1946 Map of Ware

About this map

Ware River carves a deep industrial and transport corridor through this central Massachusetts landscape as mapped by the Geological Survey in the mid-1940s. The valley floor is tightly packed with manufacturing centers like Wheelwright, Furnace, and Gilbertville, where the Boston and Maine and Boston and Albany railroads converge to serve the riverside mills. This industrial activity contrasts sharply with the surrounding uplands, where family-named peaks like Poverty Hill, Charity Hill, and Dougal Mountain overlook a more dispersed agricultural pattern. The map reveals the persistence of early civic infrastructure in the rural districts, notably School No 2 and School No 4 in West Brookfield, even as the larger town of Ware shows a dense urban grid at the river's bend near Snow Pond. Significant water bodies like Wickaboag Pond and Hardwick Pond anchor the township corners, illustrating the region's balance of water-powered industry and rural settlement.