A view of Joshua’s Pond last night.
This weekend I took long walks, and a few glorious swims wandering the trails around Micah and Joshua’s pond. This land isn’t just a quiet, beautiful getaway it’s also rich with history and lore.
The ponds were carved out roughly 18,000 years ago by retreating glaciers. While Micah’s Pond is an untouched kettle pond, Joshua’s Pond is fed by clean, cold underground springs and considered the cleanest ponds in the region.
Long before European settled the land, it was the homelands of the Wampanoag people, specifically the Cotochese tribe.
When the Europeans came so did the legend of Liza Tower Hill. Born Elizabeth Lewis in 1711, lore has it that she was raised”wild” and independent on the outskirts of Barnstable, she eventually married William Blatchford and built a home deep in woods near the ponds. Because she lived far from the village people and had knowledge of the forest, townspeople began fearing her. As the rumors grew, Liza was no longer seen as a fiercely independent woman, she was said to be a witch. Anything going wrong in the area from a missing traveler, to failed crops were blamed on her. Soon tales of travelers witnessing her dancing barefoot upon the glassy surface of the forest ponds at night, surrounded by flickering flames, while bedeviled fish swam beneath her feet and strange animals gathered at the shoreline were being spread. Centuries after her passing in 1790, her name and lore still remains, the road you take to Joshua’s Pond is named Tower Hill Road after Liza a true woman of the woods.
And finally the paths have just a little more history for you. The Kennedy Family once used these trails to run their horses. These trails have become my favorite of the area, and nothing beats a swim in a pristine quiet pond. The days like I had this weekend , when you get the woods to yourself are truly heaven for the soul…
Have a great Sunday evening everyone!
Sasysquatchgirl 