The Dividing Scar: Massachusetts and the Four Lost Towns (Full Documentary)
The Dividing Scar: Massachusetts and the Four Lost Towns (Full Documentary)
Boston didn’t have enough water and there was land in Western Massachusetts that was perfect for a reservoir — but 2,500 people lived there, in the former towns of Dana, Enfield, Greenwich and Prescott. In 1938, they had to give up everything so the state could take the land. This is the story of the Quabbin Reservoir and the people still affected by its construction.
Same thing happened up in NH (Hill/Franklin) flooded the whole town around the same time or circa
Very well done piece. Piques two questions: Was the Quabbin NECESSARY and was the Quabbin RIGHT? The FIRST question, was the Quabbin NECESSARY, is quite easy to answer. In all honesty, probably yes. Certainly some project like it was, whether it was the Quabbin or another reservoir on a similar scale. The SECOND question, was it RIGHT, is a much more difficult question to answer and I’m not sure everyone will come up with the same answer. Certainly it would be made even more difficult if certain technologies were available at the time.
Very well done. -looking at the complexity of this event. Thank you very much.
This crap is what happens when you let morons in big cities decide what happens to smaller towns. And the bastards in Boston STILL treat the rest of the state like shit.
I grew up and lived most of my life in WMASS. Mostly West Springfield. I always had a innate dislike of Eastern Mass/Boston. 23:55 breaks it down very well.
Wait a minute. These Towns had Black Families so they flooded them. The removed them like most Black Towns throughout the US.
Amazing 👏 ughh. I grew up in ware ma 1967
This place and history is in my blood. Unfortunately, I am getting to the age where limitless hiking and exploration of the watershed have reached my limits – and there is still so much to explore. What makes it extremely difficult, apart from age, is the extreme dense growth and invasive plants that thwart any attempt to find archaeological sites. Ticks, which I don’t think I ever saw until about age 30, also are quite discouraging. There is such a spiritual aspect to this place – to see how the land was cleared, worked, homes and stone walls built, only to return to woods, as if to say "all our earthly efforts are for naught".
I have family in Belchertown and you can walk down their road to a gate to the Quabbin area.. You walk down this street downhill.. you pass by what was a gas station and a couple houses with only the foundations left. Surreal.
I’m proud to be from Massachusetts
Thank you for telling this story! I now have a deeper appreciation for what was sacrificed by so many. As a photographer who has enjoyed capturing the wildlife there, I know for certain that on our next visit back to the Quabbin, my wife and I will certainly look at it from a different perspective.
My grandmother had to leave Prescott. I’ve grown up listening to the history. Luckily the homestead is not underwater but it is emotional every visit.
What if they drained the resivior and built towns their again
It’s a secure water source unless you’re an Indian at the entrance gate right around midnight.
Great piece! Beautiful shots and a very important story that is very well told in this documentary. nice job!
Born in Greenfield grew up in Holy oke visited Quabbin a lot beautiful place💞💞
I volunteer for the Swift River Valley Historical Society for the last several years and I must say that this was a well-put together as well as astoundingly thoughtful piece.