Location: Uncle Venies Road and Skinequit Road
Size: 18.06 acres
Max Depth: 32 feet
Public Access: Path at end of Ocean Street
Recreation Activities: Fishing, Swimming, Kayaking
History: Skinequit Pond is a small kettle pond in South Harwich off Route 28. According to Josiah Paine, John Skinequit, a local native American, sold most of his territory on the east side of the pond, and the herring brook draining Skinequit Pond, to Jeremiah Howes of Yarmouth in 1692. Maps from the middle of the nineteenth century show a single house on the pond, belonging to “S. Eldridge,” or “Mrs. Eldridge,” which stood at the same location, on a knoll on the southeast side, until 2010. Alexis Julien, a member of the Wychmere Syndicate, a group of businessmen who developed and promoted Wychmere Harbor, purchased the Eldridge property and held it until 1921. Private houses surround the pond, which is also a habitat for bullfrogs, green frogs, painted and snapping turtles, freshwater mussels, and a variety of fish. In the spring, herring struggle up the herring run on Uncle Venies Road to spawn in the pond; after laying their eggs, the females return to the sea. The pond’s most infamous resident is a large snapping turtle affectionately named Uncle Venie who is estimated to be between 50 to 75 years old.
Neighborhood Association: Watershed Association of South Harwich https://skinequit.org/
We welcome your input on this Pond Profile. If you have questions or comments, please contact us at info@harwichwaters.org.