LEXINGTON, S.C. — The Town of Lexington held a ribbon-cutting and community cookout Tuesday to celebrate the official reopening of Gibson Pond Park.
Gibson Pond Park was reopened to the public in August 2021 after it was closed for more than a year during construction to build a new dam. The park features a new bridge with fishing piers, a new dock, new picnic shelters and a walking trail.
In October of 2015, Hurricane Joaquin caused a historic flooding event to unfold in the Carolinas, which destroyed the dam and left the pond empty. Since then, the Town of Lexington worked with state and federal agencies to rebuild the dam and bring the park back to life.
Gibson Pond Park has a rich history in the Lexington community. The pond is fed by Twelve Mile Creek and was once a site for gristmills, sawmills and a small cotton mill. Formerly known as George's Pond, the property was purchased from the George family by Murray Gibson in 1943.
For nearly 30 years, Gibson Pond was a community recreational area featuring a pavilion known as the best dance hall in the county, picnic tables, swimming, fishing, canoeing, paddleboats, camping and rental cabins. The property was closed to the public in 1972 until 2007, when the Town of Lexington purchased and redeveloped it into a public park.