Basically the same text you'll find in
The Quabbin Chronology: A Timeline of the Swift River Valley, which progresses by year, the following might be interesting to folks who'd like to explore Quabbin history as it occurred month-by-month, January to December. Entries are ordered beginning with the earliest date of each month, except in cases in which only the month and year are known, those entries always coming first.
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JanuaryJanuary 1804 - The extension of the Belchertown and Greenwich Turnpike to the North Parish of Greenwich is approved by an act passed by the Massachusetts Congress.
January 1921 - The Metropolitan Water and Sewer Board, headed by X. Henry Goodnough, proposes the construction of a reservoir to meet Boston's water needs to be located in the Swift River Valley.
January 1, 1926 - X. Henry Goodnough's 'Rainfall in New England' is published by the New England Water Works Association. Goodnough Dike in Quabbin Park was named in his honor.
January 1, 1928 - X. Henry Goodnough's 'Rainfall in New England During the Storm November 3 and 4, 1927' is published by the New England Water Works Association.
January 10, 1737 - The Town of Hardwick settled. Formerly known as Lambstown after John Lamb, one of the men who bought the land from the Indians for twenty English pounds in 1686, the Indian name was 'Wombemesisecook.' Hardwick was incorporated in 1739.
January 12, 1825 - Frances Henry Underwood born in Enfield. Appointed American Consul to Glasgow in 1885, he was reappointed as Consul in 1893 by President Grover Cleveland, moving on to Edinburgh, Scotland. Underwood was also an
author and biographer. He was a friend of fellow Massachusetts native, the multi-faceted James Russell Lowell, and many other famous literary figures of the day.
January 14, 1736 - A land grant of 1,000 acres for the creation of the Quabbin territory is approved by the Massachusetts General Court.
January 14, 1939 - The Enfield Post Office closes, having served the town for 116 years.
January 15, 1743 - The Town of Pelham is incorporated.
January 25, 1787 - The battle at the
Springfield Armory during 'Shays's Rebellion,' led by Pelham resident and distinguished Revolutionary War Captain Daniel Shays, is fought. Three of Shays's men are killed.
January 26, 2001 - A Fitchburg pilot lands his small plane on the cold Quabbin ice, ending up in hot water with the law. The plane was stuck on the slushy surface for four days before being removed.
January 27, 1739 - The Town of Hardwick, comprised of the villages of Wheelwright, Gilbertville, Old Furnace and the Center, is incorporated. The Town of Holden is also incorporated on this day.
January 28, 1787 - Daniel Shays' army sets up camp in Pelham on their retreat from the Massachusetts militia in the final days of 'Shays's Rebellion.'
January 28, 1822 - The Town of Prescott incorporated. The area was originally known as Pelham's 'East Parish,' and was first established in 1786.
January 30, 1808 - The Town of West Boylston is incorporated.
January 30, 1939 - Death of Frank E. Winsor, highly-regarded original Chief Engineer of the Massachusetts District Water Supply Commission and head of the Quabbin Reservoir project. Winsor died while testifying in a court case.
January 31, 1751 - The Town of New Braintree is incorporated. The Indian name for the area was 'Winimisset.' It was originally known to settlers as 'Braintree Farms.'
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February
February 4, 1787 - 'Shays' Rebellion' ends with Pelham resident Daniel Shays' and his mens' defeat in Petersham by General Benjamin Lincoln's militia, who manage to surprise the group while they are preparing breakfast. Shays and some of his men escaped to Vermont, and were assisted by the patriot Ethan Allen, among others. Shays was later pardoned by Governor John Hancock.
February 4, 1842 - Dana increases its land area, acquiring acreage from Petersham and Hardwick through an act of the Legislature.
February 7, 1803 - 'The Belchertown and Greenwich Turnpike Corporation' is established by an act of the Massachusetts Legislature.
