Welcome to the
	Smith Pond Bog
	Sanctuary
	Return to Sanctuaries

About the Smith Pond Bog Sanctuary

The Smith Pond Bog Sanctuary in Hopkinton is a 55-acre preserve owned by the Audubon Society of New Hampshire. Smith Pond is what is left of a much larger pond that once occupied all of the present swampy area between Routes I-89 and 202 & 9. It is a so-called "kettle hole" pond formed perhaps 12,000 years ago during the last of the glacial retreats, when a block of ice broke off the glacier, was partially or wholly buried, and later melted. In most cases, such depressions were below ground water level and so, became ponds.

Early Native Americans, as well as settlers, hunted, fished and trapped around Smith Pond for hundreds of years. In later times, townspeople had more uses for the area, cutting ice from the pond in winters and peat from the bog in summers.

Smith Pond Bog even had its "darker side," as the following quotation reveals: ". . . The very name of Smith's Pond caused a shudder to run through the women of the neighborhood, it being surrounded on all sides by a shaking bog through which a long pole could be run down without touching bottom. The lake, too, being very black, had the reputation of having no bottom. It contained very large turtles and was pretty well stocked with pickerel and catfish, and swarmed with shiners as well as water snakes and enormous bullfrogs. Tales were told, and believed by the credulous, of monsters appearing from time to time from the inky depths uttering blood-curdling sounds. . ."*

ASNH acquired the sanctuary in 1976 from Louise C. Sleeper of Sanbornton. The trails were planned and cut by Tudor Richards, ASNH president and director (1953-1982). Production and printing of this guide is partially funded by the Oleanda Jameson Trust.

Enjoy your visit!

*From Colby's Pond and the Golden Gate, by Richard Hall Gilman, as told to his wife Elizabeth Gilman in 1930, and edited by Frances Bowen.

There are a few characteristics of Smith Pond Bog which keep it from being a "bog." In the strictest use of the word, most notably the fact that it has an inlet and an outlet, the presence of which brings nutrients and oxygen, and flushes the acid water.

The influx of fresh water into Smith Pond allows it to have a greater number of wildlife species than true bogs. For example, the presence of warm water fish, such as Pickerel and Catfish, would not be possible in an acidic, low oxygen environment.

On the other hand, some species which are common in true bogs are not at all common here at Smith Pond Bog, such as the Tamarack.

The presence of an outlet also alters Smith Pond Bog's features. One of the most significant characteristics of true bogs is that during the entire period of growth, drainage deteriorates consistently. Smith Pond Bog has always had an outlet which allows for drainage, thus slowing the build up of peat and the progressive succession. Beaver have influenced the natural sequence by damming the outlet, but the natural course of water remains.

After examining all of the unique features of kettle hole bogs, including their creation and evolution, there is little doubt that Smith Pond Bog fulfills many criteria. Without question, it certainly affords an excellent opportunity to examine bog life close at hand.