The picture of Hopedale Pond at the top was taken on February 4, 2006, about halfway between Freedom Street and the Rustic Bridge. The ice was gone from there (near the remains of the dam left from the 1949 dredging project) all the way up. The rest of the ice was very thin, and as you can see in the other two pictures, taken near the bathhouse, it was pretty well gone there when I took those pictures on February 6. A cold spell after this brought more ice back to the pond, but it was completely free of it by March 14. This ties 1921 and 1953 for the earliest years for the ice to melt since Draper Corporation started recording the date in 1911 and continued through 1979. Click here to see the pond in icier times.                      Recent Pictures Menu          HOME