Lost Towns of the Swift River Valley: Drowned by the Quabbin

by Elena Palladino

In April 1938, Swift River Valley residents held a farewell ball to mark the demise of the quintessential New England town of Enfield and its three smaller neighbors, Greenwich, Dana, and Prescott. The Commonwealth of Massachusetts sacrificed these three towns to build the Quabbin, a massive reservoir of drinking water for residents of Boston. Three prominent residents attended the somber occasion. Marion Andrews Smith was the last surviving member of an important manufacturing family. Willard "Doc" Segur was the valley's beloved country doctor and town leader. And Edwin Henry Howe was Enfield's postmaster and general store proprietor. They helped build their beloved community for decades, only to watch grief-stricken as it was destroyed by 400 billion gallons of water. Author and historian Elena Palladino recounts the story of these communities as seen through eyes of those who lived there until the end.

Genres: History, Audiobook

160 pages, Paperback

Published October 10, 2022

About the author

Elena Palladino grew up in Sturbridge, Massachusetts, and now lives with her family in Marion Smith's former home in Ware. She holds a BA in English from Simmons University, an MA in literary and cultural studies from Carnegie Mellon University and an EdM in higher education from Harvard University. She works in higher education in Western Massachusetts. This is her first book. For more information or to connect with Elena, visit https://QuabbinHouse.com or QuabbinHouse on social media.

Reviews

[Jennifer · Rating 5 out of 5]

An excellent piece of local history for Central & Western Massachusetts. The personal stories of the townsfolk will linger with me for a long time.

[Caroline · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because I grew up going to Quabbin for picnics and being fascinated by the stone walls and traces of roads leading into the water, I tend to read anything I come across about it. While this book makes a couple of important points, in other ways it was a disappointment.

The archival photos are terrific and I'd probably buy a book that was nothing but the photos from the archives. She also states in the introduction what I was beginning to think - that we can't forget the land where the four towns were located was originally home to thriving communities of native people eradicated by the Puritans. We have a tendency to get all empathetic and woe-is-me over stories like Quabbin and pay no mind to the black communities eradicated to build Central Park or any number of urban expressways. I just can't hear the story of Quabbin the same way I did when I was a teenager.

I was hoping for more about the actual towns, and I found it rather dull to have half the book be about the Enfield anniversary celebrations in 1916 so I started to skim. The information about the political process that led to the creation of Quabbin is something I have not seen documented elsewhere, although the "country must die so city can live" narrative became a little tiresome - it isn't just Boston that has a municipal water system. Sadly the towns would probably have died soon anyway because their manufacturing base was going to disappear.

Yes, I'd have hated to have to move under such circumstances and it's very sad; for some reason this book failed to engage my sympathy. And Marion Smith, the woman who is at the center of the story, ended up leaving very little money to the family who lived with and worked for her, out of a large estate, and they lost their home at her death.

It was interesting to learn how Quabbin's water gets to the municipal systems where it is used - it's moved via aqueduct to the Wachusett reservoir, I never knew that. I imagine it also feeds central Mass municipalities.

Her summary of how Shays' rebellion fed into the creation of the Constitution is a bit inaccurate and oversimplified. Hamilton and Washington don't want to create a government just so they could put down rebellions, they wanted to create a government so there would be the financial means to do things like pay the soldiers in the first place, which the individual colonies refused to do during the revolution.

On the whole I was disappointed in this book. I'll go rewatch my old Under Quabbin video instead.

[Sam Chase · Rating 3 out of 5]

This delightful little history details the human side of the building of the Quabbin Reservoir in western Massachusetts, focusing on the lives of residents of Enfield before and after the town's 1938 disincorporation. I must admit, I was disappointed by this book because it focused on one town flooded by the building of the dam, rather than all four, as I'd hoped and expected. The audiobook version also didn't help things, as the narrator clearly was not instructed on Massachusetts terms or names (when she pronounced it "Hav-er-hill" my ears started bleeding). Nevertheless, this was an interesting and poignant look at a lost community, and a former time in New England history. It was interesting to learn about how small communities functioned during the 18th and 19th centuries, as well as more details on how Boston decided to build the Quabbin specifically. All in all, I think I may have to check out more books on this topic — my interest is piqued!

[Annemarie · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book really gave an understanding of three of the many people affected by the creation of Quabbin reservoir. They had so many years of the threat of loosing their homes! The chapters on how Boston struggled to figure out how to get drinking water for it's population were very interesting. So many people benefit from the Quabbin, but how many people even know where their water comes from? Ms. Paladino really captured the human side of this project.

[Katie · Rating 3 out of 5]

Short, a bit dry, but I'd always been interested in the towns that were flooded to build the Quabbin Reservoir. And while I certainly appreciate the clean water that the Quabbin provides...can you imagine that? Your entire town just buried under water on purpose, like it never existed? Clean drinking water is a very good thing, but I do feel for the residents of those towns.

[Fred Leland · Rating 4 out of 5]

I read this book which is very well researched and written. The interested me because I flyfishing the swift river region and knew little of its history. This book helped me gain some knowledge on the area.

[Erika · Rating 3 out of 5]

Fascinating story but dry writing. Recitation of dates with a few vignettes thrown in.

[Margery Gerard · Rating 3 out of 5]

Well written, true story. Too detailed, lacks warmth. Like reading quips in a museum.

[Nick Vantangoli · Rating 5 out of 5]

A very good, quick read. Nothing incredibly groundbreaking for a local historian to read…but a good introduction to the topic.

[Vicki · Rating 2 out of 5]

Disappointed that I listened to this book instead of reading it; I think the photos would have added something (though I'm not sure it would have changed my rating of the book).

[Michael Grega · Rating 4 out of 5]

Neat book with great info. Awesome primer for jumping into the history of the Quabbin through the eyes of people that lived there

[Chris Bodurtha · Rating 3 out of 5]

Because these towns were flooded in my area to create water for Boston it is a local story i grew up with & wanted to learn more. I have been to quabbin many times and knowing there are towns under there never stops making me sad