title: Walker Pond
text: # Walker Pond
  
  Walker Pond is a body of water in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, situated off Route 49 on the way to Wells State Park.
  
  ## History
  
  The pond took its name from settler Rachael "Walker" Smith, a local resident who raised twelve Italian children there. (The house, since demolished, was called the Perez Walker House in memory of Nathaniel Walker's grandson, a prominent townsman.) In 1894, the town of Sturbridge voted to rename the pond Tantousque Lake, from an Indian word meaning "located between two breast-shaped hills." The traditional Indian name did not, however, stick.
  
  ## Fishing
  
  According to a 1980 survey, the pond contains largemouth bass, chain pickerel, yellow perch, white perch, bluegill, pumpkinseed, brown bullhead, white suckers, and golden and bridled shiners. It is a popular place for ice fishing.
  
  