NUGGET #29
Burt’s Pond: 1. An 18th and early 19th Century name for Lake Mamanasco; first used in a 1793 deed; Benjamin Burt (1680-1759, the town’s first blacksmith) bought grist mill at lake outlet in 1742; after his death 1759, eldest son, Seaborn Burt (1706-1773, born on a ship bringing his family to Boston after being freed from captivity in Quebec, where they were taken by the French and Indians; came to Ridgefield as a child), operated it until his death in 1773; a few Burt properties were confiscated during Revolution because some Burts took sides with the British; in 1800s Burts had interests at Mamanasco – Joshua Burt was one of several mill owners in 1817, and Epenetus Burt had grist and saw mills at the lake in 1865; family continued to live in Mamanasco neighborhood until early 1900s; sometimes mispronounced Birch Pond. 2. Great Pond was also called Burt’s Pond during the late 18th Century — it is believed that Benjamin Burt had land there.
From Jack Sanders, Ridgefield Names.
