Lake Chaubunagungamaug - Webster MA - Wikipedia Entries on Waymarking.com

Lake Chaubunagungamaug, also known as Webster Lake, is a lake in the town of Webster, Massachusetts. It is located near the Connecticut border and has a surface area of 1,442 acres. Since 1921, the lake has also been known by a much longer name having 45 letters comprising fourteen syllables: Lake Char­gogg­a­gogg­man­chaugg­a­gogg­chau­bun­a­gung­a­maugg. The name attracts many tourists. The lake has become famous beyond Central Massachusetts for having the longest name of any geographic feature in all of the United States.

The lake's name comes from Loup, an Algonquian language, and is often said to mean, "Fishing Place at the Boundaries—Neutral Meeting Grounds". A more fitting translation is "lake divided by islands", according to anthropologist Ives Goddard.

Today, "Webster Lake" may be the name most used, but some (including many residents of Webster) take pride in reeling off the longer versions. This lake has several alternative names. Lake Chaubunagungamaug is the name of the lake as recognized by the U.S. Department of the Interior, and is the name appearing in the earliest local records.

Algonquian-speaking peoples had several different names for the lake as recorded on old maps and historical records. However, all of these were similar in part and had almost the same translation. Among other early names were "Chabanaguncamogue" and "Chaubanagogum". Early town records show the name as "Chabunagungamaug Pond", which was also the name of the local Nipmuc town (recorded in 1668 and 1674 with somewhat different spellings). This has been translated as "boundary fishing place", but something close to "fishing place at the boundary" or "that which is a divided island lake" may be more accurate.

A 1795 map of Massachusetts indicated the name, using the long-form's first eight syllables, as "Chargoggagoggmanchoggagogg". A survey of the lake done in 1830 lists the name as "Chaubunagungamaugg", the six-syllable older name. The following year, both Dudley and Oxford, which then adjoined the lake, filed maps listing the lake by its eight-syllable form, as "Chargoggagoggmanchoggagogg". Anthropologist Ives Goddard considers that 1831 name to be a cartographer's creation that corrupted the actual name while confusing this lake with nearby Manchaug Pond

Source: (visit link)

Wikipedia Url: [Web Link]

Visit Instructions:
To post a visit log to this waymark you need to visit and write about the actual physical location. Any pictures you take at the location would be great, as well.

Recent Visits/Logs:

There are no logs for this waymark yet.