Fresh Pond
A Refresher on a Hidden Treasure
By Jes Gray
Picture the Summer on the Outer Banks: Cars crowd the bypass, crosswalks bustle with families, umbrellas speckle the beach, and boaters buzz throughout the sound. Meanwhile, just behind “French Fry Alley” at the Nags Head/Kill Devil Hills border, a 27-acre pond calmly reflects the heavens as birds and turtles search for their meals. Freshwater fish like largemouth bass swim undisturbed by anglers and deer amble unencumbered, though a police training session occasionally breaks up the routine.
Only hearing the echo of the seasonal rush from its shores, Fresh Pond is surrounded by hundreds of acres of protected land. Known in the past by other similar names like Freshwater Pond, this natural lake has been a constant on the ever changing landscape of the Outer Banks since before the colonists landed at Roanoke Island. The story of this hidden treasure is not static, however, and this place has had many different roles since those settlers arrived.
Where is it?
Centered between the Atlantic Ocean and the Roanoke Sound on the east and west, and Nags Head and Kill Devil hills on the south and north, Fresh Pond is one of the largest fresh bodies of water on the Outer Banks. Historically protected by a “Small Surface Water Supply Watershed AEC (Area of Environmental Concern)” designation by CAMA, it was pumped as a water supply for both Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head as late as 2009.
On the west side of this 27-acre pond is The Nature Conservancy’s 1,500-acre Nags Head Woods Preserve’s coastal maritime forest that goes from its shores to the sound and stretches through both towns. While on the east, Nags Head maintains a municipal office, recycling facilities and fleet maintenance center; Kill Devil Hills hosts a few homes near the lake and a commercial warehouse area closer to the bypass.
What is it?
What Fresh Pond and its surrounding maritime forest lacks in human activity, it makes up with an abundance of wildlife. A study from 1988 showed, “the herpetofauna (reptiles & amphibians) associated with the Nags Head Woods ponds appeared to be the most diverse of any barrier island of the Atlantic Coast. Of the 41 species reported, 23 species were directly dependent on the fresh-water pond habitat.” Other animals include deer, bats, otters, muskrats, raccoons and many birds.
Walking through the area on our tour, courtesy of Nags Head Town Manager Andy Garman, hearing the construction of their new nearby facilities, we were also taking a step back in time. The shores of the pond are lined with native trees and brush, devoid of leaves during the winter, so we were able to explore to the waters’ edge. Fresh Pond is unlike other interdunal ponds in Nags Head Woods. Though they are hydrologically connected under the surface, they are very distinct. Fresh Pond was once a series of interconnected smaller ponds, and without pumping for water usage, the ponds depth is somewhat stable year round and allows for a more robust fish population, with less algae issues. Aside from the area near the Water Department’s office, the shore is as it would have been a century ago, though in the intervening decades the story is not so much the same.
What Was It?
Like so many areas of the Outer Banks, artifacts from native peoples living or seasonally occupying the barrier islands have been found along Fresh Pond. Though not much is known about their daily lives, a large freshwater pond protected by trees would have been an asset to any self-sustaining community. The first intrepid settlers of Nags Head seemed to feel the same and centered their lives around these lakes including Fresh Pond in the 18th century. Family cemeteries like the Tillet cemetery and some home foundations seen on trails in Nags Head Woods show that this area was a preferred location for the very few that made the area their home.
As early as the 1820s, though, the Outer Banks was considered a prime destination for sporting activities found on its shores. In his 1850 novel, Nag’s Head: or, Two Months Among “The Bankers”, George Higby Throop mentioned the popularity of the ponds, “On almost any day in August or September, you might have found half a score, of resolute, anglers, patiently plying their taciturn vocation in the shade of overhanging trees.”
Even today you can find locals who enjoyed Fresh Pond as recreational destination into the early ‘90s. Back then, you could drive a 4×4 along the banks to find a fishing spot, launch a kayak or canoe, rent a boat, go water skiing or even let your kids camp for the weekend. Despite this lake being the main drinking water resource, locals and visitors alike had access to Fresh Pond.
What Now?
Fresh Pond and its immediate surroundings are co-owned by the towns of Nags Head and Kill Devil Hills, the division drawn not just on the map but in how to be its steward. One side of the issue is explained by Kill Devil Hills resident and head of the Free Fresh Pond group, Matthew Byrne. He explained his motivation as a recognition of his own salvation through sport: “the only reason I’m sitting here today is that when I was a kid, I did a lot of fishing so that kept me out of a lot of trouble,ß ” The trouble he has today? The nearest lake to him is Fresh Pond.
I met with Matthew at his office, and he described his efforts to get the pond opened to the public again. Going back to 2015, he has met with leaders in both Kill Devil Hills and Nags Head. Kill Devil Hills has been receptive to the idea and actually had plans designed to create a Fresh Pond Park, which included disc golf (planned before the Casey R. Logan course), trails, and fishing platforms. The plan had been approved with an assigned budget but relied on agreement with Nags Head. When Mr. Byrne met with several people from Nags Head that would be able to get the park approved from their side, they seemed to be open to the concept. However, when discussed at Nags Head council meetings the decision was the opposite.
Nags Head describes their plan to protect Fresh Pond in a proposal from June of 2023: “A portion of the TNC (The Nature Conservancy) trail system runs through this property. The Town also maintains a police shooting range on the property as well as Wellfield Road, which provides water infrastructure behind several of the Town’s westside neighborhoods. These areas are outside of the lease agreement with TNC…the Town owns several other properties in Nags Head Woods including a 376-acre tract owned jointly with The Nature Conservancy. These properties have been placed in conservation, except for the Town-owned tract surrounding the Fresh Pond… In recent years, the Town has received requests to develop a portion of the property surrounding the Fresh Pond as a park. TNC is interested in exploring the Town’s interest in placing a conservation easement on all or a portion of this property.”
Simply put, Nags Head does not intend to develop around Fresh Pond, and that includes the creation of a park. Fresh Pond is not needed as a recreational option in Nags Head and there isn’t enough “public outcry” to budget one – both monetarily and ecologically. As Fresh Pond is the only consistent bastion of freshwater North of Hatteras, Nags Head has been reluctant to allow the encroachment of tourism into this area.
Though its possibility as a future potable water source has largely been ruled out, it still retains importance as an ecological resource.
Those that don’t have the time or chance to go inland, who understand the nuances of different “fishing holes” and know our shifting weather patterns get that each cove or bank has its unique benefits and issues, and when to go (or not go). Kill Devil Hills had plans for a park that, like years ago, would allow people to enjoy the area while still restricting development. Though it seems obvious identical usage, as it was in the past would not be sustainable at current visitor levels, perhaps some limited access could be achieved with cooperation.
Regardless, though, of which people are allowed access to Fresh Pond, the plants and animals that have made this ecosystem their home for hundreds of years have a beautiful and special place that deserves protection.