Title: Lost Towns of the Quabbin Reservoir - New England Today
Headings: Lost Towns of the Quabbin Reservoir
New England History
Lost Towns of the Quabbin Reservoir
The lost towns of the Quabbin Reservoir aren't your typical ghost towns. Read about why they were abandoned, and how they came to be under water.
Lost Towns of the Quabbin Reservoir
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Content: The last of the towns’ residents moved out in late 1938 (some were delayed by that year’s infamous hurricane). The promise that their sacrifices would be for the greater good was just a small offset to the bitter sadness they felt about being forced out of their homes. Those who had lived out their entire lives in the area felt the loss most deeply — the flooding process took several years, meaning that some would never get a chance to go back. Younger residents who were eventually able to visit found some comfort in the area’s new, natural beauty, but felt the sharp sting of nostalgia all the same. The Dana Town Common was once the site of a church, school, hotel, shops, houses, and more. Bethany Bourgault
The road to the old town common in Dana is now one of the most highly trafficked trails near the reservoir. Much of Dana, including the common, was at enough of an elevation that when the waters came, it stayed high and dry. What remains is a small, triangular patch of grass marked by memorials and cellar foundations. Photos of the buildings as they were before the flooding show visitors what they would have been looking at, had they planned their visit 80 years earlier. The Dana Town Common is listed on the National Registry of Historic Places.