The original Nippo Lake Guardian: Sarah Nippo
Sarah Nippo's Rock at Nippo Lake
THE LEGEND OF SARAH NIPPO
(adapted from Sarah Nippo’s Rock, 1959, Margaret Flanders and A History Of Barrington, NH, 1966, Morton H. Wiggins)
Legend has it that hill-locked, clear sparkling Nippo Lake was named for a Native American princess, Sarah Nippo, who lived alone in a dug-out on the steep west side of the Lake in the 1700’s. Sarah’s name came from the word “nipe” which means “still water” and “pos” which means “great”. Barrington’s early settlers said she was about eight feet tall and lived on wild game and fish. In the summer she found wild berries, tuberous roots and many nut bearing trees to sustain herself. From birch trees she made her canoes and rocky ledges provided material for her darts, spears and tomahawks.
The Sarah Nippo story largely comes from George Buzzell whose farm was on the east side of the lake. He got the tale from his father, who got it from his father, and on back though the family, the first white settlers on Nippo. Every day Sarah could be seen fishing from the same spot on a large boulder that projected from the water catching her daily string of fish. Legend has it that the deep declivity (hole) on this boulder was worn away by Sarah’s constant sitting. Because of the current dam, the rock is no longer visible from the shore. When the water is at a certain level, it is possible to paddle a canoe through the hollow space in the center of the boulder. Sarah is believed to have lived over 100 years, though no one knows for sure when she was born, how she came to live at Nippo or when she died.
When he was a young boy George heard strange sounds coming from the pond which bordered their homestead. When he suggested that it might be a loon or a wild animal, his father said “that’s old Sarah Nippo calling for rain”, and soon after the rain came, filling the pond to overflowing. Sarah Nippo is said to have “cast a lasting charm on the finny denizens in this clear spring-fed pond”: Sarah was the guardian of the lake.
More recent lore adds that Bob Soucy (formerly, Nippo CT) found a 9-foot oar in the lake he figured must be Sarah’s. When they were eight years old Brendt Corcoran (Harlan Drive) and Tyler Conroy (Flower Drive) claimed to find her lean-to poles on top of Nippo Hill. Sarah’s rock, as told by Betty Sinopoli (formerly, Flower Drive) is the big one up on the west side of the lake, up from the dam.
While there are no recorded documents, author Margaret Flanders speculated that "Any person who spends a little time at Nippo can’t help but being aware of Sarah as a real person and wonder about her mysterious vanishing and wonder just where her dug-out was located and how she lived through the long cold winter. One can’t help but feel a certain charm and peacefulness at Nippo, sometimes calm and tranquil, sometimes rough and disturbed as if in anger and it is very easy to imagine that Sarah is still watching over the lake which she must have loved.”
Sarah Nippo’s legacy is at the heart of the Nippo Lake Guardians, a fund-raising program to restore, preserve and protect Nippo Lake from the adverse impacts of development now and into the future.
(adapted from Sarah Nippo’s Rock, 1959, Margaret Flanders and A History Of Barrington, NH, 1966, Morton H. Wiggins)
Legend has it that hill-locked, clear sparkling Nippo Lake was named for a Native American princess, Sarah Nippo, who lived alone in a dug-out on the steep west side of the Lake in the 1700’s. Sarah’s name came from the word “nipe” which means “still water” and “pos” which means “great”. Barrington’s early settlers said she was about eight feet tall and lived on wild game and fish. In the summer she found wild berries, tuberous roots and many nut bearing trees to sustain herself. From birch trees she made her canoes and rocky ledges provided material for her darts, spears and tomahawks.
The Sarah Nippo story largely comes from George Buzzell whose farm was on the east side of the lake. He got the tale from his father, who got it from his father, and on back though the family, the first white settlers on Nippo. Every day Sarah could be seen fishing from the same spot on a large boulder that projected from the water catching her daily string of fish. Legend has it that the deep declivity (hole) on this boulder was worn away by Sarah’s constant sitting. Because of the current dam, the rock is no longer visible from the shore. When the water is at a certain level, it is possible to paddle a canoe through the hollow space in the center of the boulder. Sarah is believed to have lived over 100 years, though no one knows for sure when she was born, how she came to live at Nippo or when she died.
When he was a young boy George heard strange sounds coming from the pond which bordered their homestead. When he suggested that it might be a loon or a wild animal, his father said “that’s old Sarah Nippo calling for rain”, and soon after the rain came, filling the pond to overflowing. Sarah Nippo is said to have “cast a lasting charm on the finny denizens in this clear spring-fed pond”: Sarah was the guardian of the lake.
More recent lore adds that Bob Soucy (formerly, Nippo CT) found a 9-foot oar in the lake he figured must be Sarah’s. When they were eight years old Brendt Corcoran (Harlan Drive) and Tyler Conroy (Flower Drive) claimed to find her lean-to poles on top of Nippo Hill. Sarah’s rock, as told by Betty Sinopoli (formerly, Flower Drive) is the big one up on the west side of the lake, up from the dam.
While there are no recorded documents, author Margaret Flanders speculated that "Any person who spends a little time at Nippo can’t help but being aware of Sarah as a real person and wonder about her mysterious vanishing and wonder just where her dug-out was located and how she lived through the long cold winter. One can’t help but feel a certain charm and peacefulness at Nippo, sometimes calm and tranquil, sometimes rough and disturbed as if in anger and it is very easy to imagine that Sarah is still watching over the lake which she must have loved.”
Sarah Nippo’s legacy is at the heart of the Nippo Lake Guardians, a fund-raising program to restore, preserve and protect Nippo Lake from the adverse impacts of development now and into the future.
Help Restore Nippo Lake
You can help to restore Nippo Lake to the pristine waters used by Sarah Nippo. Become a Nippo Lake Guardian today!