Hancock Brook is an east-bank tributary to the

Saco River The Saco River ( , Abenaki: ''Sαkóhki'') is a river in northeastern New Hampshire and southwestern Maine in the United States. It drains a rural area of of forests and farmlands west and southwest of Portland, emptying into the Atlantic O ...

Hiram, Maine Hiram is a town in Oxford County, Maine, United States. The population was 1,609 at the 2020 census. It includes the villages of Hiram, East Hiram, South Hiram and Durgintown. Located among the rugged and unspoiled Western Maine Mountains, Hi ...

. The brook originates in eastern

Denmark Denmark is a Nordic countries, Nordic country in Northern Europe. It is the metropole and most populous constituent of the Kingdom of Denmark,, . also known as the Danish Realm, a constitutionally unitary state that includes the Autonomous a ...

and flows through a chain of ponds along the border between Hiram and Sebago. The narrow-gauge

Bridgton and Saco River Railroad The Bridgton and Saco River Railroad (B&SR) was a narrow gauge railroad that operated in the vicinity of Bridgton and Harrison, Maine. It connected with the Portland and Ogdensburg Railroad (later Maine Central Railroad Mountain Division) fro ...

was built along the brook in 1882, and operated until 1941.

Sand Pond

The Hancock Brook headwaters flow into Sand Pond (or ''Walden Pond''). The pond is entirely in Denmark. Shoreline development with residences and seasonal cabins has increased algae growth in the pond. The pond supports native populations of

rainbow smelt The rainbow smelt (''Osmerus mordax'') is a North American species of fish of the family (biology), family Osmeridae. Walleye, trout, and other larger fish prey on these smelt. The rainbow smelt prefer juvenile cisco (fish), ciscoes, zooplankton ...

chain pickerel The chain pickerel (''Esox niger'') is a species of freshwater fish in the pike family (biology), family (family Esocidae) of order (biology), order Esociformes. The chain pickerel and the American pickerel (''E. americanus'') belong to the ''Esox ...

and

smallmouth bass The smallmouth bass (''Micropterus dolomieu'') is a species of freshwater fish in the Centrarchidae, sunfish family (biology), family (Centrarchidae) of the order (biology), order Centrarchiformes. It is the type species of its genus ''Micropterus ...

; and has been stocked with

largemouth bass The largemouth bass (''Micropterus nigricans'') is a carnivorous, freshwater fish, freshwater, ray-finned fish in the Centrarchidae (sunfish) family, native to the eastern United States, eastern and central United States, southeastern Canada an ...

brown trout The brown trout (''Salmo trutta'') is a species of salmonid ray-finned fish and the most widely distributed species of the genus ''Salmo'', endemic to most of Europe, West Asia and parts of North Africa, and has been widely introduced globally ...

, and land-locked alewife. A short, narrow thoroughfare connects the south end of Sand Pond to Hancock Pond.

Hancock Pond

Hancock Pond is the largest pond of the Hancock Brook chain. The narrow-gauge railroad followed the east shore of the pond through West Sebago. The remainder of the pond is in Denmark. The railroad maintained a water tank adjacent to the pond which was a favored stop during summer excursions when passengers would swim in the pond. Subsequent shoreline development with residences and seasonal cabins has caused increased algal blooms in the pond. The pond supports the same fish species found in Sand Pond, since the thoroughfare between the two ponds allows easy passage at similar pond elevations. Hancock Brook overflows a dam at the southwest corner of Hancock Pond into a boggy area including small Mud Pond and crosses the town line from Denmark into Hiram before reaching Middle Pond approximately downstream. Hancock Brook downstream of Middle Pond forms the town line between Hiram to the west and Sebago to the east.

Barker Pond

The railroad crossed Hancock Brook at the north end of Barker Pond downstream of Middle Pond, to follow the west shore of Barker Pond. The old railroad grade has been converted to an automobile road known as the ''Narrow Gauge Trail''. Fish swim downstream from Hancock Pond into Barker Pond, but nutrient enrichment causes dissolved

oxygen Oxygen is a chemical element; it has chemical symbol, symbol O and atomic number 8. It is a member of the chalcogen group (periodic table), group in the periodic table, a highly reactivity (chemistry), reactive nonmetal (chemistry), non ...

deficiency below the summer

thermocline A thermocline (also known as the thermal layer or the metalimnion in lakes) is a distinct layer based on temperature within a large body of fluid (e.g. water, as in an ocean or lake; or air, e.g. an atmosphere) with a high gradient of distinct te ...

limiting suitability of the pond for

trout Trout (: trout) is a generic common name for numerous species of carnivorous freshwater ray-finned fishes belonging to the genera '' Oncorhynchus'', ''Salmo'' and ''Salvelinus'', all of which are members of the subfamily Salmoninae in the ...

. Hancock Brook is entirely within the town of Hiram after overflowing a dam at the southwest corner of Barker Pond. Sebago Road and Wards Hill Road cross the brook at Rankins Mill downstream of Barker Pond. A granite masonry arch railroad bridge crossed the brook downstream of Rankins Mill. The last crossing of the brook is by

Maine State Route 5 State Route 5 (abbreviated SR 5) is a state highway in Maine that runs from an intersection with State Route 9 in Old Orchard Beach, to an intersection with State Route 120 in Andover. Route description From its southern terminus near the ...

in Hiram just above the confluence with the Saco River.

Tributaries

Sucker Brook drains Perley Pond and Pickerel Pond into the north end of Hancock Pond. With depths of and , respectively, these ponds support native populations of chain pickerel and have been stocked with largemouth bass. The Maine Department of Fish and Wildlife has stocked Perley Pond with legal size

brook trout The brook trout (''Salvelinus fontinalis'') is a species of freshwater fish in the char genus ''Salvelinus'' of the salmon family Salmonidae native to Eastern North America in the United States and Canada. Two ecological forms of brook trout h ...

for cool weather

angling Angling (from Old English ''angol'', meaning "hook") is a fishing technique that uses a fish hook attached to a fishing line to tether individual fish in the mouth. The fishing line is usually manipulated with a fishing rod, although rodless te ...

, but these trout are not expected to survive warm summer temperatures. Southeast Pond drains into Barker Pond from

Baldwin Baldwin may refer to: People * Baldwin (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname Places Canada * Baldwin, York Regional Municipality, Ontario * Baldwin, Ontario, in Sudbury District * Baldwin's Mills, ...

Sources

{{Rivers of Maine Rivers of Cumberland County, Maine Rivers of Oxford County, Maine