Forgotten History: The Big Dam

The next time you find yourself in Southbridge MA take a drive up West Street and look to the right along the stone wall you will see a concrete structure. On top of the slab is a large rusted relic.

This is part of what is left of the workings of “The Big Dam” of the Hamilton Woolen Mill. It was destroyed in the flood of 1955. You can read about the flood and listen to radio broadcasts by clicking here. Let's learn about the dam.

The mill was incorporated in 1831. It was a textile mill and powered by the waters of the Quinebaug River. As the mill grew it required more water. This was done by buying the water rights along the main river and the feeder ponds and lakes. In 1865, the company bought a large piece of land in Holland and built substantial works creating what is now known as the Hamilton Reservoir.

There were several small ponds throughout the mill complex and one large pond. The large pond was created by “The Big Dam “.

Standing by the remains of the dam we see the workings of the sluice gate. This controlled the flow of water used by various buildings to run the machines.  

Looking into the cement structure we can see the actual gate. The large gears worked together to raise and lower the gate. The dam would have extended across the river. The top of the dam would have been just below the top of the housing.

There may have also been a sluiceway on the other side of the river that led into the mill building that was located there. Looking to the left all the ground you see was covered in water. The lower athletic fields behind the school were all underwater.  

This wasn’t the first dam at this location. Over time the first dam was replaced with two others. Each was larger than the previous one. The last dam was built in 1872,

When the dam broke in 1955 the area was severely flooded. Because of the surge, several other dams further along the Quinebaug River were also destroyed.

I apologize because I never wrote where I found these photos. It was on a website but where - I don't remember. They are from the Bill Kroll Collection of flood photos. The top picture shows the water overflowing the stone wall along West Street. This wall is still there today. The brick structure is the gatehouse. It enclosed the large gears that are still there. The bottom picture was taken right before the dam broke. You can also see how big the "Big Pond" was.

The Hamilton Woolen Company closed in 1934 after a major strike by the textile workers. This strike affected almost every textile mill along the east coast. An interesting side note is when the strike was ended the mill owners decided not to reopen and very soon after the business was sold to J P Stevens a non-union company from the south. In my opinion, the owners were planning to sell the company as soon as the strike was called. 

After the 1955 flood, the dam was never rebuilt. Instead, the government built a series of flood control dams along the Quinnebaug to prevent this from happening again. The area was cleaned up and what you see is how it was left.

In future posts, we will explore more forgotten history in the area including a ghost town that was destroyed when the flood control project took it over.

Old McDonald had a Farm or two or three

 Today's adventure took us into northeastern Connecticut and one of its numerous state forests. I knew we would find at least one foundation, Connecticut always satisfies, but we found five. There were also some interesting stone walls and an interesting stone pile.

Farm Site One

The first foundation was a colonial-era house. It was built in a "C" shape. In the center of the "C" is a concentration of rocks used for supporting the chimney. 

There was a lot of brush surrounding this foundation but you can see the "C" in the center of the picture. It was not a perfect "C" as one side was longer than the other. A small chamber was built into the chimney foundation, most likely for food storage. A larger foundation was about 30 feet from this one. 

This foundation was larger and was a barn. It wasn't a "bank" barn (a barn built into the side of a hill or mound to make access to the upper story easier). The foundation was about six feet high. There was a smaller wall inside the foundation running parallel to the right side wall. This formed a room with its own door. Its purpose may have been either to separate livestock or keep hay or grain.

Farm Site Two

Following the old road we crossed an old logging site. Before it was logged it may have been a pasture or hay field. On the other side of this field, I came to a second home site. There were remains of another house complete with the remains of a fireplace.

Pardon the quality of the picture, however, you can see the arch above the firebox. This is the first one like this I have seen. The foundation was collapsed and full of debris. The loggers had gone through here and left behind the usual mess. 

Farm Site Three

Further along, we came across three more foundations. The first was a house, again in the "C" shape. 

The picture shows the chimney base in the center. There was also a barn, not a bank barn. This was smaller than the first and in better shape. You can see the wide opening on the right for access.

There was a third structure in this area as well. You can see it at the upper right of the picture and below. I was unable to determine the purpose of it. It was oval-shaped and about two feet deep. Some stones were lining the inner walls. It may have been the original house although because of its shape, I don't believe it was. It may have been a cistern. This was at the top of the hill and there wasn't much in the way of water. 

Other Structures

There were stone walls throughout the area. When it comes to walls and stone rows I have a difficult time determining their origin. This site had several interesting walls. Many of them were, for lack of a better term., "wavy". These are usually associated with serpent effigies.

Above is an example of one. There is also a filled wall. This consists of the original wall with a second wall parallel to this. The space was then filled with smaller stones. 

Farmers would construct this type of wall as a way to store extra stones. Native Americans also would build stone rows like this. The problem I have with this is when I look around the landscape it does not appear this land was cultivated to the extent where the amount of stones used would be turned up. Later in the walk, we came upon two large stone piles. One of these was the largest I have ever come across, maybe six feet high, six feet wide, and I was unable to determine the length as it was surrounded and covered by weeds.