February 12, 1998 - The
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency attempts through court injunction to require the construction of a filtration plant to treat the water drawn from Wachusett Reservoir. The MWRA and Metropolitan District Commission (MDC) are reprieved in a
decision recorded May 5, 2000 in the United States District Court in Massachusetts.
February 14, 1938 - Greenwich has its last town meeting. This date is taken from Walter E. Clarke's book 'Quabbin Reservoir,' and differs from the date of April 21, 1938 given by the author J.R. Greene in his book 'The Day Four Quabbin Towns Died.'
February 15, 1816 - The Town of Enfield is incorporated, created from parts of the towns of Belchertown and Greenwich.
February 18, 1801 - Dana is incorporated as a town.
February 18, 1822 - Prescott holds its first town meeting.
February 25, 1795 -
New Salem Academy is established by legislative act. The school closes its doors in 1968.
February 27, 1906 - Wachusett Reservoir Dam on South Branch of
Nashua River in Clinton is finished. Construction on the 114 foot high dam was begun in 1897. The Quabbin and Wachuset Reservoirs are linked by a 25 mile long aqueduct, and supply water to the residents of Boston, and other Massachusetts cities and towns.
February 29, 1804 - 'The Petersham and Monson Turnpike' is established by an act of the Massachusetts Legislature. The toll road ran from the Fifth Massachusetts Turnpike in Athol to Monson, crossing the Sixth Massachusetts Turnpike west of Greenwich Village.
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March
March 1931 - The aqueduct connecting the Ware River and Wachusett Reservoir is completed.
March 3, 1927 - R. Nelson Molt assumes duties as Secretary of the Metropolitan District Water Supply Commission.
March 4, 1816 - Enfield holds first town meeting.
March, 7, 1938 - Dana holds its last town meeting.
March 9, 1939- Karl R. Kennison takes helm as Chief Engineer of project after the death of Frank E. Winsor. Stanley M. Dore replaces him as Assistant Chief Engineer.
March 17, 1801 - Dana holds first town meeting.
March 21, 1940 - Quabbin receives first flow of water from
Ware River diversion.
March 22, 1898 - Dedication of the Universalist Church building in North Dana.
March 28, 1938 - Final plans are filed by the Metropolitan District Water Supply Commission for the massive land-taking required for the creation of Quabbin. In all, 117 square miles become watershed property.
March 25, 1938 - Enfield Town Hall serves as site of town's farewell gathering.
March 31, 1933 - The Civilian Conservation Corps is created as a result of the Reforestation Relief Act. The Corps was also referred to as the "3 Cs"
March 31, 1936 - Richard R. Bradbury ends tenure as Senior Civil Engineer.
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April
April 1814 - Erastus Brigham Bigelow, inventor of weaving machines and credited with bringing prosperity to the textile industry town of Clinton, is born in West Boylston. Bigelow's carpet company slogan was: "A title on the door rates a Bigelow on the floor."
April 1997 - Wildlife tracker
John McCarter finds scat near animal remains and a cached beaver while hiking the western side of Quabbin that is later confirmed through DNA testing by two different wildlife biologists to have come from a cougar, also known as a mountain lion. The last mountain lion recorded in Massachusetts was in 1858, in Hampshire County. MassWildlife biologists confirm the results, but speculate that the scat was left by a lion that had been released from captivity.
April 1, 1927 - Walter Knowles appointed Assistant Engineer.
April 8, 1938 - Enfield's last town meeting is held.
April 11, 1938 - Enfield Fire Department meets to plan Farewell Ball, 16 days away. A Ball had been held annually in Enfield since 1901.
April 12, 1938 - Last meeting of the womans group, the Quabbin Club of Enfield. The club had been established around the turn of the century.
