These bathing beauties enjoyed the dam in 1972. THAT OLD SWIMMIN' HOLE What’s more fun and more refreshing than jumping into cold water on a hot summer day? Kids have enjoyed the old swimming hole for time immemorial, and in Brookville for more than a century, that old swimming hole has been “the dam” at Walter Dick Memorial Park. In 1900 the sprawling Litch lumber mill occupied the North Fork area above the East Main Street bridge, and old photographs show the millpond above the bracket dam. The millpond, of course, was too dangerous for swimming, but 19th century sources refer to the area north of the millpond as “dark hollow,” and it was there that many boys went to swim unguarded. To cool off today in a safe and healthy way, a multitude of choices exist both indoors and out. The dam at Dr. Walter Dick Memorial Park is still maintained by the borough. There is a pool at Cook Forest and cold spring water at Clear Creek. The YMCA offers lessons for people of all ages, and if you’re lucky, you may even have a pool in your own back yard! So come on in, the water’s fine! Copyright©Jefferson County Historical Society, Inc. 2010