Wampatuck Pond

542 Liberty St, Hanson, MA 02341, USA

(781) 294-4119

Owned By: Town of Hanson

• Directions

Small pond near Hanson Town Hall, suitable for fishing, paddling and seasonal ice skating. You’ll find a ramp and access for small boats here. Swimming is not permitted. The island within the pond is privately owned. For trail access, visit Veterans Memorial Town Forest – Hanson, immediately adjacent.

Features

A beautiful backdrop for Hanson’s Town Hall, this manmade pond is bordered by a small park, a cemetery, residential areas, and the Hanson Veterans Memorial Town Forest. It is sometimes known as Raised Great Pond or Town Hall Pond.

For most of the 20th century, Camp Wampatuck, a summer sleep-away camp, was located on the shoreline. It has since has been replaced by a residential subdivision known as “Kings Landing.”

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. The word “Mattakeeset” means “place of many fish.” Wampatuck Pond is named for the Chief Sachem of the Mattakeeset, Josias Wompatuck (also spelled Wampatuck).

Trail Description

The adjacent Veterans Memorial Town Forest offers some hiking trails along the edge of the pond.

Habitats and Wildlife

The pond’s water quality is impaired due to noxious aquatic plants. It is not suitable for swimming.

Indian Head Brook, a major tributary to the Indian Head River, flows through the pond. The Indian Head River forms the boundary between Hanover and Hanson, and merges with Pembroke’s Herring Brook, a short distance downstream of Ludden’s Ford Park, to form the North River at a spot called The Crotch. The North River flows 12 miles through Pembroke, Hanover, Norwell, Marshfield and Scituate, eventually making its way to Massachusetts Bay and the Atlantic Ocean.