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1942 Map of Shutesbury

Name: 1942 Topographic Map of Shutesbury
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1942
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1942

About this map

Quabbin Reservoir dominates the eastern margin of this landscape, its shoreline captured here in the early 1940s just as the massive watershed project was completed. The map details the transition from the high ridges of Mt Mineral and Brushy Mtn down to the scattered rural settlements of Shutesbury and Pelham. This was an era of small-scale mountain farming and local industry, evidenced by the numerous reservoirs and brooks like Baker Reservoir and Amethyst Brook that once powered local mills.

Genealogists can find precisely located family-named landmarks and rural infrastructure, from the West Cem and Valley Cem to small schoolhouses like the Rhodes Sch. The network of old thoroughfares, including Montague Road and Leonard Road, connects vanished or diminished hamlets such as Dudleyville, Moores Corner, and Number Six, offering a clear view of the Franklin and Hampshire county line before modern development altered these upland communities.