Community

In 1860, George H. Gilbert began purchasing land in the "Hardwick Gore" to expand his Ware wool factories. Eventually his mills, tenements and other buildings became the village of Gilbertville. A covered bridge was built in 1887 by the Central Mass Railroad and given to the town so people could travel across the river. Gilbert provided a Congregational Church and library for his work force, and contributed to the building of the high school. St. Aloysius Church also served the growing number of immigrants who came to work in the mills. Competition from other regions caused a slowdown in the wool industry and by the 1930's, the Gilbert Manufacturing Company was no longer a viable business. The creation of the Quabbin Reservoir in the 1930's took a portion of the western part of the town but created a new recreation area. The flood of 1938 destroyed much of the village. The consolidation of the various school districts into village schools was taken a step further with the town's entry into the Quabbin Regional School District in 1967. The school buildings in the villages were converted to other purposes when the new elementary school was built in 1989. The No. 4 Mill building is now used for storage but it was once used as part of the mill complex. Gilbertville remains a town with a lot of rental property due to multi-unit buildings that housed mill employees.

Windsor House, GilbertvilleGilbertville Mill

Gilbertville is in Worcester County, in the Worcester metro area.

The latitude of Gilbertville is 42.312N. The longitude is -72.208W.

It is in the Eastern Standard time zone. Elevation is 548 feet.

Location: Central Massachusetts, bordered by the Town of Ware on the South, Quabbin Reservoir on the west, Petersham on the north, Barre on the northeast, and New Braintree on the east. It is about 73 miles from Boston, 30 miles from Springfield, 24 miles from Worcester and 160 miles from New York City.