Before the coming of the Wachusett Reservoir West Boylston was a thriving industrial town with a large number of water-powered mills situated along the banks of the Nashua River supported by hundreds of workers’ homes and businesses.

The Reservoir project would claim over 350 homes and businesses in the town and displace half of its population.

All that remains to gain an understanding of the appearance of the town and its relationship to the modern landscape is a jumbled pile of contemporary photos and a few engineering drawings.

This series will attempt to show the whole town, one section at a time, as it was then.

In Part I Central Village the town center, with its schools, town hall, churches and even a factory village is examined. Readily identified today by local people and travelers from far and wide is its last remaining building…the Old Stone Church.

Studies of other areas of the town are continually under development and will be presented as they become available.

Thanks,

Paul