Wachusett Dam & Reservoir beforetherewasadam.com Domenic Santangelo A human interest story and the reason we do this research. In my studies of the labor situation at the Dam I was reading a 1989 article written by historian Jill Lepore titled “Resistance Reform and Repression Italian Immigrant Laborers in Clinton MA 1896-1906”. In Footnote #54 she… Continue reading Domenic Santangelo
Author: beforetherewasadam_050rbj
Clinton Sewerage Treatment Plant
Wachusett Dam & Reservoir beforetherewasadam.com The Clinton Sewerage Treatment Plant The often overlooked story of the Wachusett Dam & Reservoir Project is the great benefit the town of Clinton received as a result of the taking of the waters of the Nashua River. Until that time the growing town had no sewerage treatment facility and… Continue reading Clinton Sewerage Treatment Plant
The West Street Bridge
The Wachusett Dam & Resrvoir beforetherewasadam.com The West Street Bridge (B&M Bridge #140) West Street Bridge, Berlin (B&M #140) Photo Courtesy Berlin Historical Commission The Central Massachusetts Railroad (CMRR) was built in the 1880s to run from Cambridge to Oakdale and, ultimately, Northampton, Mass. Along the route this huge bridge carried passenger and freight traffic… Continue reading The West Street Bridge
The Construction Railway
Wachusett Dam & Reservoir Before There was a Dam The Construction Railway A Mountain of Dirt Not for nothing is it called the world’s largest hand dug reservoir. The Wachusett Reservoir covered about seven square miles of mostly farmland. To preserve the purity of the water to be stored within it, an average of one… Continue reading The Construction Railway
Myths, Mysteries & Curiosities 1
Wachusett Dam & Reservoir Before There Was A Dam Myths, Mysteries & Curiosities 1 In my studies I have come across many rumors, anomalies and unanswered questions about a wide range of things that may, or may not, remain under the water. With deeper research I was able to solve most of them and present… Continue reading Myths, Mysteries & Curiosities 1
Wachusett Aqueduct
Wachusett Dam & Reservoir Wachusett Dam & Aqueduct The Metropolitan Water Act of 1895 Aqueduct route – Wachusett Reservoir to Sudbury Reservoir https://vimeo.com/823216232?share=copy Wachusett Aqueduct – Clinton to Southborough Time was of the Essence It is anticipated that the Nashua-Sudbury Aqueduct will be completed and one main pipe line laid to the Mystic system and… Continue reading Wachusett Aqueduct
Wachusett Aqueduct – Rock Tunnel
Wachusett Dam & Reservoir The Hard Rock Tunnel Sections 2 & 3 https://vimeo.com/837240397 Brick reinforced tunnel section Section 2 & 3 Hard rock tunnel The first of the contracts for the construction of the two mile long hard rock tunnel was awarded on February 14, 1896 to E.D Smith & Co. with a completion… Continue reading Wachusett Aqueduct – Rock Tunnel
Wachusett Aqueduct – Masonry Aqueduct
Wachusett Dam & Reservoir The Masonry Aqueduct https://vimeo.com/837240624 Sections 4, 5, 6, 7 to Assabet Bridge https://vimeo.com/837239768 Sections 9 & 10 from Assabet Bridge… to Aqueduct Terminal in Marlborough Aqueduct terminal chamber in Marlborough Arched masonry aqueduct. The second contract of the Wachusett Aqueduct was awarded in six different sections to Silvio Casparis & Co.… Continue reading Wachusett Aqueduct – Masonry Aqueduct
Wachusett Aqueduct – Assabet Bridge
Wachuset Dam & Reservoir The Assabet Bridge Section 8 East bank, looking west Section 8 Assabet Bridge In the third leg of the journey the water through the Wachusett Aqueduct encountered an obstacle. Its crossing over a millpond on the Assabet River near Allen Street in Northborough necessitated the construction of a high arched… Continue reading Wachusett Aqueduct – Assabet Bridge
Wachusett Aqueduct – Open Channel
Wachusett Dam & Reservoir The Open Channel Section 11 https://vimeo.com/837240002 Completed section of the open channel Section 11 Open Channel In the final leg of its journey to the Sudbury Reservoir the Nashua River water, having passed nine miles through a rock tunnel, arched masonry aqueduct and a bridge over a river, entered an… Continue reading Wachusett Aqueduct – Open Channel