April 14, 1755 - Four year-old Lucy Keyes mysteriously disappears in the Princeton woods while on her way to Wachusett Lake with her sisters. It's said that Lucy's mother Martha wandered the forest every night fruitlessly calling Lucy's name until her death in 1786. A reclusive neighbor
later admitted to the killing in a pang of death-bed conscience. Legend has it that if the conditions are just right, you can still hear Martha Keyes calling plaintively for her lost little girl in the
Mount Wachusett woods after dark.
April 14, 1808 - James Church Alvord born in Greenwich. In his short life of 31 years, Alvord served in both houses of the Massachusetts Congress and as a U.S. Representative from the 6th District of Massachusetts. He died in Greenfield on September 27, 1839 and is buried in the Federal Street Cemetery in that town.
April 20, 1754 - The Towns of Petersham and Greenwich are incorporated. Greenwich was originally referred to as Narragansett Township #4 and was first established by settlers from Northern Ireland. Early Petersham residents were reported to have been bothered by the rattlesnakes and wolves they encountered in their new environment.
April 21, 1938 - Greenwich has its last town meeting. This date is taken from J.R. Greene's book 'The Day Four Quabbin Towns Died,' and differs from author and MDWSC employee Walter E. Clarke's account in his book 'Quabbin Reservoir,' which records the date of the last town meeting as February 14, 1938.
April 24, 1771 - The Town of Princeton is incorporated.
April 26, 1927 - The Massachusetts Legislature approves the Swift River Act, funding the construction of the
Quabbin Reservoir in the Swift River Valley.
April 26, 1938 - Governor Charles F. Hurley signs the bill annexing the towns of Dana, Prescott, Greenwich and Enfield to surrounding towns, effectively ending their existence on April 28, 1938 at 12:01 A.M.
April 27, 1938 - Enfield Fire Department hosts a Farewell Ball at the Town Hall. Enfield was reported to have been inundated with a crowd of three thousand people that evening, although one thousand was the maximum that could fit in the Hall. McNelly's Orchestra performed, playing 'Auld Lang Syne' at the stroke of midnight for the emotional, yet subdued residents of the four now defunct towns. The cost to attend the affair was one dollar.
April 27, 1988 - 50th Anniversary 'Remembrance Ball' held at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst as part of year-long commemoration.
April 28, 1938 - The towns of Enfield, Greenwich, Dana and Prescott cease to exist.
April 28, 1938 - Fire consumes 250 acres in Greenwich before it is contained.
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May
May 6, 2002 - Portions of Quabbin closed to the public in the wake of the 9-11 attacks are
reopened, including Gates 43a-50. Traffic patterns in Quabbin Park were changed in the interest of safety. Vehicles are no longer allowed access to the Winsor Dam or the Goodnough Dike.
May 7, 1863 - Greenwich native General Amiel W. Whipple dies of wounds suffered in the Civil War Battle of Chancellorsville, while fighting under the command of Major General Joseph Hooker. The campaign against Confederate States forces guided by General Robert E. Lee and Major General Thomas J. Jackson lasted a week and resulted in an estimated total of 24,000 casualties.
May 8, 1781 - The Town of Wendell is incorporated.
May 9, 2001 - Frederick A.
Laskey is named Executive Director of the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority.
May 10, 1908 - Wachusett Reservoir hits high water mark for the first time. It has a surface area of 6.46 square miles and when full, holds almost 65 billion gallons. In 1908, it is the largest reservoir in the world.
May 19, 1846 - Death of Robert B. Thomas, West Boylston resident and originator of
'The Old Farmer's Almanac,' first issued in 1792 and still published and relied upon to this day. Thomas is buried in Sterling at Legge Cemetery.
May 19, 1911 -Fire strikes Shutesbury's 27-year old Congregational Church.
May 23, 1928 - Death of Division Engineer Harold W. Horne.
May 27, 1952 - Boat fishing is first allowed at Quabbin Reservoir.
May 28, 1926 - The Ware River Supply Act passes Massachusetts Legislature, paving the way for construction of a 12 mile long aqueduct, known as the Wachusett-Coldbrook Tunnel connecting the Ware River to the Wachusett Reservoir.
