The Phantom of Waltham Pond

by M.P. Pellicer | Stranger Than Fiction Stories
It was the winter of 1894, and in Waltham, Massachusetts many men were unemployed and eager to accept any job, however if the work was to be performed on the Walker estate there were no volunteers. One man said, "I would not undertake it again if they would give me the Walker Estate."

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Mary Sophia Walker (1839-1904)

The property in question was one of the finest in Massachusetts owned by two, wealthy maiden sisters. During the previous months they had employed a large force of men to work on the house, and improve the grounds.

One of the tasks was to draw off a large pond, and "it required the keeping of a gang at it all night." Come morning the entire crew walked off the job, however another gang was set to do the same work during the night. Before long they also quit and refused to return to the estate.

A local newspaper sent over a reporter to investigate what was going on. He interviewed the first men, and they said that at midnight they "saw the door of the boathouse on the banks of the pond open. A man emerged, with a red lantern, and row out onto the pond. By the lantern's light they recognized the face of a former owner of the estate, some time since deceased." Needless to say they didn't stop to see anymore and left right away. The second group of men did not know of the story, however they described the same thing.

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Harriet Sarah Walker (1844-1898)

THE HISTORY OF THE HOUSE & THE BOSTON BLUEBLOODS
In 1789, Christopher Gore (1758-1827) built a house on 300 acres. He had another large mansion on fashionable Bowdoin Square, where he and his wife Rebecca entertained lavishly. The house was badly damaged by fire in 1799.

The couple toured Europe for several months, and took note of the architecture for country estates, which they incorporated into the new house at Waltham, using the design of French and English architects. The new mansion was completed in 1806.

Christopher Gore served as Senator and Governor of Massachusetts. Known as Gore Place, the Charles River flowed close by, and it was referred to as the "Monticello of the North."

In 1856, the estate was bought by Theophilus Wheeler Walker (1813-1890), a Boston businessman involved in the textile industry. He was related to the Gores by marriage. He never married, and lived there alone for the first 10 years.

In 1861, his nieces Mary Sophia Walker (1839-1904) and Harriet Sarah Walker (1844-1898) came to live there after the death of their mother. He died in 1890 and bequeathed the estate to them.

These were the two spinster sisters who lived on the estate when the workman witnessed the apparition at the boathouse.

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Gore Place, postcard

Coincidentally or not, only a few months after Mary Walker died in 1904, a decomposed body was found in Walker's Pond. Even then it was known as the "Haunted Pond".

The body was so decomposed, identification could not be made. Then Mrs. Joseph Charbonneau came forward and claimed it was her husband, who had disappeared from his home on June, 18. For months his relatives knew nothing of what happened to him. On the strength of her statement, the body was buried under the name of Joseph Charbonneau. The dead man had a history of public intoxication, and committing petty thefts, so it was not a stretch of the imagination to believe he ended up dead due to some misadventure.

On November 5, when Mrs. Charbonneau was to have been paid the proceeds of her husband's life insurance a letter arrived. It stated that Mr. Charbonneau was living at the house of Margaret Toner, on Watson Avenue in Lowell. Considering that Margaret Toner had her own run-ins with the police for drunkenness, explains why he was staying there. What became of the duplicitous husband is unknown.​​​

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Gardens of the Gore-Walker Estate

Upon Mary Walker's death in 1904, she willed $1 million and the estate to the Episcopal Diocese of Boston as a site for a cathedral. By then the estate covered 128 acres located partly in Waltham and partly in Watertown. The idea of a cathedral did not meet with the approval of the board of trustees. 

In 1908, the diocese put the Gore-Walker estate up for auction. This included all the furnishings. A large chandelier that hung in the parlor sold for $125, and the billiard table which had unusual workmanship was also hotly bidded over. 

Part of the grounds were sold, and a sawmill was set up on the grounds. In the process they destroyed many of the trees.
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The house was sold to Frederick S. Symonds. After obtaining the property he convinced several prominent citizens to invest in a gold mine in the western United States. He secured a large amount of money, and then shortly thereafter he disappeared from Waltham. His creditors seized the property, and then the Episcopal diocese stepped in to protect their interest on the outstanding mortgage.

They sold it to Charles H. Metz, automobile manufacturer, who ended up turning it back to the bank.

After this it became the Waltham Country Club and Golf Course in 1921, which did well but only for a while. In 1934, the country club was once more up for auction, but they had no bidders. It was noted the place had proved a white elephant to all connected with it, since it was donated to the Episcopal diocese by Mary Walker. By 1936, it was taken over by the Watertown Historical Society, and the Gore Place Society of Waltham was housed there.

Present day, Gore Place offers guided tours.

A mystery that remained unsolved, was the identity of the man who was discovered in the pond, and buried in Charbonneau's place in 1904. Also who was the prior owner seen rowing on the pond on its ghostly reenactment; was it Christopher Gore or Theophilus Walker? 

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