Wachusett Dam: Difference between revisions
punctuation |
Tom.Reding (talk | contribs) m +{{Authority control}} (1 ID from Wikidata); WP:GenFixes & cleanup on |
||
| (4 intermediate revisions by 4 users not shown) | |||
| Line 1: | Line 1: | ||
{{Short description|Dam in Massachusetts}} |
|||
{{Use mdy dates|date=October 2021}} |
|||
{{Infobox dam |
{{Infobox dam |
||
| name = |
| name = Wachusett Dam |
||
| image = Wachusett-dam.jpg |
| image = Wachusett-dam.jpg |
||
| image_caption = Wachusett Dam at [[Clinton, Massachusetts|Clinton]] |
| image_caption = Wachusett Dam at [[Clinton, Massachusetts|Clinton]] |
||
| Line 8: | Line 10: | ||
| location = [[Clinton, Massachusetts|Clinton]], [[Massachusetts|Massachusetts, USA]] |
| location = [[Clinton, Massachusetts|Clinton]], [[Massachusetts|Massachusetts, USA]] |
||
| operator = [[Massachusetts Water Resources Authority|MWRA]] |
| operator = [[Massachusetts Water Resources Authority|MWRA]] |
||
| dam_length = 965 |
| dam_length = {{convert|965|ft|abbr=on}} |
||
| dam_height = 205 |
| dam_height = {{convert|205|ft|abbr=on}} |
||
| dam_width_base = |
| dam_width_base = |
||
| construction_began = 1897 |
| construction_began = {{start date and age|1897}} |
||
| opening = 1905 |
| opening = {{start date and age|1905}} |
||
| coordinates = {{coord|42|24|13|N|71|41|16|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} |
| coordinates = {{coord|42|24|13|N|71|41|16|W|type:landmark|display=inline,title}} |
||
| extra = {{Infobox NRHP |
| extra = {{Infobox NRHP |
||
| Line 70: | Line 72: | ||
{{Massachusetts}} |
{{Massachusetts}} |
||
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts}} |
{{National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts}} |
||
{{Authority control}} |
|||
[[Category:Dams in Massachusetts]] |
[[Category:Dams in Massachusetts]] |
||
Latest revision as of 18:25, 22 January 2024
| Wachusett Dam | |
|---|---|
 Wachusett Dam at Clinton | |
| Official name | Wachusett Reservoir Dam |
| Location | Clinton, Massachusetts, USA |
| Coordinates | 42°24′13″N 71°41′16″W / 42.40361°N 71.68778°W |
| Construction began | 1897 |
| Opening date | 1905 |
| Operator(s) | MWRA |
| Dam and spillways | |
| Impounds | Nashua River |
| Height | 205 ft (62 m) |
| Length | 965 ft (294 m) |
| Reservoir | |
| Creates | Wachusett Reservoir |
Wachusett Dam Historic District | |
   | |
| Location | Clinton, Massachusetts |
| Architect | Shepley, Rutan and Coolidge; Olmsted Brothers |
| MPS | Water Supply System of Metropolitan Boston MPS |
| NRHP reference No. | 89002269[1] |
| Added to NRHP | January 18, 1990 |
The Wachusett Dam in Clinton, Massachusetts, impounds the Nashua River, creating the Wachusett Reservoir. Construction started in 1897[2] and was completed in 1905. It is part of the Nashua River Watershed.
This dam is part of greater Boston's water system, maintained and controlled by the Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA). Its discharge is into the Nashua River. When it was completed in 1905, the Wachusett Reservoir was the largest public water supply reservoir in the world.[2] At that time, the Wachusett Reservoir Dam was the largest gravity dam in the world as well.
Construction
[edit]The Metropolitan Water Board selected the south branch of the Nashua River in Clinton as the best site for Boston's new water supply over New Hampshire's Lake Winnipesaukee, Maine's Sebago Lake, and the Merrimack River.[2]
Churches, factories, homes, and schools within the valley had to be knocked down or moved. Roads and rail lines had to be relocated; a railroad tunnel and trestle had to be built in order to relocate the Central Massachusetts Railroad, and over four thousand bodies had to be dug up and moved in the local Catholic cemetery.[citation needed] The project brought thousands of immigrants to the area for work.
The dam created the world's largest water supply reservoir at the time.[2] It is still considered the largest "hand dug" dam in the world today.[citation needed]
Early problems
[edit]A static liquefaction flow failure occurred in the upstream slope of the North Dike of Wachusett Dam near Clinton, Massachusetts on April 11, 1907 during the first reservoir filling. The fine sands of the upstream dike shell liquefied and flowed approximately 100 meters horizontally into the reservoir.
Gallery
[edit]-
Wachusett Dam outlet -
The reservoir side of the dam -
The plaque on the dam -
Rough-hewn rocks lining the reservoir -
The reservoir itself -
The dam from downstream
See also
[edit]References
[edit]- ^ "National Register Information System". National Register of Historic Places. National Park Service. January 23, 2007.
- ^ a b c d History: Wachusett
External links
[edit]
| Topics |  | ||||||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Lists by county | |||||||||||||||||
| Lists by city |
| ||||||||||||||||
| Other lists | |||||||||||||||||
| Authority control databases: Geographic |
|---|
- Dams in Massachusetts
- Historic districts in Worcester County, Massachusetts
- Buildings and structures in Clinton, Massachusetts
- Dams completed in 1905
- National Register of Historic Places in Worcester County, Massachusetts
- Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
- Dams on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts
- 1905 establishments in Massachusetts