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June
June 1945 - W.M. Morrisey is appointed Chairman of Metropolitan District Water Supply Commission by Governor Maurice J. Tobin.
June 1, 1927 - N. Leroy Hammond and Harold W. Horne both promoted to Division Engineer from Assistant Division Engineer.
June 1, 1929 - Death of Walter Knowles, Assistant Engineer.
June 1, 1935 - The Athol and Enfield Railroad, known as the 'rabbit run' because of its frequent stops, reaches the end of the track, ceasing operations. It had been a division of the Boston and Albany Railroad system since 1880.
June 1, 1984 - Quabbin at highest recorded level, 103% full.
June 11, 1762 - The Town of Oakham is incorporated.
June 13, 1767 - Hubbardston is incorporated as a town.
June 13, 1788 - Daniel Shays is pardoned for his part in 'Shays' Rebellion' by Governor John Hancock. The Pelham resident later moves to New York where he resides until his death on September 29, 1825. He is buried in Springwater, NY.
June 14, 1863 - Union Captain John G. Mudge Jr., a Petersham resident, loses part of his left ear in the Civil War battle known as the 'Siege of Port Hudson,' in Louisiana. The other thirty-three Massachusetts' men he is leading don't fare as well, with only three survivors. The Union suffered 5,000 killed or wounded in the 48 day long seige, the Confederacy, 700.
June 14, 1938 - Final ceremony for grade school graduates at Greenwich's school.
June 15, 1938 - Smallest graduating class in the history of the school of the Town of Dana. Three pupils participate in commencement ceremonies, with the double distinction of being the school's last graduating class.
June 16, 1788 - Part of Belchertown annexed to the town of Pelham.
June 16, 1938 - Greenwich Grange #245, established in 1905, ended its charter. The Enfield Grange ended its charter at the same meeting, which had to be held in the Enfield Town Hall rather than the Grange Hall due to overwhelming attendance, reported to be upwards of 300 people.
June 16, 1988 - Frank E. Winsor Memorial rededicated as part of 50th anniversary of Quabbin commemoration.
June 17, 1816 - Governor John Brooks approves act incorporating 'The First Baptist Society of Barre.'
June 17, 1941 - Frank E. Winsor Memorial dedicated at Quabbin Park. Winsor was Chief Engineer of the massive undertaking of the creation of Quabbin reservoir until his death in 1939. He was also
President of the Providence Engineering Society from 1921-1922.
June 18, 1722 - Rutland is incorporated as a town.
June 22, 1771 - Part of Belchertown annexed to the town of Greenwich.
June 20, 1787 - South Parish of Greenwich incorporated.
June 22, 1799 - 'The Sixth Massachusetts Turnpike Corporation' is established by an act of the Massachusetts Legislature. The road began in Amherst and ended in Shrewsbury.
June 22, 1938 - Enfield holds last school commencement ceremony, with seven students graduating.
June 22, 1946 - Quabbin is
filled to capacity, an astounding 412 billion gallons, for the first time. By the year 2005, the reservoir quenches the thirst of over 2.2 million people in eastern Massachusetts daily.
June 25, 1928 - The Metropolitan District Water Supply Commission assumes the town of Prescott's affairs through an act of the Massachusetts Legislature. The Commission's Agents are Frank R. Allen and Walter M. Waugh, with Fred W. Doubleday acting as Superintendent of Streets.
June 24, 1928 - Last service held at the First Congregational Church in Prescott.
June 29, 1749 - The Parish of Quabbin is incorporated.
June 30, 1761 - The Town of Shutesbury, named for Governor Samuel Shute, is incorporated. Belchertown was also incorporated on this day, but was known then as Belcher's Town in honor of Governor Jonathan Belcher. Before that it had been called 'Cold Spring.'
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July
July 1731 - First settlement in Belchertown, known then as 'Cold Spring.' By 1740, 20 families called the area home.
