Update January 16, 2023. Since posting this article on August 1, 2014 we have found two newspaper articles that mentions a train being in Big Gem Pond. Theses articles are displayed below our original article.
If you grew up in Shenandoah, you have most likely heard the story of a train being in the bottom of Big Gem pond. That story has been handed down from one generation to the next. We do know that Big Gem furnace had train tracks running to it. From the book “Shenandoah A History of Our Town And Its People” we find the following -Big Gem, under the name of Allegheny Ore and Iron Co., had two yard engines- one purchased in 1882 was regular size. It was built by the Pennsylvania Railroad in 1876 at the Altoona Shops. In 1890, the little dinky engine, dubbed “Maggie” was added. “Maggie” used standard six track and was built in England by the Hull Locomotive Company. Spurs were laid the Big Gem. We may never know for sure if a train is still in the pond, but for now, we will keep on handing down the story to the next generation!
The below photograph was given to the Town of Shenandoah and is currently on display in the town museum. The inscription on the photo reads “Compliments of Roy G. McMullen, Strasburg, Va.” This is Roy McMullen on the engine. This small engine was used to bring the cinder kettles out of the pit. These kettles held around 500 gallons each. This cinder was red hot and ran like water when dumped and it lit up the night as same as day when it was dumped at night. Note: headlight on ground for some reason. The number of this engine was No.5”
Gay's Pond May Hide Relics From Town's Past
Daily News-Record Wednesday August 3, 1994
Grass-Roots Group Recalls Railroad Folklore As It Begins Cleanup Project
By Mark Toner News-Record Staff Writer
SHENANDOAH — Hidden beneath the murky surface of Gay’s. Pond may be a glimpse of Shenandoah's past. And its future. Word has it that the overgrown, murky pond is the final resting place of two railway cars that fell into the water after a wooden trestle collapsed under their weight years ago. "If you were to go out there, you would never believe there were
two rail cars submerged down there," said Bonnie Kite Spero, member of a grass-roots organization of town residents working to beautify and revitalize Shenandoah. "They would have to be very, very deep." But Jack Rinaca, the town's former mayor, remembers hearing about how the wooden trestle that crossed over Gay's Pond shattered one day, taking the two railcars and the ore they were supposedly carrying — to the bottom, Spero said. "At this point, that's folklore,"
she said. "But we're choosing to believe it's true, and at one point we might go looking for them."
It's with the same optimistic outlook that the Shenandoah 2000 group has tackled the cleanup of
Gay's Pond, which was once a recreational area, and with luck, may be once again. About a dozen town residents spent a good part of Saturday clearing overgrown trees and brush, planting flowers and cleaning up the 68-acre site. The pond's owner, Lucan Steel of Philadelphia, has given Shenandoah 2000 its blessing to clean up the property for future recreational use, an idea that has received support from both the town government and area businesses. During the cleanup Saturday, the town lent the group equipment including chainsaws and pruners, and a local nursery donated more than $300 worth of flowers to plant along the lake's entrance from U.S. 340. The day before Shenandoah 2000 began the cleanup, Larry Asher, a town resident and
Shenandoah National Park Ranger, went down to Gay's Pond to see which trees and plants should be left uncleared "to make it environmentally correct," Spero said. In the coming months, the town plans to add gravel to the road that leads down to Gay's Pond, and Shenandoah 2000 hopes to spend another day clearing the site of overgrown brush. Though the railway cars aren't
visible from the pond's surface at least not yet, Gay’s Pond itself is now visible from U.S. 340
for the first time in years. "You can see the water from the road now," Spero said. "It's just
amazing what a couple of human beings can do."
Shenandoah Makes Plans For Free Land
68-Acre Tract Will Be Used For Recreation, Perhaps Developed Later
By JEB CAUDILL Special Correspondent
Daily News-Record March 19, 1996
Shenandoah experienced an unprecedented period of growth in town-owned land last September, obtaining the equivalent of four city blocks overnight. It was a painless spurt without the annoyance of community upheavals. It was just free land. Lukens Steel Co. gave a huge chunk of property 68.6 acres to be exact to the town for nothing. The property, which is referred to as the old Big Gem Furnace for a turn-of-the-century iron ore operation, hasn't been used since the 1920s, according to Lukens representative Rick Whitmyre. "Because we're in the steel business and not the real estate business we really had no use for the land," Whitmyre said. Lukens is a $1 billion-a-year business specializing in carbon alloy and stainless steel production. The Coatesville, Pa., company left the property in its "natural state" for close to 70 years after terminating operations. By unloading the property, the size of Lukens' tax bill dropped and gave the town ownership of land that equals about 8 percent of the town's total area. "It was a win-win proposition," Whitmyre said. Town manager Larry Dovel said he didn't know of any other valley town in possession of such a vast expanse of undeveloped land. About half the donated property lies within corporate limits with a portion fronting U.S. 340. The property front is considered prime real estate and is already zoned commercial. However, according to the town's agreement with Lukens, the property can't be developed or sold for six years. "One of these days down the road, we might attract a business to the area," Mayor Clinton Lucas said. The mostly wooded
property is located just south of downtown Shenandoah and is known for Gay's Pond, a tiny water hole created by a quarry during the town's mining past. According to local legend, a small engine towing train cars loaded with ore crashed into Gay's Pond and still rests on the bottom. During the 1950s, the pond was used as an ice-skating rink. Nowadays, fisherman are occasionally spotted around the pond hoping to land a catfish or a carp. Dovel said the large tract of land behind Gay's Pond would be suitable for an industrial complex. He said the state often awards grants for such developments. For now, Mayor Lucas hopes to use the property for recreation, by clearing the underbrush away from Gay's Pond and installing picnic tables and benches. Lucas said the town's only other recreation area, its Shenandoah River boat landing, is fairly hectic during the spring and summer.
"Sometimes people want to relax in a quieter place without jet skis," Lucas said. "The area right around the pond will be a nice quiet place." Gay's Pond, however, represents only the tip of the iceberg, Lucas said. "We're dealing with so much acreage, that it's hard for me to visualize it," Lucas said. "It's a big hunk of land." Big Gem Furnace is a bug hunk of land with big potential for the future of Shenandoah. Dovel said the Gay's Pond area will be cleared and ready this spring by a combination of volunteer and town labor. The pond area was cleared last year with help from the Shenandoah 2000 Team, a volunteer organization stressing the beautification of the town. Someone recently jumped the gun on this season's clearing project, Dovel said. He told the Town Council that an unauthorized individual went onto the property and removed several nice locust trees. The Town Council instructed Dovel to place no-trespassing signs around Gay's Pond to protect the area from future vandalism.
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