Listen up. This stone structure is the only unit left standing after the town took a one way trip into the drink. Between 1896 and 1905, the Wachusett Reservoir executed a full scale wipeout of the local mills and farms. They were neutralized like they weren't even on the map. The Old Stone Church, however, held its position and refused to surrender to the rising tide.
The original mission to build this base began on the site of a Baptist house that suffered a catastrophic fire in 1890. Even the new construction showed some incompetence. A fire damaged the interior just before the 1892 dedication, forcing a tactical delay until May. It seems the builders were just as disorganized as the local militia.
Intelligence reports show the Metropolitan Water Board eventually paid the Baptist Society $22,500 in 1897 for their losses. The final service was held in April 1902 before the water officially seized the objective. After the building received a $87,000 state award for reinforcements in 1974, the roof and three walls decided to take a permanent vacation by collapsing the following month.
Reconstruction was finally completed in the Spring of 1977. The building was officially rededicated on September 25, 1983. It still occupies its current post on Beaman Street in West Boylston today, still standing guard over the underwater remains of its former comrades.
Sources: Wikipedia, OpenStreetMap, Wikidata, Wikimedia Commons
Written by Kyle McLonely
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