"Memories Flow Beneath It": From Valley to Quabbin

Local filmmaker Roger Hagopian presents his documentary film, Memories Flow Beneath It, From Valley to Quabbin. This 69-minute film traces the displacement of people and the loss of a way of life in the Swift River Valley of western Massachusetts, when the Quabbin Reservoir flooded four towns in order to create water infrastructure for 52 Boston metropolitan communities. Several interviewees include former valley residents, historians, and authors, notably J.R. Greene, who has written numerous books on the subject.

The ever-westward evolution of the water systems begins with springs on the Shawmut Peninsula of Boston in 1630, an aqueduct from Jamaica Pond, the Cochituate System emanating from Natick, which became insufficient due to the mass immigration of refugees from the Irish Famine, thus drastically increasing Boston’s population. The Great Boston Fire of 1872 exposed the limitations of the water supply, leading to the Sudbury and Wachusett systems. Italian immigrants, some of whom were stonemasons, found work on these public works projects as the system expanded further. State House debates, Supreme Court decisions, and incredible civil engineering innovations, led to the creation of the Quabbin Reservoir. 

Former Valley residents recall their rural agricultural and industrial villages, family life, and the years leading up to their expulsion. The cold processes of eminent domain and eviction caused lifelong trauma, especially for the elderly. Generations of history were demolished by 1938 and the people were not given housing and employment assistance by the state – they were on their own.

Join the Friends of the Robbins Library for this free showing of the documentary and discussion with the filmmaker.