July 1, 1985 - The
Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), established by the state legislature's Water Resources Act of 1984, takes over management of water distribution and sewer systems.
July 5, 1946 - Shore fishing first allowed.
July 9, 1928 - William W. Peabody named Division Engineer. Peabody previously worked with Quabbin Chief Engineer Frank E. Winsor on the Scituate Reservoir project in Rhode Island.
July 28, 1926 - Davis B. Keniston appointed by Governor Alvan T. Fuller as first Chairman of Metropolitan District Water Supply Commission. Joseph H. Soliday and Charles M. Davenport appointed Associate Commissioners.
July 29, 1931 - Joseph H. Soliday ends tenure as Associate Commissioner of MDWSC. Thomas D. Lavelle assumes Associate Commissioner position.
July 29, 1982 - American Bald Eagles released on Prescott Peninsula. Eagles are now fairly common sights at Quabbin.
July 29, 1999 - The depths of Quabbin are explored for the first time since its construction by a dive team led by explorers (UMass Emeritus Professor of Biology) Ed and Libby Klekowski
(website), with the assistance of the Massachusetts State Police. The team made some surprising underwater discoveries, including old gravestones stacked as though about to be moved, and the North Dana town dump, which was more than likely still covered when the filling of the reservoir began. The last dive by the team was September 29, 1999. A video, "Under Quabbin," containing amazing and unique footage taken during the dives, was produced by the Klekowskis and chronicles their underwater adventure. It is interesting to note that the local PBS television station, WGBY, often uses "Under Quabbin" as an audience draw during its "pledge week," attesting to the video's popularity and the local interest it generates.
July 30, 1938 - Last service at the Congregational Church, Dana Center.
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August
August 1, 1927 - Richard R. Bradbury appointed Division Engineer.
August 2, 1676 - Eight men are killed and three wounded in an Indian skirmish in the town of New Braintree.
August 2, 1904 - Greenwich celebrates 150th anniversary.
August 2, 1936 - The Congregational Church in Enfield burns under suspicious circumstances. It was built in 1787.
August 7, 1894 - Death of Frances Henry Underwood in Edinburgh, Scotland.
August 12, 1936 - Charles M. Davenport ends as Associate Commissioner on the Metropolitan District Water Supply Commission.
August 13, 1936 - Edward J. Kelley appointed Associate Commissioner of MDWSC.
August 13, 1941 - Thomas D. Lavelle ends tenure as Associate Commissioner of MDWSC.
August 14, 1723 - A man and two boys are slain, and two other boys are taken hostage when five Indians raid the town of Rutland.
August 14, 1939 - The flooding of the Quabbin Valley commences.
August 14, 1941 - Charles H. Brown appointed Associate Commissioner of MDWSC.
August 15, 1754 - Greenwich holds its first town meeting.
August 19, 1988 - Approximately 7,000 rainbow trout perish at McLaughlin Fish Hatchery in Belchertown when water temperature climbs from 58 to 78 degrees in a five hour span.
August 20, 1991 - Opponents of the first scheduled deer hunt on Quabbin land, scheduled for December 2, 1991, file an injunction in U.S. District Court in Boston, ultimately failing in their bid to stop the hunt.
August 21, 1811 - 'The Baptist Society,' a religious group, is founded in Barre.
August 21, 1988 - Dana Common is the site of a ceremony commemorating the anniversary of the centennial of the Town of Dana, which was actually in 1901. This is one of the 'Year of Remembrance' events scheduled to mark the fiftieth anniversary of the four Quabbin towns' demise.
August 22, 1901 - The town's Centennial Anniversary is celebrated in Dana.
August 23, 1775 - The Town of New Salem is incorporated.
August 25, 1922 - Prescott celebrates its Centennial.
