The Village of Hobart Swimming Pool

F. D. Brown, M.D.
Maple-Bank
Hobart, New York 13788

The Village of Hobart Swimming Pool represents one of the finest community efforts one could imagine. To name any one person as responsible would be to leave out most of the area residents.

The pool was built in 1936 on land donated to the Village by Robert Cowan. A bulldozer operator doing flood control on the nearby Township Brook was persuaded to dig the hole; and, in two hours, it was done.

Volunteer form builders then moved in and, in one week, this phase was completed. Reinforcing steel consisted of various pieces even including 2 inch pipe scavenged by then supervisor of creamery repairs, Hoyt Swain. In fact, it is jokingly said that in case of an atom bomb attack, the safest place to be would be the pool.

Meanwhile, those not able to work on the site were busy getting contributions. Since the area was still coming back from the stock market crash of ’29, this task was no easy job. The amount raised was $1,500; this was the total expense of the pool.

By going up Township Brook about 100 feet and making a partial dam of stones, water was piped into the shallow end and exited constantly at the deep end. Although inadequate by today’s standards, no illness ever resulted from this crude method.

Over the years, many refinements have been added to make it one of the most pleasant areas around. A few of these included a sun deck, lights, water purification, a picnic area with fireplaces, etc.

In the mid-fifties, one tri-village swimming meet took place with the Hobart team beating Delhi and Stamford. This victory was a great satisfaction to all who had worked so hard.

Early on, the pool was quite a social center in the evening. Besides swimming (a great refreshment to the hay field workers) band concerts and outdoor movies made for pleasant pastimes.

With no serious accidents and teaching hundreds of children how to swim, the Hobart Village Pool represents an era of healthful and happy living.