New Pond Dam - Easton, MA
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NorStar
N 42° 01.446 W 071° 08.233
19T E 323063 N 4654661
The New Pond Dam in Easton runs along Foundry Street and was first built in 1810 and is now part of a conservation area.
Waymark Code: WMF5HP
Location: Massachusetts, United States
Date Posted: 08/26/2012
Views: 4
In Easton, along Foundry Street, is the New Pond Dam.
The dam is located almost one mile west of the intersection of Foundry Street, Bay Road, and Depot Street. It is the second of two dams that you will pass by and is by far the wider of the two dams. There is a parking area on the west side of the dam.
The dam is an earthen dam with a spillway to the west side of the center of the dam. The dam length is about 820 ft (measured in GoogleEarth), and about 40 ft wide. The spillway is spanned by a wooden bridge and is about 30 ft wide, with two channels that drop about 10 ft. A river gauge is set on the east wall of the spillway.
The pond behind is part of a 107 acre conservation area, according to one of the wooden signs nearby. The pond, New Pond, is roughly triangular in shape. It is likely not that deep. Fishing is allowed but motorized boats would not work in this pond.
The dam was originaly built by Shepard Leach in 1810. This area became an early center for furnaces and forges and was used to supply cannons for the colonial cause during the American Revolutionary War. Forging activity continued at this location nearly to the present day.
Sources:
Town of Eastham (Historical Preservation Plan, 2007):
(
visit link)
Massgis Oliver (to view dam layer):
(
visit link)