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| Mashapaug Pond | |
|---|---|
  Mashapaug Pond  Mashapaug Pond | |
| Location | Rhode Island, United States |
| Coordinates | 41°47′40″N 71°26′01″W / 41.79444°N 71.43361°W |
| Surface area | 114 acres (46 ha) |
| Settlements | Providence |
Mashapaug Pond is the largest freshwater pond in the city of Providence, Rhode Island.
Over the past four hundred years, Mashapaug Pond has been a site of indigenous settlement and displacement, deforestation and agriculture, urban and industrial development, remediation and activism.[1] The pond was a significant site to Indigenous people for centuries before and after 1636, when the Europeans settled in Rhode Island. After King Philip's War a large number of the Narragansett people were either killed or driven out of the region. One of the small surviving communities happened to be the native community at Mashapaug, which transformed into the West Elmwood neighborhood.[2]
Over the next couple of centuries, the West Elmwood neighborhood became the city's first racially integrated neighborhood. In the 1960s, the redevelopment agency of Providence partook in the nation's claimed that areas around Mashapaug Pond, including the West Elmwood neighborhood, was blighted and substandard.[3] As a result, the West Elmwood neighborhood was eliminated and the area surrounding Mashapaug Pond was renamed the Reservoir neighborhood.
During the 19th century, the Gorham Manufacturing Company built its 37-acre plant on the shore of the pond. From 1890–1967 Gorham played a vital role in the development of the city of Providence and of the American decorative arts but also poisoned Mashapaug Pond.
Today, due to surface water run-off and industrial discharges, Mashapaug Pond is extremely toxic. The former Gorham location, which includes the pond's cove, are contaminated with toxic metals, solvents and combustion waste products. In an effort to raise awareness about the pond and its condition, a nonprofit called the Urban Pond Procession (now UPP Arts) was established.[4] UPP Arts used the arts and the humanities to advocate for environmental issues in Rhode Island and particularly in Mashapaug Pond.
- ^ Rudin, Sofia (May 2017). "Metals in Mashapaug Pond". Brown Digital Repository. Retrieved 6 December 2019.
- ^ Dove, Dawn, and Holly Ewald. Through Our Eyes : an Indigenous View of Mashapaug Pond. [Raleigh, NC]: Lulu Publishing, 2012.
- ^ Mashapaug Pond redevelopment plan for the Huntington Expressway Industrial Park. Providence, R.I.: Providence Redevelopment Agency. 1960.
- ^ "UPP Arts". Retrieved 2019-11-12.