The Westfield Reservoir.
In 1873 the town of Westfield was authorized by the Legislature to construct “water works”, as it was called. The water from Moose Meadow Brook, the stream from Sand Springs, along with the water shed from surrounding hills, seemed a very likely supply, and so it was decided to purchase land and construct what is the Upper Reservoir, or Mountain Lake. The site selected was 55 acres, just south of the dwellings of 0.A. Moore, and Ochterlony Moore. Construction began immediately, and was completed in 1874, at the cost to Westfield of nearly $250,000. This storage reservoir covers about 51 acres, has an average depth of 15 feet, and a capacity of 184,000,000 gallons. One by one, homes and land that were on the water shed were taken. Some were dismantled and the pieces marked so that it could be rebuilt and this material was trucked to another state. Some were taken apart and the lumber later used in other buildings and cottages–while several burned.
Some of the families who had lost their homes moved to naarby towns, while some remained in town and started over. Several small businesses fell prey– the first being Snow’s whip Shop, Saw Mill and Grist Mill then Moore’s Mountain House. Whether it was four or forty acres, some diligent people had labored to clear land and build their home–and now along with dreams it was gone! The entire water shed was planted with thousands of evergreen trees. From Footprints in Montgomery. There are many trails here, on this hike we hiked from old Mountain House Road then over the old original dam and followed the shore line to the newer dam, its not blazed but easy to follow. This route is great hiking use the GAIA app to see the trails or get maps on our website! Photos by Karen Sikes McTaggart and liz

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