Humans have continuously occupied Waltham for 10,000 years. Native Americans used and managed the area's natural resources for their benefit - the Charles River for their fishing weirs, Hardy Pond for winter camping and ice fishing, the hills for lookouts, rocky outcrops for flint-making, the woods for hunting, and wetlands for collecting edible plants and medicines.

Beginning in the 1600s, Europeans appropriated the land for their own use, and began renaming the natural landmarks. Many of the names of Waltham's landmarks date back to the 17th century. Some names, like Hardy Pond, have changed over the years to reflect ownership. Other names have disappeared along with the natural landscape, such as wetlands which have been filled in.