Smith Pool is a small body of water located between Salem Neck, Winter Island, and Cat Cove in

Salem, Massachusetts Salem ( ) is a historic coastal city in Essex County, Massachusetts, United States, located on the North Shore (Massachusetts), North Shore of Greater Boston. Continuous settlement by Europeans began in 1626 with English colonists. Salem was one ...

United States The United States of America (USA), also known as the United States (U.S.) or America, is a country primarily located in North America. It is a federal republic of 50 U.S. state, states and a federal capital district, Washington, D.C. The 48 ...

. It used to be the city's

reservoir A reservoir (; ) is an enlarged lake behind a dam, usually built to water storage, store fresh water, often doubling for hydroelectric power generation. Reservoirs are created by controlling a watercourse that drains an existing body of wa ...

, and a public swimming area, having been established in 1934 as part of a Public Works Project. It was called the Smith pool as a result of Salemite Ida Smith who donated $20,000 in the memory of her late husband, J.C.B. Smith. It is easily accessible from Winter Island Road on Winter Island. The area is currently maintained by the Massachusetts Division of Marine Fisheries, and the old

dam A dam is a barrier that stops or restricts the flow of surface water or underground streams. Reservoirs created by dams not only suppress floods but also provide water for activities such as irrigation, human consumption, industrial use, aqua ...

still separates it from Cat Cove. The dam has a tide gate to allow circulation between Cat Cove and Smith Pool and to allow manipulation of the water depth in Smith Pool. The intake pipes for the Cat Cove Marine Lab seawater system are in Smith Pool.

References

Ponds of Massachusetts Bodies of water of Essex County, Massachusetts Salem, Massachusetts {{EssexCountyMA-geo-stub