Every Lake
Dorothy Pond
Called South Pond until colonial records renamed it Dorothy — no one recorded why.
- 5 ft · first step
- 9 ft
- 14 ft
- 18 ft
- 23 ft
- 28 ft · bottom
About Dorothy Pond
Dorothy Pond sits entirely within Millbury, Massachusetts, in Worcester County, roughly four hundred feet above sea level. Colonial surveyors first recorded it as South Pond; by the time the town's proprietors kept their books, it appears as Dorothy Pond, though no record explains the change. It lies in the northern part of Millbury, between the old road to Worcester and the tracks of the Boston and Albany Railroad. It is the only body of water of any real size lying wholly inside the town's boundaries, a distinction that shaped how residents farmed and built around it for three centuries.
Today a dam holds the pond near Riverlin Street, and paddlers put in car-top kayaks and canoes close by. Anglers work the shoreline and open water through the season, and in winter the pond freezes over for skating. At about 131 acres with roughly three miles of shoreline, it stays small enough to cross by canoe in an afternoon. Millbury and neighboring Sutton residents have used it this way for generations — a mill town's pond rather than a resort lake, a short drive down the old road from Worcester.
- 6 depth layers, each step engraved with its depth in feet
- Compass rose, title block with coordinates, max depth and area; keyhole hanger on the back
Turn it in your hands
Live 3D of the actual cut files — drag to orbit, pinch to zoom. Every road you see is engraved on the real thing.
Viewer not showing? Open it full screen.
Dorothy Pond depth chart, in wood
This is a Dorothy Pond depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 5 ft, 9 ft, 14 ft, 18 ft, 23 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 28 ft. The lake covers about 0.2 square miles. The shape of the bottom is the real one from published soundings, so anglers recognise their drop-offs and points.
A Dorothy Pond map for the wall — or a gift
Most of these go to a cabin wall, a lake house entry, or a home office; a lot are gifts — the family that has been on Dorothy Pond for three generations, the retirement move, the first boat. The 12-inch is the desk-and-shelf size; the 24- and 30-inch boards read across a room. Add a line under the title and star your place on the shore, and it becomes the map of your Dorothy Pond.
Dorothy Pond map — the details
How big is the map?
Four sizes: 12, 17, 24 and 30 inches on the long side, from $149. Every size is cut from the same depth data of Dorothy Pond; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Dorothy Pond is cut layer by layer from published bathymetric soundings — each layer of birch is a depth contour, so the shape of the bottom is the real one, not decorative.
Can I add my own place on it?
Yes. At checkout you can add a line under the title (a family name, a cabin name, a year) and star the spot on the shore that matters to you.
How long does it take?
Made to order in Waterford, Pennsylvania and shipped in 7–10 days; shipping is free in the lower 48.
Can you make a lake that isn't listed?
Any lake in the United States — we hold depth data for 104,419 of them. Search for yours; if it isn't built yet we build it when you order.
- 6 depth layers down to 28 ft
- 0.2 square miles of water
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
