Assawompset Pond is a reservoir/pond within the towns of Lakeville and Middleboro, in southeastern

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. It shares its waters with Long Pond and is openly connected with Pocksha Pond.USGS Quadrangle Map These lakes provide a source of

drinking water Drinking water or potable water is water that is safe for ingestion, either when drunk directly in liquid form or consumed indirectly through food preparation. It is often (but not always) supplied through taps, in which case it is also calle ...

to the city of

New Bedford New Bedford is a city in Bristol County, Massachusetts, United States. It is located on the Acushnet River in what is known as the South Coast (Massachusetts), South Coast region. At the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, New Bedford had a ...

, the largest city in southeastern

. At almost , it is the largest natural lake in Massachusetts. It is known in

Wampanoag The Wampanoag, also rendered Wôpanâak, are a Native Americans in the United States, Native American people of the Indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodlands, Northeastern Woodlands currently based in southeastern Massachusetts and forme ...

as "Place of the White Stones" and is host for the largest alewife (

herring Herring are various species of forage fish, belonging to the Order (biology), order Clupeiformes. Herring often move in large Shoaling and schooling, schools around fishing banks and near the coast, found particularly in shallow, temperate wate ...

) run in the eastern seaboard. In the early spring the Nemasket River runs black with fish heading for the spawning grounds. The area known as ''Betty's Neck'' was one of the summer encampments for Native Americans who would traverse the Taunton River and Nemasket River to enter the pond. The Nemasket, being known as "Where the fish are", explains the significance as a food source.

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

began with the discovery of John Sassamon's body and the subsequent trial of his suspected murderers. His body was slipped under the ice on Assawompset Pond and found the following spring. The outcome of the trial sparked the beginning of hostilities. The pond was dammed in 1894 at the Nemasket River, which raised the water level about . Lakeville Assawomsett

References

Taunton River watershed Bodies of water of Plymouth County, Massachusetts Lakeville, Massachusetts Middleborough, Massachusetts Ponds of Massachusetts Reservoirs in Massachusetts Wampanoag {{PlymouthCountyMA-geo-stub