Upton State Forest

Upton State Forest is a publicly owned forest with recreational features primarily located in the town of Upton, Massachusetts, with smaller sections in the towns of Hopkinton and Westborough. The state forest encompasses nearly 2800acre of publicly accessible lands and includes the last remaining Civilian Conservation Corps (CCC) camp in Massachusetts, built in National Park Service rustic style. The CCC campground was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2014.HistoryEarly historyThe area is within a short distance of the Old Connecticut Path and the Blackstone River, areas that were heavily traversed by Native Americans in pre-history.There are numerous cellar holes and stone walls within the forest that indicate early colonial settlement as early as the 17th century, which is consistent with records of settlement within Mendon, Grafton, and Westborough.A map from 1851 shows a sawmill at the southern end of Dean Pond. It was washed out in a flood in 1882, but the CCC uncovered the remains in 1938. Oral records indicate a history of cider mill's in the area as well. A local logger named Ben Wood owned several acres of land in the 19th century which would become part of the state forest. Records indicate he would set up a portable sawmill off Westborough Road between the two ends of Ridge Road.