Quabbin Reservoir

Ware Road (Rt. 9), Belchertown, MA

The Quabbin Reservoir is one of the largest man-made public water supplies in the United States. The reservoir itself is 18 miles long, has a shoreline of 118 miles and the surface area is roughly 25,000 acres. The Reservoir was created to supply Boston with ample water and required the impoundment of the Swift River, which resulted in the taking and eventual flooding of the towns of Dana, Prescott, Greenwich and Enfield.

Construction of the Quabbin Reservoir began in 1936, filling commenced in 1939, and 7 years later in 1946, water started to flow over the Windsor Dam spillway. At the time, the 412 billion-gallon capacity made it the largest man-made reservoir in the world.