August 29, 1786 - 'Shays' Rebellion' begins. The Northampton courthouse is taken over by 1,500 men bearing arms, led by Daniel Shays of Pelham. A similar scene unfolds at the courthouse in Worcester a month later. The writing of the United States Constitution was a direct result of these acts of civil disobedience.
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September
September 1927 - Walter E. Clark begins work as appraiser/agent for the Massachusetts District Water Supply Commission. Clark also authored 'Quabbin Reservoir,' a detailed account of the creation of Quabbin from an insider's point of view, published in 1946, and reissued by J.R. Greene in 1994. Greene, an accomplished author himself, is widely regarded as today's preeminent authority on Quabbin history and lore.
September 6, 1928 - Stanley M. Dore appointed Assistant Engineer.
September 10, 1799 - First meeting of 'The Sixth Massachusetts Turnpike Corporation' held in Hardwick at the home of Jonathan Warner. The turnpike began in Amherst and ended in Shrewsbury.
September 10, 1938 - Massachusetts Water District Supply Commission holds an auction of items it holds in the Quabbin Valley, from books to buildings. It is held in the Enfield Town Hall, which itself was sold that day for $550.00, a high price in comparison to the Enfield Grange Hall, which sold for the paltry sum of $35.00.
September 11, 2001 - Quabbin Reservoir is locked-down and secured by State Police and National Guard troops as a precautionary measure after horrific terrorist attacks on the United States.
September 11, 2002 - State Police
patrols are beefed up at Quabbin as a protective measure on the first anniversary of the worst terrorist attack on American soil.
September 17, 1941 - Water begins to flow through the aqueduct connecting Quabbin with Wachuset Reservoir for the first time.
September 19, 1889 - The Universalist Parish of North Dana is established.
September 21, 1938 - Devastating hurricane hits New England, resulting in thousands of trees down and millions of board feet of lumber lost in the Quabbin area. The water level at the Winsor Dam rises fifteen feet.
September 26, 1927 - The Post Office in North Prescott closes its doors for the last time.
September 26, 1934 - Karl R. Kennison promoted from Designing Engineer to Assistant Chief Engineer. After Quabbin, he would go on to run the New York City water system.
September 29, 1825 - Death of Daniel Shays, Pelham resident and American revolutionary best known for 'Shays's Rebellion,' which involved a brazen assault on the
Federal Armory in Springfield in January of 1787. He is buried in Springwater, NY.
September 30, 1926 - Providence, Rhode Island's $21,000,000 water system
declared officially operational at a ceremony in the town of Foster presided over by Mayor Joseph H. Gainer. Chief Engineer for the project, which was begun in 1915, was Frank E. Winsor who received wide praise for his engineering and management skills. Winsor was appointed Chief Engineer for the Massachusetts District Water Supply Commission the next day. His contribution to the development of the Quabbin Reservoir project was instrumental to its completion.
* * *
October
October 1, 1900 - Contract for building
Wachusett Reservoir Dam in the town of Clinton is approved.
October 1, 1926 - Frank E. Winsor appointed Chief Engineer of project. The Winsor Dam is named in his honor. In 1892, Winsor had the distinction of receiving the
first degree of Civil Engineer awarded by Brown University in Rhode Island.
October 4, 1763 - James Fisk is born in Greenwich. Fisk was elected to the Massachusetts Legislature at the young age of 21. He later moved to Vermont, where he continued his political career. He served in several capacities including as Justice of the Supreme Court of Vermont and as a U.S. Senator. He died on November 17, 1844 at the age of 81. He is buried at Church Street Cemetery in Swanton, VT.
October 8, 1987 - To commemorate the 50th anniversary of the destruction of Dana, Prescott, Enfield and Greenwich for the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir, Governor Michael Dukakis declares 1988 a 'Year of Remembrance.'
October 8, 1988 - Time capsule interred at Quabbin Park Cemetary as part of 50th anniversary commemoration events. If all goes well, it will be dug up in the year 2038.
