Digital Commonwealth

Historical images from libraries, museums, and archives across Massachusetts. These images were digitized by the Boston Public Library.

Search "West Boylston" or "Wachusett Reservoir" to see images documenting the town in images, largely from 1896-1900, prior to the construction of the reservoir. Many of the digitized images used in this website came from this source.

Historical Research Sources

The Villages of West Boylston

A researched exploration of West Boylston before the reservoir, by engineering students at Worcester Polytechnic Institute. It includes blueprint images of land ownership prior to the reservoir, a digital video tour of the buildings and layout of sections of West Boylston from 1891, and a detailed image gallery of the building of Wachusett Reservoir.

The History of Worcester

A publication from 1919, available digitally from the Library of Congress. The document, written by Charles Nutt, begins with the Quinsigamond settlement in 1674-1675 and continues into the 20th century.

American Antiquarian Society

The library was established in 1812 by West Boylston resident, Isaiah Thomas, It contains the world’s largest and most accessible collection of books, pamphlets, broadsides, newspapers, periodicals, children's literature, music, and graphic arts material printed before the twentieth century in what is now the United States. It also provides interesting historical programs.

Worcester Historical Museum

An extensive digital image database containing 20,000 images related to Worcester History.