On November 12, 2020, the rainfall from Tropical Storm Eta caused property damage across Bladen County. Residents have filed insurance reports and reached out to local non-profits to repair homes due to the flash flooding caused by Eta.
However, one family is in a slightly different predicament. The dam and gates broke at Bryan’s Millpond in Tar Heel, causing havoc for the treasured reservoir. The water has dissipated, and now the pond looks drained.
According to the pond’s owners, Daniel and Sally Bryan, the beloved pond’s heritage started in 1797 with Mr. William Bryan. In 1801 William Bryan, a surveyor, built a Grist Mill on the pond.
Sally explained how the pond was part of the community. Churches used it for baptisms; tobacco workers would use it to wash off after a hard day’s work, and children would swim and play in the water.
She said, “As a kid, whenever people would finish putting up tobacco, they would come with their towels and their bars of ivory soap, and the whole family would come in… The kids would go swimming. Families would come and fish, and it would feed the community.”
Although the Mill collapsed in the 1950s, the property is still highly valued in the Tar Heel community.
In recent years, the property has been used for private membership fishing and duck hunting, with an occasional baptism taking place in the water.
Then last month the dam and the gates which controlled the pond’s water level were destroyed.
Daniel explained, “When this last storm came through when the water washed out the dam, unfortunately, this time, it took where the gates were at too. They were put in after Hurricane Hazel in 1954.”
He added, “Now we are just stuck with a big hole there now.”
The dam runs parallel with Highway 131.
Daniel said he spoke with the North Carolina Department of Transportation and local people at the Soil and Water Conservation Department about the dam problem. However, because the pond is on private property, it may be a little more challenging to receive state agencies’ assistance.
Sally said, “If the state gets involved, and they use their resources, it will no longer be a private pond, and it will become the property of the state. I don’t think we are quite ready for that.”
However, there have been several wash-outs depleting funds over the years, according to Sally, and now there is no money to repair the damaged gates and dam.
“We are at a standstill until we can find funds to rebuild,” Sally stated.
Some of the private members who use the pond have offered to hold fundraisers. Melissa Bedsole, a part-owner of IGA in Dublin, started a PayPal fundraiser to help the family with the rebuild efforts.
Donations to the PayPal account may be submitted by following this link: https://www.paypal.com/donate/?hosted_button_id=5JSH6R9ZBG98S&fbclid=IwAR2UR7kKlTE6EVWDHZxk7yQWbBav4YL3F0io3nuql1J4b_bD_SnZXNLqVsw
Watch the video interview about the pond now on our YouTube Channel.
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