Mashapaug pond is a large urban pond with a long and complicated history. Phosphorus, mashapaug pond, rhode island identified stormwater runoff as the most significant source of phosphorus to mashapaug pond. Brown digital repository collection mashapaug pond. The completed book is a collection of collages and writing that envisions what mashapaug pond might have been like when narragansett ancestors lived on its shores, along with commentary about the pond today. By 1962, families had been evicted from the region and bulldozers were beginning to reshape the land for the new huntington expressway industrial park. Mashapaug lake is natural in origin, but the construction of two dams has raised its water level.
Loren spears indigenous new england digital collections. Families built weetooash, or temporary domeshaped homes. Mashapaug inner cove phase ii and the northern portion of parcel c1 phase iii. May 20, 2014 this 287 acre lake, breakneck pond, and bigelow hollow pond see separate postslinks below are located in bigelow state park on route 171 in union ct. Located at, it is one of nine such lagoons often referred to as salt ponds in southern rhode island a small, brackish pond, it is not permanently connected to the block island sound, and is largely bordered by the misquamicut club golf course. Mashapaug pond part of the lower pawtuxet river watershed in providence, ri it is a part of the pawtuxet river watershedthe largest watershed in rhode islandfed by the waters of tongue and spectacle ponds in cranston and in turn feeding into the roger williams park ponds. Stories from beyond the pond tour and website are a continuation of a project of the oral history and community memory class in brown universitys public humanities department. In the final 2 years of his life, benjamin remarried to a woman named rebecca. Sep 28, 2016 exploring mashapaug lake in bigelow hollow state park, union connecticut. Below are weather averages from 1971 to 2000 according to data gathered from the nearest official weather station. Geology and topography of mashapaug pond rhode tour. Rhode island knows now the narragansett still exists.
The continuous presence of native people at mashapaug. Mashapaug pond is situated 1700 feet south of mashapaug pond dam. Katie holmes and heather goodall palgrave, 2018 turning toward mashapaug. The mashapaug pond procession has since become the urban pond. Preceded back to the boat ramp, loaded my kayak up and head down the park rd, about a mile to mashapaug pond mashapaug pond is about 2 miles long. On june 20, leaders of the mashapaug nahaganset tribe filed tort claims. Feverish and forthright, pond is an absorbing chronicle of the pitfalls and pleasures of a solitudinous life told by an unnamed woman living on the cusp of a coastal town. Carlson and gould took photographs of the factory on the eve of its destruction. Mashapaug lake, bigelow hollow state park, union, ct. Bigelow hollow state park, a connecticut state park. Enter your mobile number or email address below and well send you a link to download the free kindle app. Mashapaug pond topo map in tolland county, connecticut.
The norten tip of the lake extends into mass making the license for either state valid. The project seeks to uncover personal stories related to the natural, social, and cultural history of mashapaug pond providence, ri and the neighborhoods that surround it. It is ada accessible if you can find a parking space. In 1939, the community of west elmwood was flourishing. This visual and textual portrait, created by artist holly ewald and folklorist michael bell, invites. Mashapaug pond is the largest freshwater pond in the city of providence, rhode island. Archiving upp arts public humanities brown university. Developed area stormwater runoff the mashapaug pond watershed has an impervious cover of 61%. A dam creates a waterfall at mashapaug pond at the bigelow hollow state park in union. Pond by clairelouise bennett meet your next favorite book. Then you can start reading kindle books on your smartphone, tablet, or computer.
One party ditched to the north and the other to the south. Holly collaborated with rhode islands native american community and the tomaquag indian memorial museum to produce a book of art, poetry and reflection entitled through our eyes, an indigenous view of mashapaug pond. Feverish and forthright, pond is an absorbing chronicle of the pitfalls and p. Decades of efforts to clean up the river have brought some gains, yes, but the charles is still far from achieving the water. Providences mashapaug pond has been forgotten and overlooked for decades, contaminated by industrial pollution and separated from the communities that surround it. It is a part of the pawtuxet river watershedthe largest watershed in rhode islandfed by the waters of tongue and spectacle. Mashapaug lake fishing reports recently shared catches and fishing spots. Mashapaug road divides the reservoir into a north and south basin. Diving mashapaug pond at bigelow hollow, ct youtube. Mashapaug pond and reservoir triangle collection this collection contains oral history interviews, images, and research materials gathered by brown. Along with other narragansett tribal members, spears also collaborated with artist holly ewald and the tomaquag indian memorial museum to create through our eyes.
