Entrance Gateway to the Ashley Reservoir System
The Ashley Ponds Reservoir system was constructed from its two ponds starting in 1872. This monument in front of you was placed here in 1907 to honor the Holyoke Water Works that made it. (LOCATION) There are three true gates around Ashley Reservoir that block car traffic into the area. State Highway 202 that you see behind you was put in in 1923.
That highway would cut Bray and McLean Reservoirs into two pieces. The top map shows Westfield Road in blue and Rock Valley Road in red. Rock Valley Road was used to get to the northern tip of McLean. The 1923 change in the highway not only cut Bray at its top but also cut McLean at its top. There is a stone wall at this northern tip of McLean. IMAGES
The gateway behind you was put in in the year 1912 in a former apple orchard. Then that year the road from the dirt Westfield Road to the Rock Cut was put in.
The Holyoke Water Works has owned Goodyear Park to the northeast since 1937. They sold it in 1953. It is now a lot of houses.
