Community and backyard swimming pools have been growing in popularity in Clearfield County for decades. They’ve been a great way to beat the summer heat and provide days of fun and recreation for all ages, especially kids.
Some swimming areas were once maintained at Curwensville’s Irvin Park, on the bank of the West Branch of the Susquehanna River and Lion’s Park along the bank of Clearfield Creek at Tubb’s Crossing between Madera and Glen Hope.
Some kids swam in favorite creeks or swimming holes. Some others took the very dangerous risk of diving into the deep waters of open strip-mining cuts.
Evergreen Park, near Five Points, in Chest Township, was built by Alexander Michael in 1927. One written source noted that the park had a 450,000-gallon capacity concrete swimming pool, a pavilion and a concession stand. That, in itself, was a big advancement for rural Clearfield County in those days.
The late Jane Elling, a very well-respected Clearfield County local historian, noted that, “The park had a swimming pool, a bath house, a pavilion that was used for Sunday School picnics, a shooting gallery and a concession stand that was run by Chet Hurd.”
The park gave families and friends a chance to enjoy the day there. Another source stated that the park was closed shortly before World War II.
One photo shows wooden scaffolding with several diving platforms. It looks to be crowded with kids who were having a great time!
The other shows a child’s original woolen swimsuit, common for the times, with “Evergreen Park” stenciled on front.
The wool suit had to have been heavy when wet. It displayed today in the Children’s Room of the Clearfield County Historical Society’s Kerr House Museum.
