Partlo's Pond Monster

Just in time for Halloween, this week we bring you the eerie tale of the Ingersoll pond monster.

By Megan Lockhart, Archives Technician

Have you heard the story of the monster in Partlo’s Pond in Ingersoll, Ontario? Partlo’s Pond was once located where Memorial Park is today; it supplied power to a grist mill built on Mill Street in 1818. In 1857, the town of Ingersoll was troubled by reports of a creature in the pond. The surface of the pond was repeatedly disturbed by movement, but no one seemed to be able to get a clear view of what was in the water. Men could be seen patrolling the pond at night with firearms, ensuring that whatever was in the water wouldn’t make its way into the village. News of the pond monster spread and speculation began as to what it could be, some believed a large alligator had taken up residence in the water.

The location of Partlo's Pond in Ingersoll, Ontario.

Finally, after months of ongoing mystery and concern, a public holiday (May 24) was chosen for the pond to be drained so the townspeople could get to the bottom (pun intended) of the mysterious pond monster sightings. Reporters from local newspapers traveled to witness the capture of the “monster” along with thousands of other people (allegedly up to 10,000) including museum representatives and an American professor who brought with him drawings and academic reports of prehistoric creatures. The professor theorized that the movement visible in the water wasn’t a result of the creature moving about, but the movement of its prey as it attempted to escape being eaten.

On the big day of the pond draining, newspaper representatives and the professor were assigned a special viewing area, and people in the crowd were equipped with instruments like field glasses (binoculars) to get a better view of the action. A group of men armed with rope and spears stood ready with a raft to face the millpond creature. It was reported that some women in the crowd fainted in anticipation. As the water lowered the hairy creature came into view and brave volunteers managed to tie a rope around its head in hopes of capturing it. However, once the creature was dragged from the pond it became clear that it was no “monster” at all, it was a hoax. Cowhide had been filled with straw, weighted down with bricks, and thrown into the pond. While this caused the professor and other interested parties much grief, it became one of Ingersoll’s most fascinating stories and Oxford County’s most infamous hoax.

J. Gruszka PC - 0178 - Ingersoll ON Partlo's Pond. Oxford Historical Society Collection.

The professor was so irritated that he fell victim to the hoax that he demanded to meet with town officials to launch a protest. A town councillor agreed to meet with him but despite the professor's threats and insults, did not apologize, and instead told him that if he didn’t take the first train out of town he would have him arrested. This seemed to be enough to silence the professor.

While the culprits of the hoax were never revealed there was some explanation to at least part of the phenomenon. When local John Stuart had been making oatmeal in the mill on Canterbury Street, oat hulls and oat dust was swept out of the mill and made its way into the stream which flowed into the village pond. This material became condensed lumps which formed a gas and bubbles that rose to the surface of the water which accounted for the strange movement seen in the pond. This must have been the inspiration for the pranksters who created the “monster”. I wonder if they predicted that their hoax would garner so much attention?

Sources referenced: Whitwell, H.W. “Ingersoll: Our Heritage” (1979). Research and contributions by Michelle Hanlen, Merriel La Rose, and Ruth Merrill.