Walker Pond is a body of water in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, situated off Route 49 on the way to Wells State Park.
History The pond took its name from settler Rachael "Walker" Smith, a local resident who raised twelve Italian children there. (The house, since demolished, was called the Perez Walker House in memory of Nathaniel Walker's grandson, a prominent townsman.)George Davis, A Historical Sketch of Sturbridge and Southbridge, 47.Nina Fletcher Little, American Decorative Wall Painting, 24 In 1894, the town of Sturbridge voted to rename the pond Tantousque Lake, Proceedings of the Worcester Society of Antiquity (1894), 106 from an Indian word meaning "located between two breast-shaped hills." Levi Chase, The Bay Path and Along the Way, 85 The traditional Indian name did not, however, stick.
Fishing According to a 1980 survey, the pond contains largemouth bass, chain pickerel, yellow perch, white perch, bluegill, pumpkinseed, brown bullhead, white suckers, and golden and bridled shiners. It is a popular place for ice fishing.
References
External links Wells State Park