No, This Maine Pond Didn’t Get Its Unique Name the Way You Think

What's the first thing you think of when you hear the name "Chemo Pond?" For most, it's probably the shortened version of "chemotherapy," which is obviously used to fight cancer. So, knowing chemotherapy is basically fighting cancer with chemicals, the first immediate thought is that Chemo Pond in Bradley is just a cesspool of toxic chemicals, disguised as a pond.

In fact, while Reddit user SyntheticCorners28 didn't say it was full of chemicals, it was immediately where that commenter went when trying to explain why it's called, Chemo Pond, citing "It's a true pond, I don't swim in chemo. We all call it chemo like chemical..." -- this was in response to a question posed by Reddit user hiddenmonkey58.

So, why exactly is Chemo Pond named, well, Chemo Pond?

According to the Bradley History Book, published on June 1, 1985, it was originally known as Nichols Pond, but started being referenced as Chemo Pond in reference to the Native American term for "big bog." It's not exactly known when Nichols Pond became Chemo Pond, but it was no later than 1871, since the Bradley History Book contains a song called "Lake Chemo" written by James W. Rowe in that year.

In fact, not only was there a song written about Chemo Pond, but there was also a tale written about it by Archer L. Grover called Henry Myers - The Chemo Pond Hermit. So, to say there's a lot of history and culture surrounding Chemo Pond is an understatement. Plus, there's apparently a ridiculous amount of fish in it.

25 fish?! In ONE afternoon?! INSANITY (but also a ton of fun.) According to Maine.gov, you'll mainly catch bass, pickerel, and white perch when fishing Chemo Pond, but there are numerous other fish present too, including sunfish, minnow, and even eel.

Vrbo also has a ton of rentals available on Chemo Pond, too, if you're looking for something fun to do this summer, now that you know you wouldn't be fishing or swimming in toxic sludge, regardless of the name. I mean, it's not like it's the Charles River in Boston or something... 😅