Lake Ella

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Lake Ella
One of the fountains (September 2006)
Location	Tallahassee, Florida
Basin countries	United States
Surface area	12 acres (49,000 m²)

Lake Ella, Tallahassee, Florida.

Lake Ella is a lake in north central Tallahassee, Florida on US 27 just south of Tharpe Street. Lake Ella has an area of 12 acres (49,000 m²). Once used for cattle, it now has three fountains and is used for recreation, flood protection and stormwater pollution control.

1 History
2 Recreation
3 Stormwater control
4 References
5 External links

[edit] History

Lake Ella was originally called Bull pond (sometimes spelled Buhl). Records for this name date back as far as 1867 when some local black churches held baptisms in its clear waters. In 1867 some 2000 "freedmen" gathered there for a day-long political rally.

In the early 20th century Lake Ella became part of the "Old Spanish Trail", a coast-to-coast highway extending from San Diego to St. Augustine, Fl. This was one of a network of named roads, so named to promote tourism.

On the west bank of the lake are several cottages that were once part of the Tallahassee Motor Hotel, a hotel opened by Gilbert S. Chandler in 1925 to cater to this tourist trade. Around the same time the lake was renamed from Bull Pond to Lake Ella. ^[1]

These cottages were once used as lakefront honeymoon rooms but are now occupied by local businesses including Lofty Pursuits, a toy store, and Quarter Moon Imports, a clothing, art and jewelry store. ^[2]

On the north shore of the lake is American Legion Post 13. The same building also contains the Black Dog Cafe, a popular coffee shop. ^[3]

[edit] Recreation

Lake Ella is incorporated into the 6.5 acre (26,000 m²) Fred Drake Park. The park has picnic shelters, a site for community activities and a paved walking trail that completely encircles the lake. It is bordered on the west by quaint little shops and cafes. Visitors can walk, skate, or skateboard the sixth-tenths of a mile around the lake.

Lake Ella once hosted a group of Tibetan monks on their visit to Tallahassee. The monks walked around the lake with a large group of interested residents in tow, and later ate at McDonalds.

[edit] Stormwater control

In 1986, Lake Ella underwent extensive rehabilitation including sediment removal, reshaping of the shoreline, reducing the number of stormwater inflow pipes, and installation of an automatic alum treatment system. Lake Ella receives stormwater runoff from an urban watershed that is approximately 157 acres (635,000 m²) in area. During a typical year the lake treats somewhere around 250 million gallons (946,352 cu. m) of stormwater runoff. During normal water elevations the lake stores approximately 27 million gallons (102,206 cu. m) of water. During excessive rain events the lake can store an additional 9 million gallons (34,068 cu. m). Pollutant treatment is obtained through an automated system that doses alum at six locations based on the volume of stormwater entering the lake. Alum, which is a substance used by some communities to treat drinking water, mixes with incoming stormwater and causes pollutants to settle to the lake bottom.