Quinebaug Woods - History

History

The area known today as the town of Holland, Massachusetts was first settled by Joseph Blodgett, who purchased land there in 1730. In 1783, Holland was incorporated as the East Parish of South Brimfield but wasn't incorporated as a town until 1835 when it achieved the necessary fifty voters. The population of Holland remained small (estimated at 300 in 1912) until the 1920s when a significant number of real estate buyers were attracted. Among these new buyers was William Haller, a professor at Barnard College of Columbia University who resided in northern New Jersey.

For over ten years Professor Haller and his family- his wife, Malleville and their three children, Bill Jr., Ben and Maria- rented a cottage on Holland Pond where they spent their summers. Then, in 1931, Haller purchased nearly one hundred acres of woodland on the west bank of the Quinebaug River. The land included a hill just north of the Hamilton Reservoir dam that was referred to locally as a “hogback”- an exposed rocky ridge. An old logging road ran to the top of the hill and, here, the Hallers built a cottage.

The Hallers visited the Quinebaug camp for many years. It had no running water or electricity. When the Haller children were grown and married, they continued to use the camp. The Hallers eventually became year-round residents of Holland. Bill Sr. and Malleville moved permanently into a small house by the lake. Their son Ben gave a parcel of land across the river from the hill to his son William to build a home and a second parcel to his sister Maria who, in turn, passed the land to her son John. Eventually, Ben had the cabin on the hill torn down, despite the protests of some family members. He felt a wilderness camp was no longer viable in the middle of the heavily settled community that Holland had become. The cabin had been repeatedly vandalized, and extensive repairs had been necessary each spring.

In 2001, Ben and Margaret Haller made a gift of their 38 acres of land on the hill, including the site of the former camp, to The Trustees of Reservations. In 2002, Quinebaug Woods became the 90th property of The Trustees of Reservations.