• Contact Us
  • Events calendar
Entering Swellesley
Pinnacle, Wellesley

The Swellesley Report

More than you really want to know about Wellesley, Mass.

  • Advertise
  • Contribute
  • Eat
  • Wellesley Square
  • School
  • Top 10 things to do
  • Embracing diversity
  • Charities/Community
  • Arts
  • Camp
  • Kids
  • Environment/Sustainability
  • Events
  • About us
  • Subscribe
  • Natick Report
  • COVID-19
  • Letters to the Editor
  • Bulletin Board
Needham Bank, Wellesley
Boston Sports Institute, Wellesley

A real low point for Wellesley: County Rock

February 17, 2018 by Bob Brown Leave a Comment

Wellesley County Rock
County Rock can be seen on the far left, rising above the Charles River (sorry, didn’t have a zoom lens handy while sloshing around the trails)

 

Wellesley has its share of what pass for steep landmarks from Maugus Hill in Centennial Reservation to the town’s high point at Peirce Hill Reservoir (337.1 ft.). But do you know Wellesley’s lowest point?

You can find it in the Charles River along the Leo J. Martin golf course at a boulder dubbed County Rock that marks the intersection of Wellesley, Weston and Newton, as well as the point at which Middlesex and Norfolk counties meet.Wellesley Trails map

 

According to the Town of Wellesley’s latest annual report, County Rock stands a stone throw from a footbridge at the golf course at an elevation of 39.56 feet above mean sea level.

Here’s how a 1971 publication from the Wellesley Historical Society describes the low low landmark:

County Rock
From Four Tours of Historic Wellesley

And going further back, with assistance from researchers at Wellesley Free Library, an 1889 travel tome dubbed King’s Handbook of Newton, included this passage that indicates what a sporty landmark County Rock has been in the past:

“In June they have the annual races, in Rob-Roys, shells, birches, pleasure-boats, and tubs; and if the stroke-oars do not land them among the reedy margins, or the canoes do not spill out their solitary crews, the boats usually reach their goals before nightfall. For the Newton navy resembles that of the United States, in that it is more to be counted on for contemplative comfort and sedate conviviality, than for indecent and unseemly speed ; and the high and shadowy wooded banks, and cool nooks between the islands, and beautiful riparian estates, invite to philosophic drifting and a placid lengthening of the happy hours of the voyage. The boating-ground is about five miles long, from Waltham up to where the rapids come down near County Rock, a midstream boulder on which the Norfolk and Middlesex county lines converge ; and one may row across Maple Bay, and Crehore Bay, or drift along the rippling reaches of Lake St. Francis, with easy oar.”

Anyone have any colorful anecdotes about this rock? Let us know [email protected]

MORE: Wellesley’s coolest rocks

print

Share

Filed Under: Outdoors

Leave a Reply Cancel reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *

Linden Square, Wellesley
Fran's Flowers
Clearhaven Recovery

Tip us off…

Please send tips, photos, ideas to [email protected]
Wellesley Square ad
Wellesley, Jesamondo
Admit Fit, Wellesley
Sexton test prep
Feldman Law
Fay School, Southborough
Wellesley Theatre Project
The Moving-Pictures Company
image of Coronavirus Disease 2019 (COVID-19)
covid vaccine
  • Facebook
  • Instagram
  • Twitter
Never miss a post with our free daily Swellesley Report email
Name: 
Your email address:*
Please wait...
Please enter all required fields Click to hide
Correct invalid entries Click to hide

You can subscribe for free, though we appreciate any contribution that supports our independent journalism.

Click here to read our Natick Report

Natick Report

Most Read Posts

  • Newton-Wellesley Orthopedic Walk-In—no appointment needed
  • Wellesley summer camp listings 2021 — find the experience of a lifetime
  • Wellesley Give & Take update
  • Wellesley Police log: Sneaking into stables; pricey check scheme; neighbor throwdown
  • Beyond Wellesley: Swellesley goes to Eastie

Events Calendar

« April 2021 » loading...
S M T W T F S
28
29
30
31
1
2
3
4
5
6
7
8
9
10
11
12
13
14
15
16
17
18
19
20
21
22
23
24
25
26
27
28
29
30
1
Wed 21

