Northern Wisconsin advertiser. [volume] (Wabeno, Wis.) 1898-1925, 1901-01-24

counties of central Massachusetts. 1t
is about thirty-fve miles northwest
of Boston and about seven miles north
east of Worcester. The contour of the
valley, broad here and there, and mar
rowing to almost gulch near Clinton,
seems fitted by nature for just such
usage. The scenery is diversified, con.
sisting of hills, wales and woods Near
by toward the north stands Mount Wa
chusett like a guardian sentinel. The
climate is that of New England, some.
what drear in winter. but hospitable,
kindly and open. On account OF the
rocky nature of the soil very little op-
portunity is afforded for agricultural
fore small, being only sixty-nine to the
square mile. This point, it will be
easily understood, had considerable
bearing on the selection of the site.
ITO secure a supply of pure water
for a multitude of people it was neces-
sary to collect that water from shed
unpolluted by the living or by the
dead. A population Of sixty-nine to
the square mile was not dense enough
to afford even a suspicion of danger.
"A proof of the broad spirit shown
by the commissioners and their grasp
of engineering feats is given in their
treatment of the mechanical problems
presented in planning the reservoir.
The flooding of valley even sparsely
settled meant the humiliation of
homes, the wiping out of small towns
the destruction of farms and the
changing of the course of public roads
and railways. These problems were
looked upon as mere details of this
daring board.
when it was estimated that a total
of 5.163 acres were to be taken from
the different towns in the valley, to
wit: Clinton, 1,125 acres; Boylston,
2,761 acres; West Boylston, $40 acres,
; and Sterling, 407 acres, and that the
, lands required for the reservoir con.
tanned six large mills. eight school
, houses, four churches, $50 dwelling
houses, large Catholic cemetery, and
railroad, all of which it was neces
sary to remove, the board simply made
plans for the work as farmer would
make plans for Kidding newly &C.
quired strip of land of obstructing
stumps and rocks.
Three principal features in connec.
ton with the construction of the
reservoir are the removal of six and a
half miles of the Central Massachus
etts Railroad and its relocation upon
the side of the reservoir, the destruc-
ton or removal, partial or complete, of
the towns already mentioned, and the
| building of the great dam at Clinton,
3f these three possibly the question of
I changing the railway bed is the least
important, although it is an event
worthy of note.
The work presenting the greatest
| picturesque feature in the construc-
tion of the Wachusett Reservoir is the
demolition of West Boylston and Oak.
dale. Both these places were thriving
towns with important woolen-mill in
terests. They had existed. for mum.
Der of years, and were growing slowly
but with the steadiness of New Eng
land towns. They were model com
munities in their way, their citizens
God-fearing and upright
| When the news came to the good
people of Oakdale and West Boylston
that the City as they call Boston, was
about to reach out like an octopus of
the deep, and devour their little com.
munities, they were loath to believe It.
And when IL was understood that their
homes, their hearth-stones and the
graves of their fathers were TO be
covered forever by the waters of
great reservoir they rebelled.
THE fact that the state fully in.
tended to make adequate financial res
titution offered no balm. No amount
CT money could offset the heart-break
at leaving the spot where a family had
been rooted for a century. II was some
time before the people of West Boyl.
ston and of Oakdale became reconciled
to their impending eviction, as 1t might
be called. II must be said that the
state was perfectly fair in awarding
damages. Average prices were al
owed for every piece of property
taken, but wherever a tendency was
shown by land proprietor TO 'gouge
the board, he was fought relentlessly
n one case where a certain Italian de.
handed an exorbitant amount for
wooden shanty, the board needing only
half the space occupied by the struc.
ture, calmly cut 1t in two and paid the
nan only one-half of the assessed val.
lation.
In awarding damages caused by the
building Of the great reservoir, the
state OF Massachusetts has established
n important precedent. When a town
Ike West Boylston is practically v lped
nut 1t is understood that the owners
IF property must be compensated foi
he losses sustained by them, and also
is necessary to pay for damages sus
aimed by storekepers and manufactur.
All fbia fba ufoNn JgI