Near Road 233/Teaford Saddle Road there is a small natural lake known as Lake Moic. Near the lake is a street named Moic Drive. The lake is shown as private property on maps, but is shown as open to the public on other websites.
Our History Mystery contains several questions:
- Is the lake private? Or open to the public?
- What is the origin of the name Moic?
- Was there a family with that name living in the area? If so, does anyone know if the family is still living nearby?
Any information would be greatly appreciated.
Please make comments below or send to NorthForkHistoryGroup@gmail.com.
Thank You,
North Fork History Group
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Follow-Up to History Mystery #77
The North Fork History Group is thankful to those who commented on this History Mystery.
It appears we received the answers to our major questions. The pool was in the Annex next to the clubhouse. Since the property is now privately owned, it is best that the exact location is not posted here.
The comments below (edited slightly, in some cases, for style and punctuation) were posted on the SNO Facebook page.
Rebecca Ayers — I grew up in the Bass Lake Annex. The remnants of the old swimming pool are still there to this day. The remnants of the clubhouse were demolished around 1995-1996.
Rebecca Ayers — The pool tiles are still there to this day.
Lynne Sonderland Rodriguez — Where exactly is Bass Lake Annex?
Leonard A Brown — There used to be a public pool up 426 by the side entrance to Broadview Terrace. They filled it in completely when I was in high school. There is a rickety buckboard by the driveway where it was.
Robert Ellis — Leonard A Brown — I never saw anyone actually swim in that pool and wondered why they wouldn’t let us.
Leonard A Brown — I vaguely remember some tale about safety concerns or someone got hurt, or maybe it was just sold to a private owner- uncorroborated, maybe all three of those.
Deanna Yhalkee — The pool in Bass Lake Annex was filled in with dirt after property was purchased by someone in late 80s/early 90s, who also tore down the clubhouse. Now fenced private property with house on it. Had a playground also used to take the kids over to play on the merry-go-round and in winter would sled into the pool. It was empty when we moved here to Bass Lake Annex in ’81. In its heyday, it looked like it was a lot of fun for the neighborhood. Always wished it could have been revived when we moved in but instead it was wiped out of existence.
Rebecca Ayers — Deanna Yhalkee. I commented too Mom, before I saw you did. Honestly super disappointed we never got to swim in the pool.
We have discovered that Moic Lake is on private property and it is not a natural lake. Please do not trespass to get to this private lake.
We also learned the name is derived from Moiac, Dave Boettcher posted this on FaceBook. “The Journal of California and the Great Basin (Vol 21, No. 1, pp 6-16, 1999) states Lake Moic was named in honor of a Mono women named Moiac. Fn 6 states in 1871 Moiac married George Sharpton, a French immigrant and carpenter, and their daughter Mary (married?) cattleman George Teaford. Lake Moic, on the Teaford Ranch in Madera County, was named in the mother’s honor. ( Dick-Bissonnette 1993)”