October 10 ,1938 - Frederick W. Gow advances from Senior Civil Engineer to Division Engineer.
October 20, 1759 - Princeton is established as a district.
October 16, 1926 - Karl R. Kennison named Designing Engineer.
October 23, 1940 - Governor Leverett Saltonstall opens Quabbin's tap to Eastern Massachusetts residents at a ceremony at the Norumbega Reservoir in Weston. The dedication was also attended by Boston Mayor Maurice J. Tobin, who would himself become Governor in 1945.
October 25, 1777 - One-thousand Hessian soldiers, captured at Saratoga, NY, pass through the village of North New Salem on their way to Boston during the Revolutionary War.
October 25, 1848 - Water from Long Pond in Natick (now Lake Cochituate) flows through the fountain on Boston Common for the first time, an event much celebrated by the residents of the city.
October 27, 1842 - Congregational Church is established in Shutesbury.
October 27, 1926 - Harold W. Horne appointed Assistant Division Engineer.
October 31, 1936 - N. Leroy Hammond ends service as Division Engineer.
* * *
November
November 1, 1687 - Shutesbury resident Ephraim Pratt is born in Sudbury. Pratt died in the Spring of 1804 at the ripe old age of 116. It is claimed that at the time of his death his descendants numbered around 1,500.
November 1, 1935 - Stanley M. Dore becomes Associate Civil Engineer, promoted from Assistant Engineer. Frederick W. Gow is also promoted from Assistant Engineer, to Senior Civil Engineer.
November 3, 1988 - 'Quabbin - A Musical' produced by the Ware Community Theater with the backing of the group The Friends of Quabbin debuts at the Ware High School Auditorium. Written by Dorothy A. Johnson and Steven Schoenberg of New Salem and directed by Nancy Howe Hyde, the musical depicts the final days of fictitious North Village and how the residents deal with the loss of their homes and town.
November 17, 1736 - The first Church is established in Hardwick, with Rev. David White serving as minister.
November 25, 1761 - The Town of Ware is incorporated.
November 29, 1926 - Walton H. Sears appointed Mechanical Engineer. Frederick W. Gow named Assistant Engineer.
* * *
December
December 1738 - The first Church is organized in Petersham. The Rev. Aaron Whitney was the original Minister.
December 1990 - Legislation passes allowing for the thinning of the deer herd in The Quabbin Watershed.
December 1, 1926 - N. Leroy Hammond is appointed Assistant Division Engineer.
December 2, 1789 - Rev. Joshua Crosby settles in Enfield, the town's first minister.
December 2, 1991 - The first controlled deer hunt on Quabbin takes place in Pelham amidst protests from animal rights activists.
December 3, 1873 - Construction of the Athol and Enfield Railroad completed. The line, known affectionately to locals as the 'rabbit run' because of it's frequent stops, was purchased by the Boston & Albany Railroad in 1880.
December 7, 1984 - The Quabbin Visitor Center, located in the Administration Building at Quabbin Park in Ware, is opened. The Friends of Quabbin is the organization instrumental to the Center's existence.
December 15, 1944 - William W. Peabody ends service as Division Engineer.
December 16, 1935 - Richard R. Bradbury becomes Senior Civil Engineer
December 27, 1934 - Davis B. Keniston ends tenure as Chairman of Metropolitan District Water Supply Commission
December 28, 1934 - Eugene C. Hultman takes over as Chairman of MDWSC, replacing Davis B. Keniston.
December 28, 1938 - Contract for the manufacture of three miles of precast pipe to be used to connect the Wachusett and the Norumbega Reservoirs is awarded. The pressure aqueduct begins in Marlborough and ends in Weston.
December 31, 1734 - A land grant is issued by the Massachusetts' General Court allowing for the creation of the Township of New Salem, which was founded in 1735 and settled in 1737. A fire in 1856 destroyed all town records up to that time.
December 31, 1924 - The Post Office in Prescott closes.
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