BBB Destination - Lake Chargoggagoggmanchau- ggagoggchaubunagungamaugg

The lake's name comes from the language of the local Nipmuck people and means something close to "fishing place at the boundary". The lake was an important fishing spot on the borders of several tribal territories and lay at the nexus of many local paths of the Great Trail system. For these reasons the lake was often used as a meeting place.

Algonquian-speaking peoples had several different names for the lake as recorded on old maps and historical records. However, all of these were similar in part and had almost the same translation. Among other early names were "Chabanaguncamogue" and "Chaubanagogum".

A map of 1795, showing the town of Dudley, indicated the name as "Chargoggaggoggmanchoggagogg". A survey of the lake done in 1830 lists the name as Chaubunagungamaugg, the older name. The following year, both Dudley and Oxford, which adjoined the lake, filed maps listing the name as "Chargoggagoggmanchoggagogg".

Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, the extra-long version of the name, is the longest place name in the United States and 6th longest in the world. Its 15 uses of "g" are the most instances of any letter in a word. The name also contains 9 instances of the letter "a" (not including the "a" in "lake"), more than any other word in the English language.

This longest name means approximately "Englishmen at Manchaug territory at the meeting and fishing place at the boundary" and was applied in the 19th century when White people built factories in the area. "Manchaug" is derived from the "Monuhchogoks", a group of Nipmuck that lived by the lakeshore. Spelling of the long name varies, even on official signs near the lake. Webster schools use this long form of the name in various capacities.

Oh, and it's an attractive spot, too.


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