100 DAYS OF CENTRAL MASS FEATURES BIG ALUM LAKE
Big Alum Lake is Sturbridge's most prestigious lake. Real estate is highly desired on this lake and not regularly available. Big Alum is about 195 acres with an average depth of 23 feet and a maximum depth of 45 feet. It is fully recreational and accessible mostly through residential locations. There is no public beach on this lake. There is a walking trail that is about 3 miles long that goes around the lake. Located on the southern end of the lake is a public boat launch with parking for about 20 cars. The lake is approximately 85% developed with houses and cottages so there is very limited shoreline for fishing, although fishing, swimming and boating are popular out here. Each spring the lake is stocked with rainbow and brown trout. Small-mouth bass can also be caught in Big Alum. If you enjoy ice fishing, good sized chain pickerel can be caught. Looking for some real estate on the lake? Contact us today to see what is available and to be put on an email list to be notified as soon as any homes come on the market for this highly desirable lake.
Hi Kathleen - Looks like a beautiful lake, but what is the significance of the name? Alum is the stuff that they use in styptic pencils that dries and raws wounds (or mouths) into a sharp pucker. Clearly, that alum is not nthe water or I doubt if there would be fishi there. I'd be interested if you know the story behind the name.
Hi Susan,
I've been reading up on the origin of Big Alum, which goes back a long time ago, and haven't found the exact reason they named it that. I did find that it originated as Lake Pookhookapaug which means "pond where we smoked tobacco" and that Big Alum in Native Indian means "a dog". Here's a great story about it's origin (the scientific and non-scientific stories behind it): http://bigalum.org/histchap1.html for anyone who wants to know more about it.
Sincerely,
Kathleen
Hey, Kathleen - I'm glad I checked back. That was a fun read. At first that story sounded like the old traveling salesman and the farmer's daughter, but then it turned into Romeo and Juliet! As for the name, I wonder if they use alum in the mining of silver. Oh well, that's not as much fun as the legend of the lake itself.
Glad you enjoyed it! It was a very interesting read. That's what I like about doing these blogs, you learn something new all of the time!
Sincerely,
Kathleen