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Greenwich () was a town in
Greenwich was established in 1739 as Quabbin, incorporated as Quabbin Parish in 1754, and became the town of Greenwich (named for John Campbell, Duke of Greenwich) in 1754. It was located along the East and Middle branches of the Swift River. The Athol Branch of the
File:Camp Pomeroy, camps, Greenwich, Mass., Mar. 15, 1928 Parcel no. 410-3, George Haupt et al. - DPLA - 2da8eb06d3ddfb1163e292b958e8eddc.jpg, Camp Pomeroy, camps, Greenwich, Mass., Mar. 15, 1928 Parcel no. 410–3, George Haupt et al., March 15, 1928. Massachusetts. Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Metropolitan District Water Supply Commission, Quabbin Reservoir, Photographs of Real Estate Takings, Massachusetts Archives
File:Camp Quabbin, camps, Greenwich, Mass., Apr. 4, 1928 Parcel no. 330-70, George Haupt et al. - DPLA - b1d6810bd3428fed46e97040dd0385d5.jpg, Camp Quabbin, camps, Greenwich, Mass., Apr. 4, 1928 Parcel no. 330–70, George Haupt et al., April 4, 1928. Massachusetts. Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Metropolitan District Water Supply Commission, Quabbin Reservoir, Photographs of Real Estate Takings, Massachusetts Archives
File:Addison D. Moore, icehouse, Greenwich, Mass., Dec. 23, 1932 Parcel no. 309-24, Addison D. and Frances M. Moore - DPLA - 93860d91da6a0a616569bc36b5acdd31.jpg, Addison D. Moore, icehouse, Greenwich, Mass., Dec. 23, 1932 Parcel no. 309–24, Addison D. and Frances M. Moore, December 23, 1932. Massachusetts. Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Metropolitan District Water Supply Commission, Quabbin Reservoir, Photographs of Real Estate Takings, Massachusetts Archives
Map showing the towns buried under Quabbin
as they looked in 1912, with original house locations and current reservoir water level {{Massachusetts Former towns in Massachusetts Submerged places in the United States Ghost towns in Massachusetts Populated places in Hampshire County, Massachusetts Populated places established in 1739 1938 disestablishments in Massachusetts 1739 establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay Populated places disestablished in 1938
Hampshire County, Massachusetts
Hampshire County is a historical and judicial county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. As of the 2020 census, the population was 162,308. Its most populous municipality is Amherst (due to seasonal student population; the largest y ...
, United States. The town was disincorporated by the Commonwealth of Massachusetts in 1938 for the construction of the Quabbin Reservoir which was constructed to supply water to the metropolitan Boston area.
History
Greenwich was established in 1739 as Quabbin, incorporated as Quabbin Parish in 1754, and became the town of Greenwich (named for John Campbell, Duke of Greenwich) in 1754. It was located along the East and Middle branches of the Swift River. The Athol Branch of the Boston and Albany Railroad
The Boston and Albany Railroad was a railroad connecting Boston, Massachusetts to Albany, New York, later becoming part of the New York Central Railroad system, Conrail, and CSX Transportation. The mainline is currently used by CSX for freight a ...
ran through the center of town, as did Route 21. It was well known for its lakes and ponds, which were popular vacation spots. It bordered four towns—Enfield, Prescott, Dana, and Hardwick.
H. P. Lovecraft
Howard Phillips Lovecraft (, ; August 20, 1890 – March 15, 1937) was an American writer of Weird fiction, weird, Science fiction, science, fantasy, and horror fiction. He is best known for his creation of the Cthulhu Mythos.
Born in Provi ...
's fictional town of Dunwich
Dunwich () is a village and civil parish in Suffolk, England. It is in the Suffolk & Essex Coast & Heaths National Landscape around north-east of London, south of Southwold and north of Leiston, on the North Sea coast.
In the Anglo-Saxon ...
in his seminal story " The Dunwich Horror" was partially based on the town of Greenwich. Additionally, Lovecraft's story " The Colour Out of Space" is set in this valley before it was flooded for the reservoir.Charles P. Mitchell, ''The Complete H. P. Lovecraft Filmography'' p. 9 (2001).
Greenwich was disincorporated on April 28, 1938, as part of the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir. Upon disincorporation, portions of the town were annexed to the adjacent towns of Hardwick, New Salem, Petersham, and Ware
WARE (1250 AM) is a commercial radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Ware, Massachusetts, United States, the station serves the Springfield radio market. The station is currently owned by Success Signal Broadcasting ...
. (Because of the redrawing of town lines, the land is no longer completely in Hampshire County; only the portion located in Ware is.) Because most of Greenwich was at lower elevation than the surrounding towns, it is now largely submerged, except for the hilltops of Curtis Hill, Mount Lizzie and Mount Pomeroy, which are now islands.
Photos
Notable people
* Mason C. Darling (1801–1866), Massachusetts and Wisconsin physician, legislator * Joseph Pomeroy Root (1826–1885), Free Stater, first Lieutenant Governor of Kansas * Randolph Barnes Marcy (1812–1887), Major General, U.S. Army,Civil War
A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...
* Amiel Weeks Whipple (1816–1863), Major General, U.S. Army; mortally wounded at the Battle of Chancellorsville
The Battle of Chancellorsville, April 30 – May 6, 1863, was a major battle of the American Civil War (1861–1865), and the principal engagement of the Chancellorsville campaign.
Confederate General Robert E. Lee's risky decision to divide h ...
, May 3, 1863; died on May 7
Related
*Greenwich House, an on-campus living facility atHampshire College
Hampshire College is a Private college, private Liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Amherst, Massachusetts. It was opened in 1970 as an experiment in alternative education, in association with four other colleges ...
in Amherst, Massachusetts, is named after the former town.
References
* Tougias, Michael. ''Quabbin: A History and Explorer's Guide''. Yarmouth Port, Mass.: On Cape Publications, 2002.External links
*Map showing the towns buried under Quabbin
as they looked in 1912, with original house locations and current reservoir water level {{Massachusetts Former towns in Massachusetts Submerged places in the United States Ghost towns in Massachusetts Populated places in Hampshire County, Massachusetts Populated places established in 1739 1938 disestablishments in Massachusetts 1739 establishments in the Province of Massachusetts Bay Populated places disestablished in 1938