Stay Tuned…
by Jeanne Curley
Just thought some of you might be interested in how some of our ponds got their names. Over the next few issues, I’ll give you a little insight.
BREED’S POND : In 1843, Theophilus Breed dammed the waters that ran down from Dungeon Hill, from Dog Hill, and Bennett’s Swamp. Where all the streams met and crossed the highway at Oak Street, in a gorge between the hills, he built a dam. On this spot, he built a factory for making shoemaker’s tools. The pond, in its name, recognizes one of Lynn’s oldest families, and in its use, reminds us of an almost-lost art, that of making shoes by hand.
GLEN LEWIS POND : Alonzo Lewis was born in Lynn in 1794 and died in 1861. He was a wanderer, but his natural attachment to his home always brought him back to Lynn. He had a sensitive mind, loving friends, and no real enemies. Alonzo Lewis’ best monument is the history of his native town. In 1882, the Forest Society dedicated a secluded, but beautiful, spot in memory of Lynn’s first historian. The people of Lynn showed their appreciation of his labors by naming our northern lake Glen Lewis Pond.
WALDEN POND : Edwin Walden was the thirteenth mayor of Lynn. This gentleman devoted more thought and more time to the development of Lynn’s water supply than to any other endeavor. He became President of the Public Water Board at its organization in 1871. During his mayoralty, Breed’s Pond, with its rights and easements, because the property of the city as the first of its basins for supplying it with pure water. The construction of these basins was a wonderful sequel to his life’s labors. The most important of our ponds will bear his name forever. He would have asked for no better monument.
STAY TUNED
If you like these little tidbits, contact Jeanne Curley through the FLW Hot Line at 781.593.7773 or send an email to flw@flw.org.
There’s plenty more!