This rough dug reservoir was used in the late 1800's and served as the forerunner to Brattleboro's early water system. I believe the "quarry" type pond is what fed the reservoir at one time. Here is a little history of it:
In 1866, George Crowell, age 32, moved to Brattleboro from Massachusetts to work at the Vermont Record and Farmer. A year later Crowell started and served as publisher of the highly successful women's weekly paper The Household, headquartered in the Crosby Block on Main Street. The paper, a forerunner of other women's magazines of the period, had 80,000 subscribers in 1890. In addition to his publishing activities, Crowell became active in other businesses, including real estate. But it was his interest in the growing needs of the community and another enterprise that got his name in the paper--the town of Brattleboro's water supply and distribution system. Crowell had acquired considerable real estate holdings and, like his fellow businessmen, was concerned with fire protection and a supply of potable domestic water.
About 1880, he started to develop a spring fed distribution system to serve his apartments in the Forest Park area of town. In 1882, he purchased a partially completed reservoir, started by Isaac Hines, four springs, and land from Isaac's son, Alonzo. In addition to developing the reservoir and aqueduct, Crowell developed a park around the area and renamed it Chestnut Hill because of the large number of chestnut trees in the area. The 30-acre park and reservoir was on a plateau at a higher elevation than the town. This provided an increase in water pressure for the water system, and gave park visitors a commanding view of the town and surrounding area. Roads were built that enabled the public to visit croquet grounds, a newly built log cabin, a bandstand, and a three-story cottage of Swiss architecture that had a 50-foot observatory tower.
On November 7, 1888, two fire hydrants were installed, at the expense of a local businessman, George J. Brooks. These hydrants were connected to the newly built Chestnut Hill Reservoir and improved fire-fighting capacity by providing a large quantity of water, under pressure, to the downtown area.
The park eventually fell into disrepair, and is now a residential area. The dry reservoir can still be found at the top of the hill across the street. The water system is now totally owned and operated by the town of Brattleboro, but George Crowell is remembered as a man of vision who gave Brattleboro water.
Congratulations to GoRaw4U for the FTF!