Flints Pond (or Flint's Pond; also known as Sandy Pond) is a body of water in Lincoln, Massachusetts, United States. Named for Flint House, on the land of which it was situated, it is the town's major water supply, with Tower Road Well being the supplemental source. The pond is located around north-northwest of Lincoln's town centre. The

DeCordova Sculpture Park and Museum The deCordova Sculpture Park and Museum is a 30-acre sculpture park and contemporary art museum on the shore of Flint's Pond in Lincoln, Massachusetts, 20 miles northwest of Boston. It was established in 1950. It is the largest park of its kind ...

, built on the former estate of

Julian de Cordova Julian de Cordova (January 2, 1851 – November 23, 1945) was an American businessman and art collector. He bought the Union Glass Company in 1893, and was its president until its 1924 closure. He donated the land on which the DeCordova Sculptu ...

, sits on the southern shores of the pond. The pond is passed by

State Route 2 The following highways are numbered 2. For roads numbered A2, see list of A2 roads. For roads numbered B2, see list of B2 roads. For roads numbered M2, see list of M2 roads. For roads numbered N2, see list of N2 roads. International * AH2, As ...

around to the north. One of its outflows is Mill Brook, noted for its connection to the

battles of Lexington and Concord The Battles of Lexington and Concord were the first military engagements of the American Revolutionary War. The battles were fought on April 19, 1775, in Middlesex County, Province of Massachusetts Bay, within the towns of Lexington, Concord ...

History

The land around the pond was used by European settlers for their source of food. After Thoreau's time at Walden Pond, a mile to the west, Sandy Pond was renamed back to Flints Pond at the request of the Flint family. Henry David Thoreau's college classmate

Charles Stearns Wheeler Charles Stearns Wheeler (December 19, 1816 – June 13, 1843) was an American farmer and Transcendentalism, Transcendentalist pioneer. He is known as being one of the inspirations for ''Walden'', the book published by his friend Henry David T ...

built a hut at Flints Pond in 1836. He lived there during his vacations over the following six years, with Thoreau being a guest during the first year. Thoreau asked for permission to build a cabin on the pond, but the Flint family denied his request due to his accidentally having caused a fire near

Fairhaven Bay Fairhaven Bay is a lake located within the Sudbury river in Concord, Massachusetts, United States (US). It was frequented by Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817May 6, 1862) was an American naturalist, essayist, poet, and p ...

. Local residents purchased a parcel of land beside the pond in 1958 to prevent development on it occurring. The Lincoln Land Conservation Trust was thus formed. There is now a water-supply protection zone surrounding the pond.Flint's Pond Surface Water Supply Protection Map
- Town of Lincoln, 2021 Its watershed consists of , of which the Town of Lincoln owns around 92 percent, as of 2023.

References

{{authority control Lincoln, Massachusetts Lakes of Middlesex County, Massachusetts