NEW SALEM — In the 1920s and into the ’30s, residents of four Massachusetts towns left their homes behind when the area was flooded to create the Quabbin Reservoir, a water supply for Boston.
Today, the Swift River Valley Historical Society preserves what is left of Greenwich, Enfield, Dana and Prescott to educate the community on its lost history and the artifacts left behind.
The society kicks off its 17th season on Sunday. Hours throughout the season will include Sunday and Wednesday from 1 p.m. to 4 p.m., and admission is free.
“It is a good way to realize exactly what was given up by the people in those four towns for the Quabbin Reservoir to be created,” said Dot Drye, the society’s administrative assistant. “We have their personal diaries, we have their personal photo albums, we have the personal things that they had in their homes.”
Though she was born in Orange (not one of the four disincorporated towns), curator and historian Elizabeth Peirce has been speaking with community members and museum visitors for years about the reservoir.
“I enjoy meeting the people and listening to their stories,” she said. “I told (the historical society) I didn’t come from the Quabbin and they said, ‘Well, you can try.’ And I’ve been doing it ever since.”
Peirce said once the residents of the four towns knew they had to leave, many were not able to take all their possessions. Instead, they brought them to the New Salem library, and the historical society was born.
Made up of three buildings — the Whitaker-Clary House, the Prescott Church and the Carriage Shed — Peirce said the historical society has thousands of items on display, from photographs, books, maps and other items of everyday life. Visitors can join guided tours throughout the buildings. Frye said there are around 10 volunteers who host the tours to answer questions and point out items of interest.
“It makes it interesting if you go into a room and have a story that you can tell about something in that room,” she said.
Frye said people come from all over, Connecticut to Boston, many with ancestors who lived in one of the four flooded towns. The historical society also hosts four hikes into the Quabbin throughout the year, along with two bus tours. The first bus trip is scheduled for June 24 into the Prescott peninsula, said Frye.
Group tours are available during the week by appointment. Send an email to dotfryesrvhs@gmail.com for details.