Gaebe Pond

Gaebe Pond is a cooperative project with the New Salem Central Sportsmen's Club, North Dakota Game and Fish Department, and Morton County Park Department. Gaebe Pond was built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in the mid 1930's during the Great Depression. On the dam's face, there are rocks placed into the earth that spell “CCC” for the Corps. For many years this was known as Bumann Dam. The dam was constructed by the Peter Bumann family using horse and scrapers. The pond is filled almost entirely by strong springs.

The pond first provided New Salem with ice, which was taken directly from the pond before electricity. The Bumann family cut and hauled ice from the dam to the ice house on their farm. The ice blocks were very uniform in size at about eighteen-inch cubes, so they were easy to pack. They were placed on layers of straw and hauled on sled by horses fitted with ice cleated horseshoes. It was hard, cold work and yet a profitable business venture. People would come all summer to purchase ice for their ice boxes.

The Bumann farm was purchased in the late 1990s by Dirk Gaebe and he agreed to let the local Central Morton Sportsmen's League develop it into a recreation area. This fishing opportunity is available to the handicapped, young people, and senior citizens.

AMENITIES

• County Road 139 - Approximately 1.5 miles west of New Salem
• Picnic Shelter
• Floating Fishing Pier
• Rainbow Trout, Catfish, Perch, Crappie, and Bluegill Fishing
• NO CAMPING OR CAMPFIRES ALLOWED