Houghton's Pond is a spring-fed

kettle hole A kettle (also known as a kettle lake, kettle hole, or pothole) is a depression/hole in an outwash plain formed by retreating glaciers or draining floodwaters. The kettles are formed as a result of blocks of dead ice left behind by retreating gla ...

pond A pond is an area filled with water, either natural or artificial, that is smaller than a lake. Defining them to be less than in area, less than deep, and with less than 30% emergent vegetation helps in distinguishing their ecology from ...

Milton, Massachusetts Milton is a town in Norfolk County, Massachusetts, United States and an affluent suburb of Boston. The population was 28,630 at the 2020 census. Milton is the birthplace of former U.S. President George H. W. Bush, and architect Buckminster Fuller. ...

, south of

Boston Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...

. 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 , the pond is technically a lake. The pond is located within the

Blue Hills Reservation Blue Hills Reservation is a state park in Norfolk County, Massachusetts in the United States. Managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, it covers parts of Milton, Quincy, Braintree, Canton, Randolph, and Dedh ...

and managed by the Massachusetts

Department of Conservation and Recreation The Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) is a state agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, situated in the Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. It is best known for its parks and parkways. The DCR's mission is ...

. The

Massachusett The Massachusett were a Native American tribe from the region in and around present-day Greater Boston in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The name comes from the Massachusett language term for "At the Great Hill," referring to the Blue Hills ...

tribe once fished the pond and hunted in the woodlands that surround it. The local indian tribe called it Hoosic-Whisick, but around 1690, a British settler named Ralph Houghton bought 360 acres of forest and land (including the pond) to farm. He used the pond as a source of ice, drinking water and fish. His 1690 farmhouse was demolished in 1894 during the development of the

and once stood where the refreshment stand now stands. The area is a popular destination for Massachusetts residents in all seasons. Near the city limits of

, the setting offers people the chance to quickly immerse themselves in a natural surrounding. The pond offers a visitor's center, an exhibit of Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) memorabilia, supervised swimming area, stocked fishing, picnic areas, and various outdoor sports. The refreshment stand is on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic ...

. 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.

Gallery

File:houghtondonations.jpg, A plaque thanking those who contributed to the visitor's center exhibit.

References

{{authority control Ponds of Massachusetts Milton, Massachusetts Bodies of water of Norfolk County, Massachusetts State parks of Massachusetts Parks in Norfolk County, Massachusetts

Gallery

See also

References