Pitt Warren. HE then sold the “Wadleigh Pond Mill Privilege” to Leonard C. Walker. This brings us to a man who bought a huge amount of property in this area: John Benjamin Lunt.

Deeds show starting in 1918, Lunt bought up property from landowners. He bought the Wadleigh Pond Mill Privilege; the Goodwins Mills to Wadleigh Pond, grist mill/flowage at Goodwins Mills, and the road to Barkers Pond. He then bought ten acres from “Wadleigh’s Mill pond”, a half acre of land by the Wadleigh Pond Dam, a lot and a lot and the road leading from Goodwin’s Mills to Wadlin’s Pond. Lunt was a very influencial man, as his obituary shows. The obituary will be included in the full document.

Lunt continued operating the sawmill there because he owned the mill privileges and a 1927 deed shows “meaning and intending to convey that part of the land of Ralph Smith which has flowed by the new dam of J.B. Lunt at Wadleighs Pond.” The “dam” was probably built in the fall/winter of 1926.

II. How the Wadleigh Pond Association Became Incorporated

• 1970

III. Maintenance

Preserving the dam is important because…

Without the dam, there would be NO Wadleigh Pond!

Update 2020

The work for the final phase of the dam repair has been confirmed and scheduled. The work is being done by the same people that did the dam refacing last year, Patrick Stevens and Brad Nichols. The price for these repairs is $10,000. The scope of the work will consist of completing the dam resurface from where we stopped to included the actual spillway with new concrete and metal to hold the boards. The work will also include the resurfacing of the spillway entrance on the Thayer’s side of the spillway. The work will start around the middle of October (depending on the water levels). In order to ensure the water levels are low enough to complete the dam repairs, the boards will be removed approx September 15. If we get a lot of rain between now and the middle of the month, the boards may come out a week earlier. PLAN AHEAD WATER LEVELS WILL GO DOWN AFTER THE DAM BOARDS ARE TAKEN OUT. Thanks to all the members who have paid their dues and to the very generous people who have made amazing donations, through these efforts these repairs are made possible. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact me, John Houy .

Update 2019

Through the continued efforts of our generous members, we have completed the new “facing resurface” of the dam. This “facing resurface”, repairs the old crumbling dam wall ensuring many more years of trouble free service from our dam. There is still minor repair work to be completed to the actual rails that hold the dam boards. With this years continued dues payments this work should be completed  this fall when the water level lowers again. A special thanks go out to Brad Nickel owner of Steele Nickel Inc. and Pat Stevens Concrete for their work making this possible. Please enjoy the following pictures of the work by Steele Nickle Inc. and Pat Stevens Concrete of our “new” dam.

Year 2009 Spillway Repair

Thanks to our dedicated members, we have completed a new spillway… but there is more work to be done. Please take a moment to view the slideshow (below) to learn more about the dam and what it means for you as a member. Thank you to member Mark Aloisio for providing this information.

On May 30th 2009, we had a very successful work day. Even after short notice, our dedicated members came out to help work on the dam for our pond. We cleared the brush from the face of the dam to lessen the impact of roots on the concrete. We also removed debris from in front of the new spillway. We also collected $1900 in dues and contributions that day!

On June 8th 2009, we put in the forms and poured the slab for the new spillway. Special thanks to Arthur Dupuis, Sonny Bishop, Charlie Saindon, Brian Dulong, Russell Philbrick and Rollie Nadeau for doing a great job getting it in before the rain!

On June 30, 2009, the spillway was completed and the boards were back in and had plenty of water in time for the 4th. Thanks to many of you who contributed!

On October 9, 2010, we had another successful work day at the dam.  Much debris and litter were cleared and taken away, getting us ready for the winter.  A heartfelt thanks to everyone who shared part of their day with us.