Koi Pond Vandalized at Lititz Historical Foundation

The Lancaster County nonprofit is working to repair the damage and install new security cameras.

Apr. 6, 2026 at 9:54pm

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An extreme close-up photograph of a damaged koi pond filter or pump, lit by a harsh, direct camera flash against a pitch-black background, conceptually illustrating the aftermath of the vandalism at the Lititz Historical Foundation.The vandalized koi pond at the Lititz Historical Foundation exposes the harsh realities of protecting community spaces from senseless destruction.Lancaster Today

The garden koi pond at the Lititz Historical Foundation in Lancaster County, Pennsylvania was vandalized last week, with rocks, bricks, and other debris thrown into the water. Fortunately, 12 of the 13 fish in the pond survived the incident. The foundation is now working to repair the damage and plans to install security cameras around the garden, which it has never had to do before.

Why it matters

The Lititz Historical Foundation's garden is a peaceful community space, and the vandalism has disrupted that tranquility. The incident also raises concerns about the security of public spaces and the need to protect against acts of senseless destruction.

The details

Gardener David Frehafer discovered the vandalism when he arrived to clean the pond of leaves. Almost everything had been thrown into the water, and the foundation is now working to ensure the pond's foundation is still intact. The total cost of the damage is not yet known, but the foundation expects to spend a full day with two people to get things back in order. The Lititz Borough Police Department is aware of the incident, although no formal report was filed.

  • The vandalism occurred last week.
  • Work to repair the damage began on Monday.

The players

Lititz Historical Foundation

A Lancaster County nonprofit that maintains a garden with a koi pond, which was recently vandalized.

David Frehafer

A gardener at the Lititz Historical Foundation who discovered the vandalized koi pond.

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What they’re saying

“We came here and it was a mess.”

— David Frehafer, Gardener

“Almost everything was thrown into the pond. It looked like they were trying to hit the fish is our guess because there were 13 fish in there and, luckily, out of those 13, we still have 12.”

— David Frehafer, Gardener

“Sometimes, we have kids throw little stones or pebbles in, and that's not a big deal, but nothing like this has ever been done.”

— David Frehafer, Gardener

“Why they did what they did I have no idea because it served no purpose except to cause a lot of intensive labor and a lot of hassle here to get things back in shape.”

— David Frehafer, Gardener

What’s next

The Lititz Historical Foundation plans to install security cameras around the garden to prevent future incidents of vandalism.

The takeaway

This act of vandalism at the Lititz Historical Foundation's peaceful community garden highlights the need for increased security measures to protect public spaces and the importance of respecting shared community resources.