In 1839 the Blush and Church family constructed a stone and earth dam on Factory Brook in Middlefield creating a fifty acre reservoir to supply water power for their mills. This same dam in 1874 gave way from heavy rains leading to extensive damage to the homes and mills of Factory Village and $100,000 of damage to the Western Railroad. In 1939 this dam was rebuilt using cut stones and large boulders from nearby farms. This time built with gates and an eighty foot spillway. Doomed once again in 1901, after a week of heavy rain, this dam gave way, a true disaster, Middlefield was again a mostly farming community. Lost was the beautiful reservoir used for fishing and ice harvesting. Some residents opposed the rebuilding of yet another dam, the railroad was opposed, but the subject of rebuilding was brought up over and again. It was the selectmen of Middlefield who made the decision to sell the property to the state and work with the Department of Conservation and the Civilian Conservation Corps. The CCC men cleared the area to prepare for the new dam which would bring the Middlefield Reservoir back to life and provide for the State’s largest recreation area providing swimming beaches and ski trails. Brush was cut on 100 acres of lake bed, the walls of the old dam removed and tons of rock blasted from the ledges to create a 150 foot spillway making the dam 600 feet in length at a cost of $216,000.00. But the funding never came to complete the project, yet the plan to build was revisted for years up to 1978. We hiked the DCR parcel at the dam, the quarry area remains with its grout piles and drill bits. The Reservoir now a swampy area for beavers. Factory Brook still makes its winding way as it did in the beginning, which basically is the only thing that has not changed in Factory Village. photos by Karen & Liz

#middlefieldma #hikethehilltownhistory
#hikethehilltowns with the #westernmasshilltownhikers #discoverthehilltowns #visitthehills #hilltownhistory #flashhike #intheberkshires #nature #adventure #history #hiking #outdooradventures #visittheberkshires #mylocalMA #visitma
Visit our blog for all of our adventures! We are on Instagram TikTok Pinterest Twitter YouTube Meetup @hilltownhikers

become a member at www.hilltownhikers.com
A 501c3 Massachusetts Non-Profit Organization Donate here on Square https://hilltownhikers.square.site/