Visit Historical Locations

There are several places along the Monoosnoc Brook that are historically noteworthy. For more information on Leominster history, contact the Leominster Historical Society at (978) 537-5424.

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The Railroad Bridge on Water Street was built around 1873-1874. It was built of granite quarried right here in Leominster. The arches are still visible from the parking lot at Cardinal Comb. The dam is no longer there. The Brook actually travels underneath the Cardinal Comb building.

This is a view of the Monoosnoc Brook (taken from Summer Street) as it was dammed for use by the F. A. Whitney Carriage Company. The area that is flooded in the background is now a parking lot for Whitney Carriage Apartments on Water Street. This whole area was once called "Paradise" because of the beautiful surroundings that included large pine trees and birch trees.

This is a different view of one of the ponds in the above photo. The building was that of the Wachusett Shirt Company which made 600 to 800 dozen shirts daily in the 1880's. The building is now Waterway apartments.

This is a view of the dam built by the F.A. Whitney Carriage Company. The dam is 60 feet long and 19 feet high. The circular area is called the draft tube and was installed in 1876. Its purpose was to direct water to the turbine wheel on the other side of the dam that was installed at the same time (the turbine wheel is no longer there). This was the first draft tube/turbine wheel combination made. It was purchased by F.A. Whitney at the Centennial Exposition in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania. The mechanism on the top of the dam controlled the amount of water that went through the draft tube.

The area along the Monoosnoc Brook behind Searstown Mall is filled with history. The area was used by the Nashaway Indians to grow corn over 300 years ago. In the early 1900's, the area was flooded for use as a cranberry bog. In the 1920's, a dirt landing strip was built by Francis Whitney to be used by the City's rich and elite.

On the other side of the brook, the area was known as Whitney Field. A pool was located there in the late 1920's through to 1965 when it was closed due to vandalism.