Discovering and rebooting the moonshiners pond
A local named Buddy Lovell was helping me clear some trees after I first acquired the land. There wasn’t much there, just raw, untamed forest with the creeks and waterfalls. One day, Buddy came to me and said: “what are you going to do with your pond”? I said: “Pond? I don’t have a pond”.
Buddy knew more than I did. He was familiar with the history of the area and knew that this property was well-known as a successful moonshine operation about 100 years ago.
Moonshiners needed pure water to make product. And Taliama was a prime spot not only because of the pure waters but it was far enough away from the main road that if the law came, the lookouts could notify everyone to scram before getting arrested.
The pond had been disguised in the forest with over 70 years of trees, rhododendrons, laurel and understory. You couldn’t tell it was a pond unless you walked into the depression, and even then, it was difficult to see what we had. Like an archeological dig, we started to carefully clear some trees, scrounge for moonshiners artifacts and bring it back to life.
We found old equipment, tools and even 4 glass bottles with a bit of leftover firewater. It was fun to imagine what life was like for those mountain men using local materials to create moonshine.
Before and after: Rebooting the pond with hillbilly engineering
Please indulge this series of videos that illustrate the process of rebooting the pond - from early stage clean up to finished pond.
Mother Nature will take over. After the moonshiners abandoned their operation, plant life filed the area making the pond indistinguishable from the rest of the surrounding forest.
After spending many days clearing the area, burning off the organic material, and preparing the pond for water; we discovered the most critical element - the water supply system they installed a century ago.
It was time to re-install the siphon water system the old-timers used a century ago. We installed an intake value 100 yards up the creek. It was attached to the main pipe that was buried and run slightly downhill to the pond.
Once established the siphon produces about 5 gallons of water every 3 seconds.
What is a pond without a deck for swimming, fishing and happy hour?
It takes about 15 hours to fill the pond.
Our vision was to create a simple, authentic spot to enjoy a bit of sunlight, another peaceful water feature, a swimming hole, a happy hour perch and a trout pond for fishing.
Once we stabilize the siphon system, we intend to stock the pond with Brook trout. Then Taliama visitors can dip a line and catch one of these beauties. Catch and release only!
Come visit.
