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February 17, 2008
West Boylston celebrating its 200th
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Yearlong event list
scheduled to mark occasion
By Amanda Francoeur SPECIAL TO THE TELEGRAM & GAZETTE |
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WEST BOYLSTON— During the next 10
months, West Boylston residents will be overrun by French and
American and British troops, be dazzled by the antics of acrobats
and grow dizzy from Shriners driving tiny cars in circles.
There will be activities for everyone, “children to adults and
everyone in between,” said Beverly K. Goodale, curator of the West
Boylston Historical Society.
The town is observing its 200th anniversary this year, and the
Bicentennial Committee and West Boylston Historical Society have
worked together to schedule events and activities every month
through December to commemorate and celebrate the town’s heritage
and history.
“A lot of people worked really hard to get this town together,” Mrs.
Goodale said. “Children should know, as well as adults, how their
town came to be, the important people in it and what they’ve done
for them.”
Ezra Beaman is one of those to thank for founding West Boylston. In
1796, he and 30 other families from the western part of Boylston
petitioned for a new meeting hall that would be a closer walk than
the one in the center of Boylston. The state Legislature accepted
the petition and granted the request.
The construction of the Beaman Meeting
House marked the dawn of the new community. It was positioned three
miles from the center of Boylston, in what was to become the center
of West Boylston.
In 1808, the Legislature granted West Boylston status as a town. It
included parts of Boylston, Lancaster, Shrewsbury, Sterling and
Holden. |
Beverly K. Goodale of West Boylston reads a history
of the town while at the West Boylston Historical Museum.
(T&G Staff Photos / TOM RETTIG) |
The Quinapoxet, Stillwater and
Nashua rivers intersected in the new town, providing a scenic
setting and a means of commerce.
“It was a great place to put mills, because they powered the
factories mostly by water power in those days. It is that same water
power that led the state to pick that for the reservoir,” said Frank
A. Brown, treasurer of the Historical Society.
State politicians in the late 1800s determined that West Boylston
was the ideal place for a reservoir for drinking water for the
Boston area. From 1896 to 1905, life in the community was disrupted
by a $40 million construction project that created an
8.5-mile-by-2.5-mile reservoir. Wachusett Reservoir, as it came to
be known, wiped out much of the community, forcing 1,700 residents
out of 360 homes that were demolished or moved to make way for the
65 billion gallons of water the reservoir would hold. Six mills,
eight schools and four churches also were destroyed.
After the reservoir was completed, the
Old Stone Church remained as a vacant yet unwavering chapel on its
banks. Today the church is a landmark in remembrance of those who
were displaced.
However, even with the devastation from the reservoir construction,
“the town didn’t cease to exist,” Mr. Brown said. The town center
moved up the hill to its present location and the community
flourished. |
| The Bicentennial
Committee has been meeting monthly since 2004 to
come up with a full array of activities. |
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Frank A. Brown, left, Beverly Goodale and Dwight M.
Goodale Jr. discuss town history while at the West
Boylston Historical Museum recently. Ten generations of
Goodales have lived in West Boylston. |
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West Boylston has since grown to
more than 7,000 residents from the 2,900 who lived there before
construction of the reservoir.
“It’s a hometown,” said Norman Goodale, who lives in his original
family home, built in 1730. “It’s very rewarding.”
Mr. Brown is a relative newcomer, but he still calls West Boylston
his home. “I’ve only been here for about 25 years, and I’ve never
regretted it,” he said. “It’s a wonderful town. I love it.”
Aaron Goodale, who is one in a long line of Aaron Goodales extending
back to the mid-1700s, said, “It’s a great town. It’s a nice, small
town. I enjoy living here.”
“I can go visit every one of my relatives over there, right back to
the first one,” he added, pointing to an ancient cemetery.
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Click here for a complete
list of events |
In all, 10 generations of Goodales
have resided in West Boylston, and the name Goodale was on the
petition to make West Boylston a town. The present generations of
Goodales include Aaron, Norman and Dwight, all of whom are direct
descendants of the original Aaron Goodale.
Valmore H. Pruneau Jr., a member of the Bicentennial Committee, said
people in town are excited about the events planned for the coming
months.
“There’s a lot of enthusiasm from the townspeople,” he said.
“Residents have really come forth to support the bicentennial.”
The Bicentennial Committee has been meeting monthly since 2004 to
come up with a full array of activities. Most of the events have
been created specifically for the 200th anniversary, with the
exception of the Sunday concerts, which are held every summer.
Besides a lot of planning, the celebration has required help and
sponsorships from local businesses such as Dunkin’ Donuts and
Menard’s Auto Body, as well as the support of many volunteers, the
committee members said.
“It’s one of the reasons why we were able to put on some of the
events, the businesses were so generous,” Mr. Pruneau said. “There’s
no way we would have been able to put on the events without them.”
A bicentennial parade on Sept. 21 will be the most expensive of all
the events, but the committee has had to pay for many of the events
in advance and has done so mostly with donations.
Another event is a Revolutionary War re-enactment on June 7 at Camp
Woodhaven. Members of the 85th Régiment de Saintonge and His
Majesty’s 5th Regiment of Foot will play out the battle of French
and American troops against the British. There will be about 300
participants, who will come from all along the East Coast, according
to committee member Gail Radcliffe.
The town has celebrated its 75th, 100th and 150th anniversaries.
This one is the biggest, though.
“We’ve never done one all year long,” Mrs. Goodale said. “It gets
grander and grander as we go.” |
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