Barkhamsted Hollow

by KATHRYN BOUGHTON

This is a view of Barkhamsted Hollow, a village that was inundated by the waters of the Barkhamsted Reservoir, created by the MDC between 1927, when it began purchasing farms and businesses in the East Branch Valley of the Farmington River, and 1948.

During the 1930s a total of 80 Barkhamsted Hollow farms and homes came into the hands of MDC. Creating the nine-mile-long reservoir to provide water for Hartford displaced more than 1,000 people in Barkhamsted and Hartland hollows.

Shown here is the old Barkhamsted Hollow Episcopal Church, built in 1816, and a neighboring farm. They were flooded between 1940 and 1948 when the reservoir was finally filled. Other civic buildings and the old cemetery were relocated above the waters in old Barkhamsted Center.

Each month we present historic pictures selected from the archives of area libraries, historical societies and, when available, private collections.

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