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Community Corner

Mystery at Nepaug Reservoir?

About Town Reader Requests Investigation of Strange Goings On

During dinner conversation, at a recent Collinsville fundraiser, an About Town reader suggested that canton-ct.patch.com look into the UFO sighting and other mysterious happenings at the Nepaug Reservoir. He had me at UFO.

Apparently, there has been talk, lore and speculation about a number of tragic events, as well as the UFO, at the Reservoir; incidents, some believe, are linked to a haunting of the property. This haunting, it is said, may be due to individuals who were perhaps not properly re-interned, when cemeteries were moved out of Nepaug Village to build the new Reservoir.

A little history.

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In the early 1900s, the Board of Water Commissioners in Hartford began scouting different locations where they could build a Reservoir to serve the needs of the city. Their goal was to increase the water pressure and daily water supply for the City of Hartford from 7 million gallons to 33 million gallons.

After considering the Salmon Brook in Granby, they turned their attention to New Hartford, Canton, Burlington and the Nepaug River. In 1909, BWC came before the Connecticut Legislature with a plan to build what would become Nepaug Reservoir.

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Not so fast. It turned out that factories on the Farmington River were not inclined to transfer their precious water rights, without proper compensation or alternate recourse. As a matter of fact, their objections scuttled BWC’s 1909 plan to build the Reservoir.

In 1911, the BWC returned to the Legislature with an alternate plan. They would build a compensating reservoir, to replace the lost water rights, for use and access by the factories to run their businesses. While building a compensating reservoir came with its own set of issues and lawsuits, the BWC nevertheless won approval in 1911 to move forward with their plans to build the Nepaug Reservoir.

With this approval, Connecticut State Resolution 63 granted the BWC express authority and right over any property or land it, “deemed necessary” for the development of the Reservoir project.

The Nepaug Reservoir would be a $2.2 million project of Hartford Water Works; predecessor to the Metropolitan District Commission. In recognition of the significance of the project, Caleb M. Saville was assigned the lead role of Chief Engineer. Saville had worked on the Panama Canal, under celebrated engineer Colonel George Goethals, as well as other major water and distribution system initiatives throughout New England.

Surveyors began their work on the Nepaug property in 1911. Construction at the site started the following year. And, work on the actual dam commenced in 1914.

The Reservoir would be created by the construction of two dams: one for the Nepaug River, which flowed through the valley into a slender channel, then out to the Farmington River north of Collinsville; and a second dam for the Clear Brook which merged into the Phelps Brook, then made its way through a small opening and into the Farmington River south of Collinsville.

Water began to fill the Reservoir’s basin in 1916. The first overflow was in 1918.

While the Reservoir was going up, the small community of Nepaug Village was coming down. In its early stages of development, the engineering marvel of the Reservoir would deem it necessary to remove, burn, condemn or otherwise raze 42 parcels of land, 22 occupied residences, a school house and toll house. There were also two cemeteries in Nepaug Village, whose occupants were removed then re-interned to other final resting places.

And, there appears to have been a third cemetery; a small family plot that may have been left behind. So, perhaps herein lies the beginning of the mystery at Nepaug Reservoir?

Part II: Nepaug Village. A community lost to history.

Here’s the Deal

About Town thanks the knowledgeable librarians in Burlington (Burlington Room for local history), Canton and the Canton Historical Museum for their valuable assistance. In addition, a note of appreciation to Town Historians: Leonard Alderman (Burlington), Mary Ellen Cosker (Canton) and Larry Carlton (Canton) who keep stories from our history alive.

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