Family enjoying a summer day on Rock Pond, with their own bowling set for entertainment
At thirty acres in area, Rock Pond never rivaled the approximately three hundred acre Cobbett's Pond as a summer destination for families in the greater Boston area. However, Rock Pond was at one time home to several dozen summer camps, and was considered a peaceful, quiet alternative to Cobbett's Pond. Originally named, Goldings Pond, the name was likely changed to Rock Pond near the turn of the twentieth century. While the reason for the name change is likely lost to history, it has been theorized that the nearby Deer's Leap may have given the pond its current name. The earliest camps on the pond were constructed in the early twentieth century and were much cruder than some of their Cobbett's Pond counterparts. According to Rural Oasis, some of the names of the early camps included: "The Only House on the Beach," "Recreation," and "Peace-haven." By the mid-1970s, there were almost five dozen seasonal summer camps on the shore of Rock Pond. Due to its relatively small size, much of the fishing and travel done on the pond was via canoe and rowboat as opposed to the motorboats that were commonplace on Cobbett's Pond by the mid-twentieth century. However, like Cobbett's Pond, summer tourism at Windham's ponds eventually diminished, leaving only memories and photos as reminders of the heyday of Rock Pond.
Fallen tree leaning against a summer camp on Rock Pond
