A recent query from researcher, Carla Ceglieski, asked when was Little Hancock Pond renamed to Walden Pond? If so, when did that happen? 

An interesting question!

In all of the older USGS maps Sand Pond is called Little Hancock Pond. When and where the name changed to Sand Pond I do not have a clear answer. 

When Blanche Hirsch and Clara Altschul purchased the property now known as Camp Walden from the Pingree family in 1916, the waterbody is called Sand Pond in the deed.
In communication with 2 state agencies and USGS I have found that:

1910, 1911, 1940, 1963 maps label the waterbody Sand Pond.

In 1919 Maine legislature voted to approve the change of the pond’s name to Walden Pond in Chapter 12 Special Laws of Maine.

1966 maps to the present day label the waterbody Walden Pond because in 1964 field surveyors note that Sand Pond’s name officially changed to Walden Pond in 1919.

Whomever was responsible in this time period, whether it was the State of Maine or the owners of Camp Walden did not let the federal government’s agency’s know of the name change.

Look for more details of naming a waterbody and the history of Sand Pond in a future post!