By 1812Blockhouse
This is a special Landmarks of Mansfield post.
A beloved community asset, visited by generations of area residents, has temporarily closed.
Rest assured that that in this case closure is good news, however.
The Duck Pond at Kingwood Center Gardens, that remarkable place of the vending machines with pellets and the resulting waddling of ducks chasing after food, their voices quacking loudly at the same time, is getting a much needed makeover this year. The project began last month and will continue until this fall.
Kingwood shares that this is a repair project for the pond’s concrete liner as well as an effort to improve water quality – including increasing the pond’s center depth. The basic dimensions of the banks will remain the same.
Don’t worry about the ducks themselves, however. “The ducks have been placed in foster care,” the page shares. “Upon completion of the project, ducks will return to Kingwood Center Gardens with the intent to provide a home for a variety of duck species.”
The pond was actually part of the original farm property purchased by Charles Kelley King. Once Kingwood was constructed in 1926, it is said that one of King’s favorite winter sports was ice skating on the Duck Pond together with friends. King passed away in 1952, and the grounds opened as a public gardens the following year.
In the late 1950s, there were 14 or 15 mallards and four or five wood ducks that made the pond their home. Vintage postcards (see below) show that the Duck Pond was one of the regular highlights of a Kingwood visit.
More information on the project can be read here.
Photo: 1812Blockhouse
