Stetson Pond Beach - North and South Rivers Watershed Association

350 Plymouth Street, Pembroke, MA, USA

https://www.pembroke-ma.gov/town-beaches

Owned By: Town of Pembroke

Small pond in a quiet setting, ideal for fishing, swimming, paddling, and seasonal ice skating.

Features

Stetson Pond was probably named for a family that settled nearby on Plymouth Street. Summer cottages built in the 20th century gave way to year-round homes as the years passed. The average depth of the pond is 15 feet, with a maximum depth of 33 feet.

Prior to European contact, the Mattakeeset band of the Massachuseuk (or Massachusett) Native American tribe lived for thousands of years in the North River watershed. Their village included most of today’s Pembroke and Hanson. Meanwhile the Patuxet band of the Wampanoag tribe inhabited the Jones River watershed, and the area now known as Kingston, Plymouth and Duxbury. This property lies within right between those two territories. It’s possible that both tribes utilized the area.

To learn more about our local tribes, we encourage you to interact with their members. The Mattakeeset band of the Massachusett, the Massachusett tribe at Ponkapoag, the Mashpee Wampanoag tribe, and the Herring Pond Wampanoag all share information on their websites.

Habitats and Wildlife

Stetson is a natural pond, with a single inlet and a single outlet. The inlet is a channel connecting the pond to cranberry bogs immediately north. The outlet discharges to Chaffin Reservoir, to the southwest, part of the Monponsett Pond system. By 1794, there was a sawmill near its outlet. This and downstream mills blocked the herring run to Stetson Pond.

Some of the fish commonly found in Stetson Pond include largemouth bass, chain pickerel, white and yellow perch, golden shiner, pumpkinseed, brown bullhead, bluegill, and American eel.