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In the late 1930’s, Brigadier General Ludwig S. Conelly, a village resident and former
commanding officer of the 73rd brigade of the Ohio National Guard, bought the J. C. Walton farm.
Over the next several decades his growing realty firm also bought, sold, or brokered the sale
of hundreds of properties and homes dispersed along the few Village roads following the natural
contours of the land. One of his developments was named the Walton Hills Estates. In 1948, General
Conelly donated a 10 acre parcel of property now known as Walton Hills Lake to the Walton Hills Estates.
His donation was meant to be used as a swimming facility for the residents of the Walton Hills Estates.
Later, in 1953, it was opened to all residents of the Village of Walton Hills. Over the last 50 some
years the lake has transformed from a small farm type pond, to the concrete enclosed lake that
it is today. In the early years you swam with the frogs and a fish or two. There were cattails growing
at the deep end, the bottom of the lake was mud, and there were outhouses as the bathrooms. The water
for the lake was supplied from a neighboring creek by way of a cofferdam; the creek was diverted to
fill the lake. This ran though a long trench filled with pea gravel to filter the water.
In the 1960’s the walls around the lake were made of railroad ties, and the bottom was partially concrete. There was
a concession stand and a beer shed. On a hot summer day the lake was the place to be. At this time T. G.
Young Park was not yet built so the lake was the center of Village recreation activities. There was a
baseball field, where little league baseball was played. On the Fourth of July, fireworks celebrations
were conducted at the lake.
During the 60’s and 70’s the lake had a swim team that competed with many other
lake swim teams in the area. In the early 70’s the fireworks permit was donated to the Village, which then
moved the July 4th festivities to T. G. Young Park. The baseball field was also moved to Young Park during
this period. Back at the lake, the railroad ties that made up the outer walls of the lake were replaced
with concrete walls while substantially more of the bottom was concreted. The outhouses were replaced with
a much more modern bathhouse. This was a major undertaking, not only because the bathhouse was built from
the ground up, but also because the creek had to be moved in order to do this. A few years after the
bathhouse was built the pavilion was added. At some point the lake was no longer filled from the creek but
instead used city water. There was a filtration system added and the water was chlorinated.
During the late 80’s and early 90’s the lake fell on hard times. Membership was down and the cost of insurance and
chlorine were rising so sharply that the future of the lake was uncertain, but as always, the dedicated
lake trustees and volunteers worked to keep the facility alive.
From the mid 90’s until the present, the
lake has had a contract with the Village of Walton Hills to supply swim services for our residents. This
has given the lake the much needed financial stability to invest and move forward into the future. Over
the past several years many needed repairs and improvements have been accomplished, thanks in part to the
contract we have with the Village.
The Walton Hills Lake has from its inception been built, run, and
maintained by volunteers. This fact is made that much more remarkable when you actually see the
transformation that has taken place with our “hidden jewel" over the last 50 years. The amount of time,
effort and dedication put in by volunteers, combined with all of the materials donated by so many generous
benefactors over the years has really been overwhelming. General Conelly had a vision when he entrusted
this property to the residents of Walton Hills. He can be proud of what his vision has become.
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