Contributed by Joe Stewart

This is the second in a three-part series about Wrentham’s dams.

Crocker Pond Dam forms a roughly 17-acre pond within the 122-acre park situated next to Myrtle St. and Washington St. (Route 1). 

According to Greg Stahl, longtime Wrentham resident and chairman of the town’s historical commission, the pond was originally the site of grist and sawmills. In the early 1900s, the Crocker family of Brookline purchased the property and restored the pond. They also built a summer camp on the property, which was used by children from Boston and Brookline. The Crocker family donated the property to the town of Wrentham in 1988. The town has since developed the property into a park, which is open to the public.

Crocker Pond is fed by several streams and brooks, and it drains into Lake Mirimichi, which is a major source of drinking water for the city of Attleboro.  Crocker Pond is also the upper watershed for Wrentham’s well number 4, which is a ground water well, not a surface water well. Wrentham and Attleboro have a long-standing partnership to protect Crocker Pond. The two work together to manage the pond’s watershed, to prevent pollution, and to provide public access to the pond for recreation.

Crocker Dam, which forms Crocker Pond, and the land and surface water formed by the dam, are owned by Attleboro. According to Kourtney Allen, Attleboro’s Water Department Superintendent, Crocker Dam was deeded from Wrentham to Attleboro to secure backup water for the city as the water in the dam can be released to flow into Lake Mirimichi. 

In 2018, the Metropolitan Area Planning Council (MAPC) released its “Community Resilience Building Summary of Findings” for Wrentham, which identified Crocker Dam, along with Eagle Dam and Red Dam, as vulnerabilities for the town because of existing problems, ongoing maintenance requirements, and possible future climatic conditions.

Similar to Eagle Dam which forms Eagle Pond, Crocker Dam is a low hazard dam in poor condition and needs significant repairs. Attleboro has been planning to replace the dam for several years and has budgeted ~$250K for a Phase 1 Design, Permitting, and Bidding project possibly in fiscal year 2028. Allen also noted that a very high priority project, replacement of one of their two water treatment facilities, is planned to begin in 2026 and budgeted for between $25M and $30M. 

Next month we’ll review Red Dam, the dam that forms Lake Pearl. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation Office of Dam Safety has issued a certificate of non-compliance and dam safety order because Red Dam, a large dam, has been found to be structurally deficient and in poor condition with significant hazard potential.