Stiles Reservoir

Stiles Reservoir, now called Stiles Lake, is a 463-acre man-made body of crystalclear spring water,
located on the boundary line of Leicester and Spencer, Massachusetts, nestled in the hills at an altitude of  approximately 850 feet above sea level. Separated into four parts by three causeways, one on the South and two on the Northwest, this 15-foot average depth "water reserve" is controlled by the Carleton Woolen Mills, Inc., of Rochdale, and is one of a three-lake complex of industrial water reserves that are the headwaters for 'the French River. Unofficially termed as "Stiles Lake" by the 160-odd cottage owners who maintain seasonal and permanent homes on this third largest recreational body of water in Worcester County, it is correctly  spelled "Stiles" andnamed after Francis Stiles who conceived the idea in 1861. The home that Mr. Stiles lived in is stlll standing on Pleasant Street in the Greenville section of Leicester, and his body is buried in the Greenville cemetery. For many years, until very recently, his portrait hung in the vestry of the Greenville Baptist Church.  In 1863 the industrial might of the country was located in the New England area where hundreds of mills,  located on the area's countless streams and rivers, were busily producing a variety of goods for the Union Army. Although President Lincoln had his problems with the raging American CiGil War, the small machinery mill of the Hankey, Stiles and Co., located on Pleasant Street in Greenville, just below the present spillway of Greenville Pond, also had their troubles. In those preelectric days, all power was derived from water wheels. Update on dam issue as of mid-2015: http://www.telegram.com/article/20150427/NEWS/304279624.