Rock Lake Pool

Rock Lake Pool was an outdoor swimming pool located in South Charleston, West Virginia operating from 1942 to 1985.[1] Being 550 feet (170 m) long, it was billed as "the largest and most beautiful pool in the East."[1] The pool was built in an old rock quarry in the 1930s[2] and opened by Joe, David, and Sam Wilan in 1942.[3] The pool was enclosed by tall natural rock walls that provided high dives. The pool was very popular in both West Virginia and neighboring states[4] and on one occasion, even drew a crowd of around 4,000 swimmers in one day.[4] After a long decline, the historic pool eventually closed in 1985 due to increased insurance cost[5] and competition from other pools.[1] The site is now owned by Rock Lake Presbyterian Church.[1]

Rock Lake Pool
A aerial view of Rock Lake Pool from June 6, 1949.
Location25303, 25309
Opened1942
Closed1985
Operated byJoe, David, and Sam Wilan
Owned byJoe, David, and Sam Wilan
Length500 ft.
Features
water slide, water trampoline, spraying fountain, trapeze, miniature churning sternwheel

The pool was surrounded by rock walls which were used as natural high dives.[6] It also included things such as a 50-foot slide, water trampoline, spraying fountain, trapeze and miniature churning sternwheel.

The Wilan brothers, who owned the pool, forbade blacks from swimming there.[6][7] During the 1960s, West Virginian civil rights leader Bernard Hawkins led protests against the segregated Rock Lake Pool.[8]

Soon after its initial closing, Rock Lake Pool re-opened as Rock Lake Golf and Games. The old pool house had been transformed into a restaurant and indoor arcade. The front entrance and parking lot had been changed into a go-cart track. In the rock quarry where the old pool was located, it was partially filled in to build a mini golf course. In the remaining swimming pool area, a sectioned off area allowed for bumper boats. Rock Lake Golf and Games eventually closed in 2006.[3]

The area was purchased by the Rock Lake Presbyterian Church in 2006 for $440,000.[9] In 2008, The remainder of the pool was filled in to create a playground.[10] The final demise of the pool brought a variety of emotions from residents who remembered it either with memories of fun days playing there or as a place they were denied access to.[11]

References
  1. "Rock Lake Park gets new life". Charleston Daily Mail. 2008-07-17. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2008-08-04. Retrieved 2009-03-28. Rock Lake Pool was a Kanawha Valley institution from 1942 to 1985. It as built in an old rock quarry and contained diving boards, three water slides, and trapezes that hung on platforms high above the water.
  2. "South Charleston" (PDF). Archived from the original (PDF) on 2011-07-14. Retrieved 2009-03-28. Rock Lake Putt-Putt Golf and Games offers fun for the young and young at heart with three 18-hole courses, go- cart racings, arcade games, and Laser Storm on the site of the former Rock Lake Pool, which was converted from a rock quarry in the 1930s
  3. Winn, Sarah K. (2006-02-11). "Bids rejected in Rock Lake sale". Charleston, WV: Charleston Gazette. Retrieved 2009-03-28. Joe, David and Sam Wilan first opened the Rock Lake Pool in 1942. After becoming a local hangout in the 1950s and 1960s, the pool closed in 1985
  4. "Rocklake Pool". Retrieved 2009-03-28. Still, Rock Lake used to pack them in. One day brought 4,000 people, Sam Wilan said. People knew better than to try to get in on July Fourth weekend
  5. Williams, Susan (2008-08-16). "Plunging into the future". Sunday Gazette Mail. p. 1. Archived from the original on 2011-07-16. Retrieved 2009-03-28. Some people feel so sad about this," Hamilton said. "But with insurance costs, it could not remain a pool. We just hope that in time people will feel like this is a better use
  6. Akers, Paul (2007-11-24). "Sighs and wonders". The Free Lance-Star. Fredericksburg.com. Archived from the original on 2012-09-27. Retrieved 2009-03-28. The lifeguards--and a few others, by dispensation--scaled the rock cliff to a small ledge, maybe 25 feet above the trapeze stand (the pool's upper limits for mere mortals), extended their arms, flexed their calves, and took flight, executing beautiful, exhilarating swan dives that indemnified them better than Lloyd's of London against dateless Saturday nights
  7. Wells, Sandy (2008-02-11). "Innerviews: 'You are seeing more black lawyers'". The Charleston Gazette. Archived from the original on 2008-11-18. Retrieved 2009-03-28. "But I couldn't go to Rock Lake Pool. That was the first time I heard about racism and came to understand that it was a force
  8. "The 2003 West Virginia Civil Rights Day Honorees" (PDF). West Virginia Human Rights Commission. 2003. Retrieved 2009-03-28. During the 1960s he led protests against the segregated Rock Lake Pool and worked to integrate Sunset Memorial Park in the 1970s
  9. "Rock Lake Putt Putt Update". WSAZ. Jul 17, 2008. Archived from the original on August 31, 2010. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
  10. "Readers' voice". The Charleston Gazette. Aug 21, 2008. Archived from the original on 2008-09-16. Retrieved 2009-03-30.
  11. "Your Vents:". The Charleston Gazette. July 23, 2008. Archived from the original on October 11, 2008. Retrieved 2009-03-30.

38°21′1″N 81°44′29″W

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