Every Lake
Lake Cochituate (Middle Pond)
The pond that piped drinking water to Boston for over a century, 1848 to 1951.
- 6 ft · first step
- 12 ft
- 19 ft
- 25 ft
- 31 ft
- 37 ft · bottom
About Lake Cochituate (Middle Pond)
Middle Pond is one of three connected basins that make up Lake Cochituate, a kettle system left behind when the last glacier retreated from this part of Massachusetts. In 1848 the city of Boston dammed and tapped the chain as its primary public water supply, running the Cochituate Aqueduct fourteen miles east to the Brookline Reservoir. The lake held that role for over a century, supplying the growing city until the Sudbury and Wachusett systems took over the load in the early twentieth century, with Cochituate staying in reserve service into the 1950s.
The lake sits between Natick, Framingham, and Wayland, towns that grew up along its shore as mill and farm communities before commuter rail linked them to Boston. In 1974 the state of Massachusetts converted the surrounding shoreline into Lake Cochituate State Park, opening boat ramps and swimming areas across all three basins. Middle Pond today draws sailors, anglers working for bass and pickerel, and paddlers crossing between the North and South basins, alongside families using the beaches Natick and Framingham maintain on its banks.
- 142 roads engraved around the shore, 14 of them labeled
- 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.
Lake Cochituate (Middle Pond) depth chart, in wood
This is a Lake Cochituate (Middle Pond) depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 6 ft, 12 ft, 19 ft, 25 ft, 31 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 37 ft. The lake covers about 0.5 square miles, and 142 shore roads are engraved around it. The shape of the bottom is the real one from published soundings, so anglers recognise their drop-offs and points.
A Lake Cochituate (Middle 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 Lake Cochituate (Middle 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 Lake Cochituate (Middle Pond).
Lake Cochituate (Middle 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 Lake Cochituate (Middle Pond); the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Lake Cochituate (Middle 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 37 ft
- 0.5 square miles of water
- 142 shore roads engraved, 14 named
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
