Remembering Peggy Ann Springs
Written by Justin D. Lamb
Left– The children of H.H. Lovett enjoy a day of swimming at Peggy Ann Springs in the late 1920s.
Pictured are Grace Lovett Nelson, Jane Lovett Bradley, John Clay Lovett, Aline Lovett Saufley, Henry Hardin Lovett, Jr., and Mary Brooks Lovett Cross.
Right– Phillip Redden and his wife, Eula, operated Peggy Ann Springs from 1922 until its closure in 1948.
Peggy Ann Springs first opened in 1922 when Phillip Redden and his brother Lee built a public swimming pool in the Union Hill community. A pond existed at the site and was dug out and concreted to form the middle pool that was used for swimming. An upper pool was dug to form a reservoir that held piped in spring water until the middle pool needed to be refilled. A small lower pool served as a fish pond. A picnic area was placed on the hillside near the pool as well as a refreshments stand which sold ice cream, cold drinks, and candy. Named after Peggy Ann Cope, one of the earliest settlers of the Union Hill Community, the site quickly became a very popular recreational area in the county.
The entire Redden family helped in the operation of Peggy Ann Springs. Phillip and Eula Redden’s nine children worked on the farm and sold peanuts and molasses at Tater Day in order to keep the pool open, and with such a low admission cost of only 25 cents for a full day’s admission, the pool was a certainly a “labor of love” for the Redden family because very little money was ever made.
From the 1920s up until the 1940s, families, children, church groups would often spend their summers at Peggy Ann Springs relaxing and having a good time. Those who remember the heyday of Peggy Ann Springs remember that there was almost always a crowd there sometimes with as many as 100 people in one day. Some of the largest crowds were seen during Big Singing Day when after the singing session ended, families would go to Peggy Ann Springs to enjoy the remainder of the day swimming and picnicking.
When Kentucky Lake was formed in the 1940s, business slowed down considerably at Peggy Ann Springs and Redden was forced to close the public pool in 1948. Peggy Ann Springs was soon just a fading memory of Marshall County’s past.