(Learned Pond Beach at the intersection of Brigham Road and Shawmut Terrace)
Many New England towns claim to have treasure hidden in secret places by the famed pirate Captain William Kidd. Framingham not only makes the same claim, but also boasts a legend and a poem written by a local writer of romantic novels and flowery verse. In 1897, Main Street resident Clara Augusta Trask published the Legend of Learned’s Pond, detailing the sinking of a chest of gold by the notorious Kidd. According to the legend, if you want to recover the treasure, all you have to do is come back here late at night with two other people, form a triangle with your bodies, then, in perfect silence, after moving in a straight line towards the chest as it rises from the water, lay an iron key on it. But, the task is only for the strong of heart, for
Captain Kidd, who sailed and sailed, and spied three ships from Spain
Is watching still his treasures hid on land and on the main,
And if you break the magic spell laid on this chest of gold
The pirate’s ghost will drag you down in Learned’s waters cold.
Framingham does lay claim to one pirate, Joseph Bradish, who was born near Sudbury in 1672. At age 26, Bradish found himself a Pirate captain of the ship Adventure after the crew mutinied off the island of Borneo. Bradish sailed the ship back to New England where its valuables were sold and the ship was scuttled. The law finally caught up with Bradish and he was thrown in jail in Boston in April, 1699. In true pirate fashion he escaped with the help of his cousin, who was the jailer, his cousin’s beautiful maid, and his one-eyed companion Tee Witherly. The trio was caught near Saco, Maine and returned to Boston. There Bradish’s cellmate was the legendary Captain Kidd, which may explain how the Learned’s Pond legend came about. Bothe men were brought to London to meet their fate, death by hanging.