Coes Pond and its surrounding area has a long history. It’s also a great place to visit in current times! Just what is Coes Pond in Worcester, Massachusetts all about?
Coes Pond is actually a reservoir. It was historically the location of the Coes Knife company. This company created all sorts of really high-end knives – and they invented the monkey wrench! Yes, the oh-so-useful monkey wrench originated right here in Worcester, Massachusetts.
Stearns Tavern, located alongside Coes Pond, was built way back in 1812. It used to be on Main Street in Worcester but has since been moved to its current location. It is managed by the Seven Hills foundation which works with people with mental and physical challenges. Seven Hills uses the facility to help train and support its individuals.
Coes Pond has a delightful accessible playground. There are walking trails. A bit down the road (unfortunately you have to walk along ACTUAL HIGH SPEED ROAD to get there) is a very nice non-swimming beach. You can make sand castles, go kayaking, and enjoy the proximity of the water, but it’s a non-swimming location.
There was a bit of a brou-ha-ha involving Coes Pond in 2022. There’s an apartment complex on Coes Pond named the Lakeside Apartments. As you might imagine, they’re on the lake. They also have a number of low income people in them. Somehow a locked-gate fence was installed preventing all of those residents from accessing the walking path or playground easily. Someone interested in using those locations had to walk ALL the way around the pond, out to Route 9, and back down Coes Street to get to the playground and trail. This even though there are two big parking lots right next to the playground so that external car-driving people could easily get to those locations.
The official in charge claimed the gate would be open for the summer months – which made no sense. Parks and playgrounds are delightful in the spring and fall, too.
After the locals complained about the situation, the gate was finally unlocked and opened. So that is good.
I didn’t take photos of the playground, as there were lots of little kids present, but it is really nice. Lots of soft surfaces and things to climb on.
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