News and Weather

Population can be hard to comprehend. It can be hard to wrap your mind around the thought of 7 billion people living on Earth living their own complicated, beautiful lives. Thankfully, West Boylston is and always has been a small town, so we don’t have to strain too hard. Below is a clipping from a…

Sometimes the best stories sound made up. Like the story we’re about to tell you—a story which involves one of the most well-known nursery rhymes, billionaire automobile tycoon Henry Ford, and the world’s most expensive bell. If you’ve ever driven through Sterling center, you may have seen the statue of a small lamb on the…

“West Boylston, July 4th, 1905 – There was more noise in West Boylston today than for many years. No accidents were reported.”  It is very nice to see an accident-free news article for such an important holiday!

On Monday, August 21, a total solar eclipse will cross the United States, the first time a total eclipse has occurred in the country since June 8, 1918. Below is an excerpt from the Old Farmer’s Almanac from 1918, alerting New England’s residents to the upcoming eclipse. We unfortunately do not have any photographs or…

The Earthquake of 1755 was the largest earthquake in Massachusetts history, occurring on November 18, 1755 around 4:30 in the morning. The quake originated off of Cape Ann and registered at least as a 6.0 on the Richter scale. The earthquake thankfully did not result in any deaths and did little damage to buildings beyond…

In 1900, there was a spring flood which devastated West Boylston–which was already devastated from the construction of the reservoir. The flood damaged property and washed out a major bridge. The photograph below features some damage from the storm in front of the Cowee household. The Cowees owned a local mill.  

The Beaman Oak is a symbol of West Boylston featured on our town seal. Its origins date back to pre-Revolutionary War times, when West Boylston was part of the larger town of Shrewsbury. The Beaman Oak was a tree on town founder Ezra Beaman’s property beside his family’s cemetery. According to legend, Ezra filled the…

    Earthquake of 1755       Town Population (1800’s)                     Flood of 1900     Independence Day (1905)                     Eclipse of 1918     The Beaman Oak (1958)              …