On August 14, 1939, the flooding of the Swift River Valley in Central Massachusetts commenced. Quabbin Reservoir was born.
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| View south from Soapstone Mountain - Petersham |
The four towns of Dana, Greenwich, Enfield and Prescott were dismantled and their residents displaced to build Quabbin Reservoir, an expansion of greater Boston's water supply.
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| Monson Turnpike - Old North Dana |
Miles of roads were abandoned, railroad lines torn up and train stations removed. Bridges were blasted away with explosives.
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| Shoreline - North Dana |
On June 22, 1946, Quabbin Reservoir reached full capacity for the first time: 412 billion gallons cupped within 181 miles of shoreline.
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| View near Doubleday Village |
The flooding of the valley resulted in sixty islands dotting the 24,529 surface acres of the reservoir.
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| Swampland in Petersham |
Wetlands make up 2,272 acres of the 79,215 total acres of the state-managed Quabbin watershed area.
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| Remnants of old Route 21 |
Quabbin Park opened in 1945. There are 22 miles of hiking trails within the park's boundaries, many following the route of formerly settled roads.
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| Wild columbine |
Several of the numbered gates found along the perimeter of its eighteen mile length provide public access to the Quabbin watershed. One of the most popular gates to hike is Gate 40, which leads to Dana town center.
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| Mount Zion and Mount L |
Shore fishing was first allowed at Quabbin on July 5, 1946. On May 27, 1952, the Quabbin reservoir was opened to anglers in boats.
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| View east from New Salem |
For loads of information on the Quabbin Reservoir and the Swift River Valley area, including more than fifty links to maps, history, photographs and directions, visit
EWM's,
The Quabbin Page.
As always, thanks for stopping by and take care.
Other links of interest on
EWM:
The Quabbin Chronology: A Timeline of the Swift River Valley
Quabbin Gate 40: The Dana-Greenwich Road
Quabbin Gate 40: Dana Town Common
Map: Hampshire County, Massachusetts, 1854
Quabbin Fishing/Boating Regulations 2010:
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/watersupply/watershed/quabfish.htm
Quabbin Visitor Center:
http://www.mass.gov/dcr/parks/central/quabbin.htm
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1 comment:
You've got quite a comprehensive blog here. Feel free to use some of my pictures and content of the Quabbin Valley at http://quabbinvalley.wordpress.com/. Please just source where they came from. Thanks
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