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1952 Map of Winsor Dam

Name: 1952 Topographic Map of Winsor Dam
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1962
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1962

About this map

Winsor Dam and the massive Quabbin Dike dominate this landscape, representing the southern engineered terminus of the Quabbin Reservoir. Completed just over a decade before this revision, the reservoir flooded several valley towns to provide water for Boston, leaving the Prescott Peninsula as a restricted interior wilderness. The map captures the infrastructure of this transformation, from the Quabbin Aqueduct to the Quabbin Park Cemetery, which was established to hold remains relocated from the inundated valley.

Away from the water, the terrain is defined by prominent peaks like Quabbin Hill and Bear Hill, while the southern reaches show the surviving communities of West Ware and Ware Center. The road network, including Ware Road and Turnpike Road, connects these settlements across the Swift River and Ware River valleys. Smaller water bodies like Beaver Lake and Peppers Mill Pond remain as remnants of the original topography before the flooding of the central valley.