Laborers (1900’s)
Building the reservoir required manpower and the employment of an ancient construction practice: the use of beasts of burdens. Horses and mules, and possibly animals like oxen, helped carry huge loads across the river basin. Below, we see a few laborers sitting on top of a cart pulled by a horse (or mule). The cart…
Read MoreImmigrant Workers (1900’s)
Construction on the Wachusett Reservoir lasted nearly ten years. Towns and people were displaced. As we explore our flooded history, let us not forget the laborers who devoted their energy to the reservoir’s construction. Many of the reservoir’s builders were immigrants, many of them Italian, and some of them could not understand English. In the…
Read MoreBeaman Mill (1700-1800’s)
Here we have a pristine view of the Beaman Mill, later known as the Clarendon Mill, from the opposite side of the Mill Pond. Town founder Ezra Beaman founded the mill in the late 1700s with advice from Samuel Slater, the textile factory tycoon who is known as the “Father of the Industrial Revolution” for…
Read MoreTree Removal (Early 1900’s)
Building the reservoir took a significant environmental cost. There were the obvious casualties: trees and plants in the valley itself were cut down, their roots torn up. After the trees and buildings were gone, the reservoir’s builders dug down an extra six feet to ensure that no pollution would seep into the filled reservoir. We…
Read MoreReservoir Finally Finished (Early 1900’s)
The Wachusett Reservoir took over ten years to plan and build. The process started in 1895 and didn’t end until 1908. The work required the building of new bridges, roads, and fills in addition to the obvious damming of the local rivers. Below are two pictures taken near Oakdale during the construction. These photographs were…
Read MoreEnd of Construction (1904)
Below are two pictures taken near the end of the reservoir’s construction.Both of these pictures show a town in transition. In 1904 and 1905, this area transformed from a bustling downtown to the reservoir we know today. These images came from the Digital Commonwealth, an online resource with thousands of photographs from the State’s history.…
Read MoreReservoir Construction (Early 1900’s)
When it comes to the construction of the Wachusett Reservoir, we often see the “Before” and “After.” Below are two photographs from the “During.” The first is the shell of a family home. Some homes were taken apart piece and piece and reconstructed elsewhere. Sometimes these houses remained in town, but occasionally they were bought…
Read MoreGeorge Calvin Rice (1800’s-1900’s)
In short, there would be no Beaman Memorial Library without George Calvin Rice. He was a Worcester resident but had direct links to West Boylston’s history–he was the great-grandson of Major Ezra Beaman! Known as the “Town Father,” Ezra Beaman was the most outspoken supporters of West Boylston’s secession from Boylston and became an instrumental…
Read MoreEzra Beaman Jr. (1770-1863)
Another portrait from the Reading Room: Ezra Beaman, Jr., the son of “Town Father” Ezra Beaman. Ezra Beaman, Jr. was born in December 1770, the youngest son of Ezra Beaman and Persis Keyes Beaman. He lived to be 92 years old, managing the Beaman Tavern until he died in 1863. Ezra Jr. was an eccentric…
Read MoreThe First Congregational Church (Unknown)
West Boylston has become known for the Old Stone Church: a steely remnant of the flooded town, an entry on the National Register of Historic Places, a frequent attraction for visitors from around Worcester County, and, most recently, a PokéStop. But, of course, the Old Stone Church is not the only church in West Boylston’s…
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