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1893 Map of Belchertown

Name: 1893 Topographic Map of Belchertown
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1908
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1908

About this map

The Swift River valley is documented here decades before the landscape was fundamentally altered by hydraulic engineering. This late 19th-century survey preserves the locations of numerous interconnected villages, including Enfield, Greenwich, and North Dana, which served as local centers of commerce and rail transit. The Boston & Albany R R Athol Branch winds through the river valley, connecting rural outposts like Smiths and Greenwich Village to the broader regional economy.

Upland settlements such as Prescott and Shutesbury are shown amidst a complex topography of peaks like Quabin Hill and Mount Pomeroy. The map captures a high degree of local detail for genealogists, from the exact placement of individual structures in Packardsville to the network of brooks like Jabish Brook and Fever Brook. The presence of the New London Northern R R near Belchertown highlights the area's reliance on these rail corridors before the creation of the modern reservoir system.