I was unable to get a good picture but you should be able to see it is pretty large. The pile consists of fist-sized stones. The questions this brings up are where did all these stones come from and would a farmer collect all these small stones since there was no obvious use for them?

Finally, there were several interesting stone structures and rows.

This row went along a small ridge. It wasn't high enough to keep animals in or out of a field. It may have been a boundary. What is interesting is it almost looks like it was purposefully designed as seen in the pictures below.

Would a farmer take the time to design a wall like this? I don't believe they would. What would be the reason? As per usual I am left with more questions than answers.

Clang Clang Clang Goes the Trolley

 Most of the time I have somewhat of an idea of what I will come across when I go on an adventure. I like to go places with some type of history attached, maybe an old farm site, mill site, or perhaps just an old road. Today I had no idea what I would find.

I look at a map before I go and pick a place, sometimes I look for certain things. Today I picked a section of the Shenipist Trail in Tolland CT. Looking at the map it looked straight and went along the shore of Shenipset Lake. I didn't realize until I started hiking that this was an old railroad or trolley line. 

I should have known it was one or the other when I saw how straight it was on the map but it didn't click. The first sign upon commencing my walk was how straight and flat it was. After a few hundred yards I also noticed it was on built-up grade, staying flat as the surrounding landscape descended. Looking back at my map it wasn't marked as an old railroad which you will sometimes see. I also noted it appeared narrower than what I find railroad grades to be. 

As I walked I came to a place in the trail that went sharply down and then sharply up. There must have been some kind of bridge here. A little further up there was another, deeper drop crossed by a modern wooden bridge, not an old railroad bridge reused. Either of these, as well as two more had no evidence of stone or cement footings. This was odd to me. Two of them did have what appeared to me to be scrape marks from the bucket of an excavator. Perhaps the abutments had been pulled out. Why?

The only thing I found that may have been railroad/streetcar-related was a culvert. This was cement and was fairly large. There was no date stamped on either end and it must have crossed a fairly large stream although it is mostly dry now. Other than that I saw nothing. No mile markers, no whistle posts, no signal posts, no old ties. All this led me to the conclusion it was a trolley line. 

I have been on several old trolley lines, Charlton MA, Marlboro MA, and Brimfield MA are three, and I have always noticed that when they are abandoned, nothing is left behind. Other than one bridge in Brimfield, I have never seen so much as a piece of a utility pole. It occurred to me today this was probably because these trolley lines all went bankrupt and sold everything for scrap to get money. If the bridge abutments were made of timber (doubtful) or granite blocks this could be the case. One of the crossings did have some loose stones at the bottom of it indicating this may have been made with stone. 

The other thing that led me to believe it was a trolley line, it ran alongside Shenipset Lake. When I reached the end of the trail and could go no further, the bed was wider and there was a beach there. I think this was a park built by the trolley line taking passengers there in summer for extra revenue. Now let's do some research and see if I am at least close to right. 

Looking at the Historical Topoview map website, in 1921 this was the "Shore Line Electric Railway". The original name was the "Connecticut Company" according to Wikipedia, and this was owned by "The New Haven Railroad". The company began in 1895 but I cannot find a date this portion of the line was built although looking at the old maps it had to be between 1892 and 1921. I also have not been able to find when this line was abandoned. 

Connecticut Line Trolley Car

The picture to the right is from the collection of trolley cars at The Shoreline Trolley Museum in East Haven, CT. 

Other than being on the old trolley line there wasn't much to see along this trail. There were no foundations or even stone walls alongside it. I should have looked at the old map before going and I would have noticed it shows an ice house listed. I was going to go to that section hoping there might be an old mill site but did not. Story of my life I guess.

However, it was a beautiful fall day and the Wayward Wagger and I enjoyed ourselves. 

Kinney Hollow

Green. If I had to choose one word to describe today’s hike/explore it would be green. It’s the beginning of August and it’s been a wet one so the forests are green. Dark green, light green, and every green in between. I started this hike at about 8:30 AM, the sun was not yet high and there was a fine mist from last night’s rain. The only sounds were a few birds, squirrels, chipmunks, and the occasional dripping raindrops left from last night’s rain.

Old Furnace State Park

 Welcome back! That's more for me than for you. I finally have the time to write again as well as to pursue other interests. You see, I have finally retired. Okay, not all the way but I am only working three mornings a week which gives me time for things like this.

So Many Rocks - Part 2

In my last post, I described some of what I came across on a recent hike. Since then I have returned to the site and have also done some extensive research. I have learned some pretty interesting things. If you haven't already, watch my video from the first exploration here.

So Many Rocks

So little time.

Once again in the course of my exploring adventures, I have come across some unknown rock structures in the woods of Massachusetts. Did I find Native American ceremonial sites? Prehistoric ruins? Or just random rock formations left when the glaciers retreated from the area?