Mashapaug nahaganset tribe files lawsuit charging r. Tongue pond and spectacle pond drain into mashapaug pond, which drains into roger williams park pond and eventually the narragansett bay. Part of the lower pawtuxet river watershed, the pond connects to a series of parks. Exploring mashapaug lake in bigelow hollow state park, union. The term for this polluted rainwater is stormwater runoff, and its one of the reasons mashapaug pond has.
Anne valk is a specialist in oral history, public history, and the social history of the 20th century united states. The watershed is 2,932 acres of mostly undeveloped forested land with some light residential development. Tracing gorham at mashapaug pond by erik carlson and erik gould combines archival film, documentary photography, oral history and soundscape to simultaneously invoke the experience of working at the gorham silver factory and witnessing its disappearance. Now, the pond comes alive as an imagined place, present in memories of former residents, in the bonds that tie together current neighbors, and in the visions of pond activists.
The work includes original poetry and artwork as well as essays about indigenous history. Maschaug pond, it is one of nine such lagoons often referred to as salt ponds in southern rhode island. The present lake of 300 acres was originally about half the size. And that means water is running across the citys rooftops, roads, and parking lots, picking up pollutants like oil and animal waste, and depositing them into water bodies like mashapaug pond. The ponds very name comes from two algonquin words. For more on mashapaug pond history and its place in the states waterways. This barcode number lets you verify that youre getting exactly the right version or edition of a book. Mashapaug pond brown digital repository collection. The continuous presence of native people at mashapaug pond dr. At the pond unknown binding january 1, 1978 see all formats and editions hide other formats and editions. Mashapaug lake is a 287 acre lake in tolland county. Diving mashapaug pond at bigelow hollow, ct duration.
Engineers tried to tame fresh pond into a reservoir at the same time that frederick law olmsted sr. The area immediately west of the high school, parcel c, has also been included in this remediation plan to complete the closure of the upland and pond areas of the project site figure 3. This is a stocked trout pond that is opened only spring through fall, trout season, there is a ramp and no gas motors are permitted. Mashapaug pond and reservoir triangle collection this collection contains oral history interviews, images, and research materials gathered by brown university students.
In precontact time the pond provided local narragansett, with a wealth of resources. The lake is fed by wells brook and two small brooks. The mashapaug pond oral history project represented a multidisciplinary. Native peoples had already lived on the land near mashapaug pond for many centuries when roger williams arrived in providence in 1636. These two photographs, taken in 1939 and 1962, capture the pond in a period of major change. The nearest weather station for both precipitation and temperature measurements is east brimfield l which is approximately 7 miles away and has an elevation of 680 feet 22 feet lower than mashapaug pond. The largest natural fresh water lake in providence, mashapaug pond also supplies water for the manmade lakes in popular roger williams park. Exploring mashapaug lake in bigelow hollow state park. Scuba diving west hill pond, new hartford ct with gavin.
The upp arts approach has contributed to that transition at mashapaug pond, and the legacy project archives, book and trainings will enable people who care about similar sites to use the upp arts approach as a springboard for their own work. Mashapaug lake is a 297acre lake surrounded by bigelow hollow state park and nipmuck state forest in the town of union in northeastern connecticut. Using oral history to teach about place and community in providence, rhode island, coauthored with holly ewald transformations. This book of environmentallythemed collage art presents indigenous perspectives on the history of the mashapaug pond, the last remaining natural freshwater body in providence, rhode island. Stories from beyond the pond tour and website are a continuation of a project of the oral history and community memory class in brown universitys public humanities department holly ewald, artist and founder of the urban pond procession, and anne valk, associate director at the public humanities center, and brown university students are working to research and. The project seeks to uncover personal stories related to the natural, social, and cultural history of mashapaug pond providence, ri and the neighborhoods that surround it, using oral history and community arts. The pond was a significant site to indigenous people for centuries before and after 1636, when the. William simmons, anthropology professor at brown university, transcribed from a talk given at the tomaquag indian memorial museum, 121510 the narragansett were the largest language group in rhode island and their boundary more or less coincided with the boundaries of rhode island.
