Beach Drive Blog

I've read about the trout pond once located on the old Schmitz estate (formally named Sans Souci), but have never been able to pinpoint exactly where it sat.  A cool sketch of San Souci's grounds as depicted by the great niece of the West Seattle pioneers Emma and Ferdinand shows a number of landmarks but no specific mention of the "trout pond" 

Note a "small pond" drawn in on the right. The trout pond?

It was time to leash up the dog and sniff this thing out. The Blue Spruce tree was the first landmark we found…

Love the early century concrete work!

Then it was off to find where the waterfall was located. Figured that the trout pond could be somewhere down slope from it.

Appears to be original stone-work for the water feature.  

My guess is that the well stocked pond was located further down the hill near Beach Drive itself. The Parks Department just cleared out some diseased trees and brush (in effort to help the recent restoration project ) and may have uncovered the location.

On a hot August day, you can almost smell the fish!

There's even a concrete pad that once was a site for a bench of some sorts.

The bench site looks somewhat new but the Schmitz estate didn't come down 'til the late 60's.

This aerial photo from 1968 clearly shows where the 1907 circa 17 room mansion was excavated as well as the extensive gardens. But no sign of the famous trout pond.

All the gardens were said to be watered naturally from "Spring Hill"

Here's an archived pic named Sans Souci that shows standing water near whats looks to be the shoreline. Is it the pond?

Alan Schmitz, grandson of Emma and Ferdinand, holding a photo of the historic mansion that once occupied the hillside of what is now Mee-Kwa-Mooks park.

Again, no clue as to the whereabouts of the trout pond.

So that's the end of my quest to find the ghost fishing hole of Mee-Kwa-Mooks. If anyone out there actually knows where it existed, please share!

Scupper Sr. for Beach Drive Blog