Ware

History

Ware was first settled on Equivalent Lands in 1717 and was officially incorporated in 1775. Its name derives from the word "weir" and is thought to derive from the Nipmuc word "nenameseck" for the weirs the Nipmuc constructed for trapping fish on the Ware River. The English settlers pronounced the word "ware." In 1922, it was affected by the New England Textile Strike, shutting down the mills in the town over an attempted wage cut. By the mid-thirties, the directors decided to liquidate, although no public announcement was made. Shortly thereafter, the company sold its interests to three "cotton men"—Lawrence W. Robert Jr., Edward J. Heitzeberg, and Paul A. Redmond—all with close connections to Alabama Mills, which owned factories in the South. Instantly, the townspeople rallied to the cause. A public mass meeting was called that evening and plans to raise the necessary cash in order to forestall what appeared to be the imminent ruin of the town were formulated. The citizens of Ware were able to purchase the mills with the backing of the Ware Trust Company. The mills became Ware Industries Inc., and Ware came to be known nationwide as "The Town That Can't Be Licked". The town gained lands in the late 1930s as part of the construction of the Quabbin Reservoir. The reservoir dammed the Swift River in the former town of Enfield, flooding the valley. Four towns—Enfield, Greenwich, Prescott and Dana—were disincorporated in 1938 by this building of the reservoir. Much of Enfield and Greenwich became part of the town of Ware, extending the town's lands northward. Today, the town is home to most of the Winsor Dam and its spillway, and the Goodnough Dike, both of which lie within the Quabbin Reservation. Ware's portion of this land is some of the most accessible land in the…

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  23,473
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  22,106
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  21,289
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  19,958
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  18,727
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  16,590
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  16,407
• Downy Woodpecker

  Dryobates pubescens (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  15,871

Largest nearby schools

• Belchertown High
  High · Belchertown · 637 students · 12.7:1 ratio
• Ware Junior/Senior High School
  High · Ware · 497 students · 12.1:1 ratio
• Chestnut Hill Community School
  Middle · Belchertown · 482 students · 13:1 ratio
• Swift River Elementary
  Elementary · Belchertown · 474 students · 12.8:1 ratio
• Stanley M Koziol Elementary School
  Elementary · Ware · 379 students · 13.1:1 ratio
• Jabish Middle School
  Middle · Belchertown · 338 students · 10.2:1 ratio
• Ware Middle School
  Middle · Ware · 248 students · 11.8:1 ratio
• Cold Spring
  Elementary · Belchertown · 194 students · 14.9:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.6 — 2015-01-13
  2 km E of Wauregan, Connecticut
• M 3.3 — 2015-01-12
  0 km NE of Wauregan, Connecticut
• M 2.5 — 2007-10-19
  2 km WSW of Littleton Common, Massachusetts
• M 2.8 — 2002-09-28
  2 km N of Wilton, New Hampshire
• M 2.5 — 2002-06-07
  3 km NNW of Hopedale, Massachusetts