Houghton's Pond is a spring-fed kettle hole pond in Milton, Massachusetts, south of Boston. Like many ponds and lakes in the United States, it was formed by receding glaciers about 10,000 years ago. By the standard definition of lakes being bodies of water larger than 20 acres (8.1 ha), the 24-acre (9.7 ha) pond is technically a lake.
The pond is located within the Blue Hills Reservation and managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. The Massachusett tribe once fished the pond and hunted in the woodlands that surround it. The Indians called it Hoosic-Whisick, but it was renamed for Ralph Houghton who began farming in the area about 1690.
The area is a popular destination for Massachusetts residents in all seasons. Just outside the city limits of Boston, the setting offers people the chance to quickly immerse themselves in a natural surrounding. The pond offers a visitor's center, supervised swimming area, stocked fishing, picnic areas, and various outdoor sports. The refreshment stand is on the National Register of Historic Places. The pond is surrounded by an array of hiking trails within the Blue Hills Reservation. The area is most popular in the summer for swimming and cook-outs.
Famous quotes containing the words houghton and/or pond:
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—Elizabeth Wurtzel, U.S. author. Prozac Nation: Young and Depressed in America, p. 298, Houghton Mifflin (1994)
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—Henry David Thoreau (1817–1862)