Johnson Pond
Overlooking Johnson Pond
Back behind North Salisbury Elementary School, you can find Johnson Pond. Johnson Pond is an area that is surrounded by peaceful communities and well-developed neighborhoods. The history of Johnson Pond's communities are very peculiar because the desire to live on the water's edge has never changed for over 150 years. In a book called, "Exploring the Chesapeake's Forgotten River," a group of students from Salisbury University researched information on the history of the Wicomico River. "While driving through the small town of Salisbury, I am intrigued by the human geography that seems so natural that it is “almost invisible." Looking closer, I become aware of the distinct segregation adjacent to both sides of Johnson Pond, a dammed branch of the Wicomico River located between Lake Street and the waterfront property of New Town" (Exploring the Chesapeake's Forgotten River). This racial geographic separation still exists on the banks of Johnson Pond.
It all started back in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when slavery was at its peak in many colonies in North America. Whites felt the need to have a social and spatial distance from blacks from then onto the civil war. After the war, when social distance slowly lessened, whites still felt the need to have a spatial separation from blacks. "In response, four primarily black neighborhoods, (Cuba, [developed in 1909], Georgetown, Jersey and California), were created for blacks on undesirable land close to the Wicomico River and its tributaries.Thereafter, Wicomico County mimicked national trends in the way of residential segregation, and it has silently and unquestionably been maintained since then" (Exploring Chesapeake's Forgotten River).
According to the Department of Natural Resources, "At 104 acres in size, Johnson's Pond is the largest impoundment on the Eastern Shore." Here you can find native species of Osprey and Bald Eagles flying over the Pond. Johnson Pond is a long stretch of water where many people enjoy taking their kayak's out for a quiet paddle up along the edges. Johnson Pond even has a water trail that will take you approximately 10-15 minutes from the boat ramp into a scenic swamp.
One professor at Salisbury University stated that he caught a 40 pound rockfish in Johnson Pond. So if you're outside to catch some fish or to go birding, Johnson Pond has several spots for you.
It all started back in the seventeenth and eighteenth centuries, when slavery was at its peak in many colonies in North America. Whites felt the need to have a social and spatial distance from blacks from then onto the civil war. After the war, when social distance slowly lessened, whites still felt the need to have a spatial separation from blacks. "In response, four primarily black neighborhoods, (Cuba, [developed in 1909], Georgetown, Jersey and California), were created for blacks on undesirable land close to the Wicomico River and its tributaries.Thereafter, Wicomico County mimicked national trends in the way of residential segregation, and it has silently and unquestionably been maintained since then" (Exploring Chesapeake's Forgotten River).
According to the Department of Natural Resources, "At 104 acres in size, Johnson's Pond is the largest impoundment on the Eastern Shore." Here you can find native species of Osprey and Bald Eagles flying over the Pond. Johnson Pond is a long stretch of water where many people enjoy taking their kayak's out for a quiet paddle up along the edges. Johnson Pond even has a water trail that will take you approximately 10-15 minutes from the boat ramp into a scenic swamp.
One professor at Salisbury University stated that he caught a 40 pound rockfish in Johnson Pond. So if you're outside to catch some fish or to go birding, Johnson Pond has several spots for you.
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