The longest place name in America, and a country-music amphitheater running since 1946.
Webster Lake, officially Lake Chargoggagoggmanchauggagoggchaubunagungamaugg, is a 1,442-acre lake in Worcester County, Massachusetts, best known for carrying the longest place name in the United States and for Indian Ranch, a lakeside amphitheater that has hosted country and rock acts continuously since 1946.
Webster Lake sits in the town of Webster, in the southeastern corner of Worcester County, Massachusetts, about 18 miles south of the city of Worcester and near the Connecticut border. Formed by three joined basins — North Pond, Middle Pond, and South Pond — it covers roughly 1,442 acres. Before European settlement the lake was known to the Nipmuc people as Chaubunagungamaugg, meaning "fishing place at the boundary." Industrialist Samuel Slater built a cotton mill on its shores starting in 1812, and the town, incorporated in 1832, was named for statesman Daniel Webster. Today the lake is best known for its 45-letter full name — commonly cited as the longest place name in the United States, with entry signs on Route 12 spelling it out — and for Indian Ranch, a lakeside outdoor amphitheater that has hosted country and rock acts since 1946. The widely repeated "you fish your side, I'll fish my side" translation of the name is a 1921 newspaper invention, not real etymology; the historically grounded meaning centers on a fishing place at a boundary. Downtown Webster carries the area's cafés, pharmacy, and grocery store, with Southbridge, about 8 miles away, home to the region's main hospital campus.
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