Wellesley Select Board online office hours

April 21 @ 8:30 am - 10:00 am
Wed 21

Select Board office hours

April 21 @ 8:30 am - 10:00 am
Thu 22

Ben Franklin, The Early Years: Wellesley Historical Society online lecture

April 22 @ 7:00 pm - 8:00 pm
Sat 24

WellesleyRocks concert: Shira Doron & Patrick Hayden; Bigfoot acoustic

April 24 @ 12:00 pm - 2:00 pm
Mon 26

Virtual lab tour, pooled COVID testing

April 26 @ 6:30 pm - 7:30 pm

Pages

  • Guidelines for Letters to the Editor
  • How to submit your flyer for the Community Bulletin Board page
  • Wellesley Community Bulletin Board
  • Wellesley coronavirus (COVID-19) updates
  • Wellesley’s 7 official scenic roads
  • Wellesley, Mass., fishing spots
  • Wellesley Choral Society
  • Wellesley College Notable Alumnae
  • Wellesley College, Wellesley, Mass.
  • Wellesley outdoor art gallery
  • Wellesley restaurants offering take-out and delivery
  • Wellesley, Massachusetts restaurant — Amarin of Thailand

Recent Comments

  • Deborah Brown on Wellesley library to open temporary location in the former Talbot’s space, and more details
  • Deborah Brown on Kitty-in-a-capsule lands in Wellesley Square
  • debra start on Kitty-in-a-capsule lands in Wellesley Square
  • Kelly on Wellesley library to open temporary location in the former Talbot’s space, and more details
  • Abby on Beyond Wellesley: Swellesley goes to Eastie

Links we like

  • Great Runs
  • Jack Sanford: Wellesley's Major League Baseball Star
  • Taquitos.net
  • Tech-Tamer
  • The Wellesley Wine Press
  • Universal Hub
  • Wellesley Sports Discussion Facebook Group

Categories

  • 2021 Town Election (21)
  • Animals (389)
  • Antiques (48)
  • Art (545)
  • Beyond Wellesley (31)
  • Books (346)
  • Business (1,383)
  • Camp (3)
  • Careers/jobs (46)
  • Churches (74)
  • Clubs (211)
  • Construction (282)
  • Dump (114)
  • Education (2,923)
    • Babson College (244)
    • Bates Elementary School (14)
    • Dana Hall School (29)
    • Fiske Elementary School (6)
    • Hardy Elementary School (33)
    • Hunnewell Elementary School (34)
    • MassBay (49)
    • Schofield Elementary School (20)
    • Sprague Elementary School (19)
    • St. John School (1)
    • Tenacre Country Day School (9)
    • Upham Elementary School (30)
    • Wellesley College (600)
    • Wellesley High School (895)
    • Wellesley Middle School (195)
  • Embracing diversity (52)
  • Entertainment (729)
  • Environment (680)
  • Fashion (134)
  • Finance (13)
  • Fire (144)
  • Food (328)
  • Fundraising (565)
  • Gardens (137)
  • Government (426)
    • 2020 Town Election (47)
  • Health (761)
    • COVID-19 (153)
  • History (361)
  • Holidays (367)
  • Houses (121)
  • Humor (45)
  • Kids (821)
  • Law (3)
  • Letters to the Editor (12)
  • Media (63)
  • METCO (4)
  • Military (3)
  • Morses Pond (97)
  • Music (546)
  • Natick Report (28)
  • Neighbors (252)
  • Obituaries (62)
  • Outdoors (589)
  • Parenting (60)
  • Police (704)
    • Crime (358)
  • Politics (545)
  • Real estate (294)
  • Religion (127)
  • Restaurants (306)
  • Safety (143)
  • Scouts (1)
  • Senior citizens (111)
  • Shopping (123)
  • Sports (907)
  • STEM (107)
  • Technology (159)
  • Theatre (383)
  • Town Meeting (22)
  • Transportation (212)
  • Travel (12)
  • Uncategorized (1,212)
  • Volunteering (320)
  • Weather (169)
  • Wellesley Election 2019 (21)
  • Wellesley Free Library (260)
  • Wellesley's Wonderful Weekend (5)
RSS Feed Icon Subscribe to RSS Feed

© 2021 The Swellesley Report
Site by Tech-Tamer · Login