Walker Pond is a body of water in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, situated off Route 49 on the way to Wells State Park.
| Walker Pond | |
|---|---|
 Walker Pond | |
  Walker Pond  Walker Pond | |
| Location | Sturbridge, Massachusetts |
| Coordinates | 42°08′20″N 72°03′35″W / 42.13889°N 72.05972°W |
| Basin countries | United States |
| Surface area | 104 acres (42 ha)[1] |
| Average depth | 7.5 ft (2.3 m)[1] |
| Max. depth | 16 ft (4.9 m)[1] |
| Surface elevation | 581 ft (177 m) |
| References | [1] |
History
editThe pond took its name from settler Rachael "Walker" Smith, a local resident who raised twelve Italian children there.[2] (The house, since demolished, was called the Perez Walker House in memory of Nathaniel Walker's grandson, a prominent townsman.)[3][4] In 1894, the town of Sturbridge voted to rename the pond Tantousque Lake,[5] from an Indian word meaning "located between two breast-shaped hills."[6] The traditional Indian name did not, however, stick.
Fishing
editAccording to a 1980 survey, the pond contains largemouth bass, chain pickerel, yellow perch, white perch, bluegill, pumpkinseed, brown bullhead, white suckers, and golden and bridled shiners.[1] It is a popular place for ice fishing.
References
edit- ^ a b c d e "Walker Pond Sturbridge" (PDF). Massachusetts Division of Fisheries & Wildlife. Retrieved 2008-02-25.
- ^ Josiah Temple (1887). History of North Brookfield, Massachusetts. North Brookfield. pp. 769. OCLC 16274445. [1]
- ^ George Davis, A Historical Sketch of Sturbridge and Southbridge, 47.[2]
- ^ Nina Fletcher Little, American Decorative Wall Painting, 24
- ^ Proceedings of the Worcester Society of Antiquity (1894), 106
- ^ Levi Chase, The Bay Path and Along the Way, 85