LOUISVILLE, Ky. — A project to reconstruct a pond at Chickasaw Park in west Louisville is now complete.
City officials and members of the community gathered at the park on Saturday with a celebratory canoe launch to mark the pond’s opening for recreational use.
Visitors who frequent the park now have the option of kayaking or fishing.
The 61-acre park has been open for 100 years and for many of them, it was the only city-run park open for Black Louisvillians.
"The way they have redone it, it's beautiful," Jeroy Hayden, a local resident, said. "It's totally different from the way it used to be."
After its restoration, it is the only standing body of water for recreational use in the west end.
“This park needs to feel like a park that you see in any other part of town. I can't imagine 100 years ago when this park was specifically designed for the use of as we were called, then, Negroes, or today, African Americans. I can't imagine that this is where we've come to in this park. And I want to say thank you for being inclusive of what this area needs, but not only what we need, but what we want,” Councilwoman Donna Purvis, D-5, said. Purvis played a large role is getting the budget passed in Louisville Metro Council.
All of the money for the project came from the American Rescue Plan fund, according to Katey Cook of Louisville Parks and Recreation.
Hayden said he grew up coming to Chickasaw Park. They are memories he shares with his father.
Since the pond at Chickasaw Park is larger and deeper to sustain a healthy ecosystem for fish, the Kentucky Department of Fish and Wildlife Resources will stock the pond with bluegill, catfish and other species this fall. Their goal is to also add Chickasaw Park back into its Fishing in Neighborhoods program.
"It's been a long time you can actually come out here and fish, and to actually catch something," Hayden said. "So to hear that it's going to be actually open and stocked, there's a lot of people very interested."
Fishing will be catch and release for the first few years, before the fish are tested for safe consumption. The agency estimated people will be able to harvest fish in 3-4 years, and Hayden hopes fellow neighbors will respect the rule.
"If people catch and release, so they can multiply and get bigger, then you can always have somewhere to go," Hayden said.
PHOTOS: Chickasaw Park unveils new recreational pond
As part of the renovation, a kayak launch was built for easy access to water sports.
"It was super cool to be able to see the looks on people's faces as they got into the water," Cook said., reflecting on the community launch event Saturday.
She's said she's excited that the community now lives in proximity to a recreational pond.
"They're getting to try it right here in this spot that they live which is really cool that they can come back and do this and it's not too far away," Cook said.
In addition to the reconstruction, new walking paths and a parking lot in the area of the pond were also added.
Cooks said there's still more to be done in the 61 acre park, including a butterfly garden, pollinator meadow and more lighting.
"This is yet another place, another body of water, another unique opportunity where people can enjoy recreation," Cooks said.
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