Round Pond
Round Pond
Round Pond is a small great pond in Tewksbury, northeast of Long Pond and beside Chandler Street, on land that was part of Billerica until Tewksbury was set off in 1734. It lies in the country of Strong Water Brook and the Great Swamp, which Henry A. Hazen describes as one of the largest tracts of common land left in the town at the end of the seventeenth century, "towards Andover, in the Great Swamp and vicinity, by Strongwater Brook, and between and around the ponds." Hazen's map of ancient Billerica shows it, with Long Pond, in the part that became Tewksbury.
The pond appears in the Billerica records as "the Round Pond." When the estate of Deacon William French was inventoried in October 1723, his lands included thirty-three acres "at the Round Pond," besides his homestead and lots at Content Plain. Round Pond is on the Commonwealth's list of great ponds, one of two in Tewksbury, and a house on Chandler Street at the corner of Foster Road is described in Tewksbury's inventory as standing across from it. In its study of surface water at the Iron Horse Park Superfund site, completed in 2011, the Environmental Protection Agency used Round Pond as a reference pond for comparison with the waters of the old railroad yard.
Title References
| Date | Type | Grantor | Grantee | Summary | Recorded |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| January 14, 1724 | Administration and Division | Estate of Deacon William French of Billerica (intestate) | His sons Jacob French and William French Jr.; widow Sarah (thirds) | Estate of Deacon William French (1723): inventory includes 33 acres "at the Round Pond" | Probate #8529 |
Administration Nov. 7, 1723 to the widow Sarah and the eldest son Jacob French, yeoman. Inventory of Oct. 31, 1723: "The homsted Containing about 105 acres & the Buildings," with lots at Content Plain, the Round Pond, west of Concord River and in the swamps and meadows. Division of Jan. 14, 1723/4: "The homestead on the East side of the Road Containing seventy one acres of upland, medow and woodland bounded Westward and Northward by the highway Eastward by the land of Thomas Baldwin Junr Southward by the land of Jacob French," 135 pounds; "the old house at five pounds & the Barne at twenty pounds"; and the homestead on the west side of the road. The widow's thirds included "the old house" and the east end of the barn; Jacob took meadow and pasture lots; "To William French the second son the Remainder of the homstead bounded as aforesaid," two thirds of the barn and of the new pasture and "three acres of land lying North west of the Barne surrounded with highways," with "all the Remainder of said thirds" when the widow's dower fell in. Consented to by Sarah, Jacob, William French Jr., Jonathan French and Nathaniel Whittemore. Middlesex probate case 8529.
Title from:
Title passed to:
|
|||||
Recorded is Book/Page at the Middlesex North Registry of Deeds unless noted; Probate # is a Middlesex probate case, Ctf a Land Court certificate of title.
References
- Massachusetts great ponds list: Long Pond and Round Pond, Tewksbury
- Hazen, History of Billerica (1883): map of ancient Billerica, showing Round Pond and Long Pond in the part that became Tewksbury
- Hazen 1883: the commons toward Andover, "in the Great Swamp and vicinity, by Strongwater Brook, and between and around the ponds"
- EPA Region 1, Record of Decision, Iron Horse Park Superfund Site Operable Unit 4 (2011): Round Pond used as a reference site