Jamaica Pond is a

kettle A kettle, sometimes called a tea kettle or teakettle, is a device specialized for boiling water, commonly with a ''lid'', ''spout'', and ''handle''. There are two main types: the ''stovetop kettle'', which uses heat from a cooktop, hob, and the ...

lake, part of the

Emerald Necklace The Emerald Necklace consists of a chain of parks linked by parkways and waterways in Boston and Brookline, Massachusetts. It was designed by landscape architect Frederick Law Olmsted, and gets its name from the way the planned chain appears ...

of parks in

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

Frederick Law Olmsted Frederick Law Olmsted (April 26, 1822 – August 28, 1903) was an American landscape architect, journalist, Social criticism, social critic, and public administrator. He is considered to be the father of landscape architecture in the U ...

. The pond and park are in the

Jamaica Plain Jamaica Plain is a Neighborhoods in Boston, neighborhood of in Boston, Massachusetts, United States. Settled by Puritans seeking farmland to the south, it was originally part of Roxbury, Massachusetts, Roxbury. The community seceded from Roxbur ...

neighborhood of Boston, close to the border of Brookline. It is the source of the Muddy River, which drains into the lower

Charles River The Charles River (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ), sometimes called the River Charles or simply the Charles, is an river in eastern Massachusetts. It flows northeast from Hopkinton, Massachusetts, Hopkinton to Boston along a highly me ...

.USGS 2005
/sup> The

pond A pond is a small, still, land-based body of water formed by pooling inside a depression (geology), depression, either naturally or artificiality, artificially. A pond is smaller than a lake and there are no official criteria distinguishing ...

has an area of about , and is deep at its center
MassWildlife map
, making it the largest body of fresh water in Boston, and the largest natural freshwater body in the lower Charles River watershed. It is ringed by a walking path, and is an extremely popular destination for Bostonians for walking, fishing, rowing, and sailing. Around Halloween each year, the pond serves as the site for The Lantern Parade. Participants dress in their Halloween costumes and walk around the pond. The pond once served as a reservoir for the City of Boston and the Town of West Roxbury, and it supplied ice in the winter to Boston and beyond. According to the

USGS The United States Geological Survey (USGS), founded as the Geological Survey, is an government agency, agency of the United States Department of the Interior, U.S. Department of the Interior whose work spans the disciplines of biology, geograp ...

, the name Jamaica derives from an Indian name meaning "abundance of beavers". The pond's setting, Jamaica Park, was included in the Olmsted Park landscape complex that was placed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

on December 8, 1971.

History

The Jamaica Plain Ice Company employed 350 men in 1874, and harvested as much 5,000 tons of ice a day from Jamaica Pond. The pond was once the site of a popular annual winter skating carnival. In 1929, this carnival was cancelled by Mayor Curley when cracks appeared on the ice, and 50,000 skaters had to be evacuated.Remember Jamaica Plain? Fifty Thousand on Jamaica Pond Ice? Wow!
/ref> In recent years, ice skating is no longer permitted on the pond. Overlooking Jamaica Pond until its 2007 demolition was Pinebank Mansion, the summer home of Edward Newton Perkins.

Gallery

File:Jamaica Pond, Wext Roxbury, MA - skating scene (1859).jpg, Skating on the pond, 1859 File:Iceman and helper with Jamaica Pond Ice Co. wagon, Boston, Massachusetts LCCN2016649587.jpg, Ice delivery van, 1890 File:Jamaica Pond IMG 0347.jpg, Swans, 2010 File:Jamaica Pond 1.jpg, Sailboat on pond, 2013 File:Jamaica Pond P1030840a.jpg, Bicyclists, 2021 File:Jamaica Pond P1030853b.jpg, Walking path, 2021 File:Jamaica Pond P1030860c.jpg, Fishing, 2021 File:Jamaica Pond P1030864b.jpg, Rowboat, 2021 File:Jamaica Pond P1030873b.jpg, Renting a sailboat, 2021

References

*Water resources and the urban environment, lower Charles River Watershed; *

External links

MassWildlife map and informationBoston Parks & Recreation DepartmentEmerald Necklace ConservancyFriends of Jamaica PondSam Blackman: The Jamaica Pond ProjectBoating on Jamaica Pond by Courageous SailingJamaica Pond Lantern Parade by Spontaneous Celebrations
{{Parks in Boston Jamaica Plain, Boston Parks in Boston Emerald Necklace Ice trade