52 NATURAL HISTORY AND TOPOGRAPHY OF GROTON, MASS. 



cavities, which were easily taken, and the inhabitants of the neighbor- 

 ing towns, as well as of Groton, came and carried off loads of them. 

 Where the water formerly issued from the pond, a small brook now 

 runs in, and the outlet is, at the place of disruption, called the " gulf." 

 The water finds its way into the old channel, two or three miles from 

 the pond, in a north-westerly direction from Dunstable meeting-house. 

 (Butler's History of Groton, pp. 246, 247.) 



The name of Buck Meadow, which has been in use for 

 more than two centuries, is firmly established, and the site 

 well known. The meadow lies near Lovewell's Pond, for- 

 merly within the limits of Groton, but now in Nashua ; and 

 Adams's mill stood undoubtedly at the outlet of this pond, 

 where there is a small water-power. This theory would tally 

 with the town-records; and furthermore a tradition is still 

 extant that there was once a mill in the neighborhood. Love- 

 well's Pond is much smaller than Massapoag, and at that time 

 probably had no designation. It was named after Captain 

 John Lovewell, who was killed by the Indians on May 8, 1725. 

 The following is the entry in the records : — 



May: 21. 168S The inhabitants of Groton Granted to Samull 

 Adams y L pond that lyes neare buck medow which hath its outlet 

 into the medow known by y" name of Tyngs Couee and the swampy 

 land adioyeng ther to prouided y e sd land do not exceed fifteen 



accers ; 



atest; Josiah Parker Clarke 



and sd adams hath liberty to drean the s' 1 pond at y v small brook that 



unes in to Tyng's Coue prouided sd Adames macks good all dameges 



that shall be don ther by 



There are now three small brooks running into Massapoag 

 Pond on the easterly side, and their fall is too great for any 

 one of them ever to have been the old outlet of the pond. 

 Furthermore, it would have been impossible by any of these 

 brooks to drain the pond (which even at the present time 

 covers 56 acres) without causing too great damage for Adams 

 to make good. There is no indication along their banks that 

 they have been much larger streams than they are to-day. 

 While the formation of the banks at the mouth of the pond, 



