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Turtle Trail 1

Come and follow the Turtle Trail to learn about the history and nature of Martins Pond.

• Martins Pond was formed during the last Ice Age, 11 thousand years ago. The basin the pond occupies was formed by a huge ice block left here to melt. The ice block was left here because it was wedged between two eskers on the North and East, and a small drumlin to the southwest. The flat wetlands to the south were created by outwash as the ice block melted.
• People arrived here 6,000 years ago. These nomadic Indians moved often, following fish and game. They traveled upriver to Martins Pond from the coast in log canoes made by burning and hollowing out tree trunks. Evidence of a charcoal pit, tools, and arrowheads were found at the Eaton Site near the Skug River inlet of Martins Pond. Indians also used a slash and burn agricultural system requiring them to move as fields were worn out. The Massachusetts tribe learned to use fish as fertilizer to extend the use of the fields. Indians may have grown corn, beans and pumpkins near the pond.
• In 1600 the first European settlers came to North Parish (North Reading), and described it as "a bear infested swamp." In 1644 English settlers of Lynn chose the name Redding for the lands known as Reading, North Reading, and Wakefield. It may be no coincidence that the small inland town of Reading, England defeated the Royal Army that same year in a battle over taxes.
• The Meadow Grant of 1647 gave lots of 5 to 30 acres to early settlers. William Martin received 14 acres. Meadowlands were highly prized for their naturally growing hay. Mr. Martin, a farmer, raised grain for his livestock. He was a farmer, surveyor, and town selectman in 1653. His 188 acre farm near the pond led to the pond being called Martin's Pond. By 1686 small pox plagues reduced the Indian tribe to less than 100. David Kunkshamooshaw then sold the remaining Indian lands for $55. Many colonists had already settled on Indian land. By 1713 North Reading's economy was largely dairy farming. There were roughly 48 families, and 300 cows.
• From the 1700's to 1850 the town's population stayed around 500. The Malden-Essex turnpike (now Route 28) was laid out in 1806 as a hard packed, gravel road. It was the main highway between Boston, Lawrence and New Hampshire until Route 93 was built in the 1950's. The Salem & Lowell Railroad along the same route was opened August 1, 1850, with "Sailor Boy" the first locomotive assigned to the route. By 1870 the town's population doubled to 1,000. Mr. Halley built a log cabin on the North ridge, beginning a community centered around the pond.

Major funding for the Turtle Trail project was provided by the Martins Pond Association. Special thanks to the North Reading Business Association and the North Reading Park and Recreation Department. This project was made possible in part by a grant from the Lake and Pond Grant Program administered by the Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management.

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