We tend to think of West Boylston these days as that area along Route 140, formerly known as the Common, from the Town Hall, through its busy intersection with Route 12 to the Fire Department and the Beaman Library.

It was not always so.

Before the coming of the Wachusett Reservoir the towns of West Boylston and Oakdale filled the Nashua River Valley from Boylston to Harrisville.

The various sections of the towns included the Central Village near the widely known Old Stone Church, the adjacent French Hill, the Upper Village in Oakdale, and the Lower Village now submerged opposite the Route 12 causeway.

In this series the taking of 350 residences and businesses in West Boylston and Oakdale for the new Wachusett Reservoir will be explored. Due to this large number of buildings and the wide area affected each section of the town will be presented separately.