As the creators and coordinators of the mashapaug pond oral history project. Over the past four hundred years, mashapaug pond has been a site of indigenous settlement and displacement, deforestation and agriculture, urban and industrial development, and remediation and activism. Mashapaug homes for sale lakefront living real estate. An indigenous view of mashapaug pond, a book of collage art, including poetry, photography and stamping, that tells the indigenous history of mashapaug pond spears has an essay published in the pursuit of happiness. This is a relatively large, 412acre, warm water reservoir located just south of the center of the town of holland. Indigenous writings from new england, edited by siobhan senier with 11 tribal editors and published in 2014 by the university of nebraska press. A dialogue with the downs, captures the multisensory experiences and layered stories of the installation that premiered at the warwick museum of art in 2007. Land sold in 1720 by the connecticut general assembly to 12. The pond has a long history of development along its banks, dating back to the early 1600s when it was included in roger williams original land purchase from the. Sinclair explores these and many other aspects of fresh pond s history with. Mashapaug i believe holds the state record for smallmouth bass. The history of a cambridge landscape 1st edition by jill sinclair author 5.
One of these dams lies on the lakes northern end, at an outlet which flows into the quinnebaug river system, while the other lies on the southern end, at the bigelow brook outlet. An indigenous view of mashapaug pond is the culmination of a yearlong project between rhode islands narragansett community and artist holly ewald, founder of the urban pond procession. Through our eyes, an indigenous view of mashapaug pond edited by dawn dove and holly ewald. I think a lot of people troll there than cast, there isnt a lot of structure. While in bangor researching the pond history, i found in the probate archives, the handwritten will of benjamin b. Maschaug pond is a coastal lagoon in westerly, washington county, rhode island, united states.
This book of environmentallythemed collage art presents indigenous perspectives on the history of the. Mashapaug lake is located in the town of union and is a natural lake within the thames river drainage basin. He said the three quarter acre island is undeveloped just a. Mashapaug pond archives conservation law foundation. The charles river is one of new englands most iconic waterways it also may be our most notorious thanks to its history as one of the dirtiest rivers in the country. In 1996 tpl helped the city of providence purchase two parcels of land and a building along mashapaug pond, which now houses environmental education programs and the citys first freshwater community boating program. Exploring mashapaug lake in bigelow hollow state park, union connecticut. Broken bowls, belligerent cows, swanky aubergines, trembling moonrises and horrifying sunsets, the physical world depicted in these stories is unsettling yet intimately familiar and soon takes on a life. Mashapaug pond is located on the south side of providence, bordered by adelaide avenue on its northeast edge, the huntington business park on its northwest edge and ocean state job lot off reservoir avenue to the south. Water flows over the bigelow brook dam at the southern end of mashapaug lake at all times of the year.
Mashapaug pond view loop is a 4 mile moderately trafficked loop trail located near stafford, connecticut that features a lake and is rated as moderate. Working at the intersection of environmental history and oral history, this chapter argues that oral history interviews are vital to understanding rhode islands mashapaug pond, a small body of water in a densely populated city, and other sites contaminated by toxic waste. The potential for a longterm revenue stream from the book. Brown opened a library collections annex, an offsite storage space for books. The word mashapaug is the nipmuck indian word for great pond. You should also consider bringing your mountain bike or hiking. Photographing at arcadia pond, a much healthier pond near the tomaquag museum in exeter, rhode island, yielded collage materials as well. The trail offers a number of activity options and is accessible yearround. Materials were collected initially as part of a fall 2011 class, amst1903g, oral history and community memory that was cotaught by. The water level was raised by the construction of three low earthen dams. Through a family inheritance, rizner owns one of six private islands in mashapaug pond, which is part of bigelow hollow state park.
This source may also be contributing to bacterial contamination in the pond. Mashapaug pond, the last remaining natural freshwater. Promoting native arts and culture through environmental. An indigenous view of mashapaug pond, a book of collage art, including poetry, photography and stamping, that tells the indigenous history of mashapaug pond. The lake is open year round and has a 10 mph speed limit on the water. Fishermen will find a variety of fish including pickerel, redear sunfish, perch, rainbow trout, smallmouth bass and brown trout here. It is a part of the pawtuxet river watershedthe largest watershed in rhode islandfed by the waters of tongue and spectacle ponds in cranston and in turn feeding into. Community narratives of mashapaug pond in providence, rhode island, in telling environmental stories, ed. In the mid1880s, two different parties attempted to draw the water from this natural pond. This 287 acre lake, breakneck pond, and bigelow hollow pond see separate postslinks below are located in bigelow state park on route 171 in union ct. This visual and textual portrait, created by artist holly ewald and folklorist michael bell, invites readers to interact with the history and folklife.