Turner's Pond, a tranquil freshwater pond within the Neponset River Watershed, is circled by a crushed stone pathway and set in a 26-acre park of woodlands and wetlands. Lots to see and explore! Check out the Joseph D. McNeil memorial flag pole, a large millstone, an enormous 5- trunk tree, springtime ducklings learning to swim, a stream-fed wetland area, and Pine Tree Brook nearby. Plant life includes goldenrod, cattails, water lilies, Queen Anne’s lace, and milkweed. Trees include oak, maple, willow, birch, beech, white pine, crabapple, and sumac. Invasive plants include Multiflora rose, purple loosestrife, and Canada thistle. Pine Tree Brook connects Turner’s Pond directly to the Neponset River, running parallel to the pond on one side and requiring a bridge.

Turner’s Pond, named after Jacob A. Turner, was largely a swamp in the 1870s. Early in the 1880s, he established The Milton Ice Company by dredging and damming “Aunt Sarah’s Brook,” near the junction of Canton Avenue and Brook Road, to create an ice pond that yielded about 4,500 tons of ice annually. The old dam was a landmark for many years. Eventually, Turner partnered with John Myers who operated Pope’s Pond for ice production. As late as the mid-1920s, ice was still harvested and stored in sheds on the Central Avenue end of Turners Pond. Jacob Turner’s son made Turner Pond famous! He was Roger F. Turner (1901-1993), an American figure skater who began his career skating on Milton’s ponds. His first major win was the 1926 U.S. Junior Men’s Championship and for seven consecutive years, 1928-1934, Turner was the U.S. Men’s Figure SkaPng Champion. The Town of Milton acquired Turner’s Pond and Popes Pond in the 1950-60s, both of which are now part of the town’s park system. A state grant and a large private donation created the stone pathway around the pond in 2008 to provide better access for those with disabilities and for strollers and baby carriages.

The main entrance and parking lot are on Central Avenue, not far from Pierce Middle School, or a short walk along the path from Glover Elementary School on Canton Avenue.