Racepond took its name from Race Pond, a round cypress pond nearby where, about 1836, United States soldiers ran their horses for sport while stationed there to watch for and capture any Indians who might venture out from the Okefenokee Swamp, where they had taken refuge from the great trek to the Western Reservation. Only a few men at a time were needed for patrol duty, and the others amused themselves by racing their mounts over a track they constructed around the pond. A soldier wounded by the Indians died in camp and was buried near the track.