Weevil Pond
Weevil Pond is over 100 years old. Its history stretches back to the time when the grounds now occupied by UAM served as farmland owned by William Turner Wells. After he began practicing law, Wells purchased land for a farm about three miles south of Monticello. Around 1868 he moved his family to the property, and he remained at that residence until a few years before his death in 1906.
According to the 1985 Boll Weevil, sometime during Wells’ residence at the farm, a group of Irish immigrants worked on the construction of a railroad on his land. When the railroad construction company employing the immigrants went bankrupt, they were stranded in Arkansas without the means to move elsewhere. Wells provided the immigrants with temporary employment until they could find other jobs. The men dug the lake as a sign of appreciation for Wells’ kindness, and possibly as one of their temporary jobs on the plantation.
The lake was first called Sunnyside Lake. The first catalog published in September of 1910 boasts that “the one-time home of the late Judge W. T. Wells, occupies an eminence from which one can view vast acres of virgin forests and alluvial fields, and among many other attractions, the beautiful Sunny Lake, whose waters abound in game fish, and whose surface affords excellent bathing and boating."
Navy V-12 and Marine officers in training took college classes on campus from 1943 to 1945. The officers in training are show on a walk around the pond.
During the 1950s, some of the faculty lived in accommodations around Weevil Pond. The campus renovated officer's quarters from the World War II era Prisoner of War Camp for use as faculty and married student housing.
With the establishment of the school, the lake took on a new role as a gathering place for students. They enjoyed the lake from the beginning. Photos in the yearbooks show students boating, wading, and fishing in the lake.
The Forestry Club developed a tradition called Forestry Field Day. It celebrated excellence in the mastery of forestry skills with contests, including chopping wood, sawing logs, and tug of war. As all of the students in the competition were men, one contest involved growing the best beard. Forestry Club students who had not grown a beard would be dunked in the lake as “punishment.”
Over the years, the students claimed the lake as their own. Although the first catalogs referred to the lake as Sunnyside Lake, it soon was referred to simply as “The Lake” or “The Pond.” The 1954 yearbook is the first to dub the pond as “Weevil Lake.” Students in the 1950s made efforts to beautify the pond. The Class of 1951 placed benches around the pond for the relaxation of visitors to the lake. The Class of 1952 decided to relocate the 80-year-old courthouse bell to the shore of the lake.
Another tradition has developed around the Victory Bell. The bell is rung after the Weevils win a game on the football field. Pictured is a circa 1960s scene with ducks behind the bell and renovated married student housing across the pond.
Tailgating around Weevil Pond before a football game is a recently established tradition. Pictured is a scene from tailgating in 2013.