Visiting Shallcross Pond – 60 years later
Shallcross Pond is somewhat of a hidden local treasure. Fairly well known to townspeople, knowledge of it has slipped away over the decades from others not living here.
At one time the pond was readily visible to occupants of numerous vehicles daily passing by along old Springfield Rd at the end of N. 14th and 15th streets. Over the decades trees and underbrush grew along the roadway and into Black Brook Park where the pond is situated. In time the view of this Kenilworth gem from the road became nearly totally hidden from sight.
The pond’s waters spill over the sluice of its stone dam and drop below creating the headwaters of the Black Brook. The brook bed has become filled with debris from dead and growing brush. But Shallcross Pond itself remains as serene as its earliest beginnings, whose creation is attributed to gullies and low-lying areas formed during the Ice Age.
The pond is located in Black Brook Park which is part of the Union County Park system created by voter referendum in 1921. The park is nearly 19 acres and includes lands that once were part of the old Upsala College campus and portions of the Shallcross farm and private airfield. The Shallcrosses were a founding family of Kenilworth arriving in 1898. According to Ruth Shallcross Powers (1928-2015), her uncle, businessman and philanthropist Joseph Shallcross (1878-1951), donated the pond and the area around it to the Park Commission. In 1978 Union County government officially named it Shallcross Pond to honor him and the family.
The pond is known for winter ice skating, fishing for catfish that once were rather prolific there, and waters especially stocked for local fishing derbies. Years ago, the area around the pond was known as Frog Hollow due to countless tiny frogs in the grasses surrounding the pond.
As brother and sister, Arthur and Shirley Vitale, now senior citizens, often visited the pond area when children and climbed Water Tower Hill. A 1954 photo of them standing atop the dam reveals the pond, a fully exposed water tower, and a hill not fully covered with trees. A few years ago, they revisited the site where another photo was taken. Shirley recalls picking blackberries there as a child and Arthur remarked about the trails he followed. Many things have changed in the more than 60 years since they played around Shallcross Pond, but the pond remains serene and welcoming. It’s worth a visit.
Research provided by Walter E. Boright, Ed. D., historian, and Historic Signs, Inc.
Persons with inquiries about this or other aspects of Kenilworth history may contact Dr. Boright atdrbori@aol.com or 908-256-5200.
