Springdale Mill Village @ Massachusetts Central Rail Trail
In July 2023, I visited the segment of Massachusetts Central Rail Trail (MCRT) in Holdon and West Boylston, MA. This three-mile out-and-back walking trail was built atop a former railroad bed and includes pathways through abandoned Springdale Mill Village. Plentiful signage, maintained in a joint effort between the Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) and Wachusett Greenways, allows visitors to learn about the American Industrial Revolution in the early 20th century while exploring a tiny ghost town.
The story of Springdale Mill in West Boylston began before the story of the railroad that would become the trail. In preparation for building a mill, an eighty-five-foot dam was constructed across the nearby Quinapoxet River in 1865 to create a millpond. Greenman Smith, who wins for name of the day, built the first wooden mill in 1867 and enlarged it four years later in 1873. As was customary for mills at the time, it was destroyed by fire a mere two years later in 1875 and replaced with a larger stone version the next year, along with tenement housing. Not until 1881 did the Massachusetts Central Railroad build its line through the area. New mill owner James Dorr converted the factory to steam power in 1892. By 1905, the life of the mill and its village were over, as Metropolitan Water and Sewerage Board, now called Massachusetts Water Resources Authority (MWRA), took control of the land to establish Wachusett Reservoir.
Many foundations and walls remain of the village. On the lower half of the property, a flume made of fieldstone once brought water from the millpond to the mill. The flume was originally three hundred feet long and dropped seventeen feet to create enough energy to turn the waterwheels. Nearby wooden stockhouse held highly flammable wool or served as housing for mill workers. A picker house held picker machines, which ripped apart used cloth to recycle into new cloth known as “shoddy”. The term is still used today to mean something of inferior quality. Before the Civil War, slave owners gave shoddy cloth to enslaved people to make clothing. Even though this was a woollen mill and not a cotton mill, the facility had strong ties to enslavement and the South. Other buildings in this area included a room for dyeing cloth, a room for drying cloth, coal storage, a stable, and a carpenter shop. I also found a snake sunning itself on a former bridge abutment. I enjoyed the nature, but others might not appreciate a serpentine friend.
Up the hill were the foundations of the mill village, six buildings in all. Five buildings were once two tenements, meaning two families or eight to twelve unrelated people could live in the building. The fifth building was once a four tenament, meaning four families or sixteen to twenty-four unrelated people would live in the building. Up to eighty-four people would fit in the village. Barns and outbuildings provided space for animals and work outside of the mill. In 1905, all of the tenements were raised except one, which was moved to West Boylston.
I visited the trails on a beautiful, sunny day and enjoyed the opportunity to learn local history while getting exercise. The flat, well-maintained trail is perfect for walking, biking, and rollerblading, along with being wheelchair accessible. Unfortunately, the narrow, unpaved pathways leading to signage are not as accessible. However, the same information as on the signage is available online through the Wachusett Greenways website. A colony of mosquitoes lived at the top of the hill among the mill village foundations. Take care while going up and down the hill, as the incline is steep. Overall, this is the perfect day trip for anyone interested in the Industrial Revolution, especially families with children or teachers looking for an inexpensive field trip.
Abby Epplett’s Rating System
Experience: 8/10
Accessibility: 6/10