History of Jones Pond

Jones Pond was settled by the Peter Jones family in 1829, who purchased it from Philip Church, the first white settler in Allegany County, who founded the Village of Angelica. Peter Jones built a farmhouse around 1840 in the popular Greek revival style, which stands at the front of Jones Pond Campground today. 

John A. Jones (born 1840), a veterinarian, purchased the property at some point and operated a farm on the property with his wife and three sons. He also became the Postmaster and Justice of the Peace for the Town of Allen. Therefore, the cellar of the farmhouse was used as the courtroom where neighborhood disputes were settled, and weddings were held in the living room. Mail was picked up at the farmhouse by the residents of the Town. 

In 1885, the largest made-made pond in the area was dug under the supervision of John Jones. The pond extended under State Road to provide water to both of his farms, including the farm he had purchased across the road. From that point forward the Jones' farm was referred to as Jones Pond, becoming a local landmark. 

John Jones lived at Jones Pond until his death in 1941 at the age of 101. He is buried in the Fink Hollow Cemetery across the road from the Campground. John's son, Harrah, lived across the road on the other farm until a tragic fire in 1948 burned their house, killing their two-year-old granddaughter. His wife died from injuries sustained from jumping out a second-story window to escape the flames. They are also buried in the cemetery across the road. The Jones Family were affiliated with the Wesleyan Church and donated the farm across the road to Houghton College following the fire.

Clifford Jones, grandson of John, continued to live at Jones Pond. In 1963, he and his wife Ruth converted the family farm into a campground, which gained popularity. At Jones Pond Campground, Clifford was known as "Buck" and Ruth was called "Babe". They continued to operate and grow the business, adding two bath houses with flush toilets and a swimming pool. The pond was used for swimming prior to the pool installation. 

The former two-story milk barn and chicken coop was converted for use as the check-in and snack bar on the upper floor with a "teen center" on the lower floor. Church services were offered on Sundays by the creek at the "Chapel in the Woods". The small structure used as the "paper shed" today was originally used to house an ox team, and an unfounded legend says it was used to hide runaway slaves on the Underground Railroad during the Civil War.

In 1979, "Buck" and "Babe" retired from campground ownership, and Jones Pond Campground went through a period of decline under new ownership. Fortunately, in 1991 two gay men, Robert Stone and Bill Cassavaugh purchased Jones Pond with a vision of converting it to an all-male gay campground. Robert and his partner Wayne Dorin lived in the farmhouse, while Bill and his partner Wayne Rockow (also known as Laura) lived in what is now the Guest House. 

The new owners had a lot of work ahead of them to make the pool operable again and removing accumulations of debris from the property, but they were able to open for business in the Spring of 1991, with eleven campers (including the owners) at the first campfire. Under their ownership, the Campground once again grew and drew gay men from the surrounding areas. 

Bill Cassavaugh died from cancer in May 1995, having only gotten to enjoy the fruits of his labors for four seasons, and Mr. Bill Drive is named in his honor. His half-ownership of Jones Pond transferred to Roger Reed, a dear friend and seasonal camper. In 1996 Robert Stone died suddenly from a heart attack, leaving his half-ownership to his partner Wayne Dorin.

The early struggles of Jones Pond Campground continued as Wayne Dorin was convicted of criminal deeds, which cast the Campground in bad light with the local community. Roger Reed held the Campground together by a thread with the support of seasonal campers. Two Canadians, Alan Moore and Carl Badame joined Roger as owners in the business, helping to put it on stable ground once again. These three men made improvements in the reputation of Jones Pond with the straight and gay communities, attracting more campers and building toward a bright future. 

As retirement approached for Roger and Alan, they offered the Campground for sale in the Summer of 2003. At that time, Steve Allen and Doug Bachman stopped in as weekend campers from Fort Lauderdale, Florida. Impressed by the beauty of the property and the hospitality of the seasonal campers, they purchased Jones Pond with a plan to add and improve facilities. This led to the building of the party barn, cabins, shower house and café. The campground business continued to grow. Allen-Bachman Way, one of the main roads in the campground, was named in their honor. 

Once again, as retirement approached for Steve and Doug, they offered the Campground for sale in 2012. As fate would have it, when the dust settled, Matt McCormick and Bryan Schaefer (two more Canadians) stepped in to purchase Jones Pond Campground. 

Having been campers at Jones Pond since the mid 1990's and seasonal campers at the park for two previous seasons, they had seen the many changes over the years first hand and were anxious to continue the tradition of creating a unique and warming environment for gay men. Bryan and Matt have business backgrounds that are well suited to take Jones Pond to the next level, honoring the tradition set out by many previous owners.