Upton State Forest
Upton State Forest consists of about 2,660 acres located primarily in Upton, Massachusetts, with holdings also located in Hopkinton, Northbridge, Westborough, and Hopedale. The Commonwealth began acquiring parcels which eventually became Upton State Forest in the early 1900’s. Some of these lands in Northbridge and Upton were transferred to the US Army Corps of Engineers for the West Hill Dam Flood Control Project or incorporated into the Commonwealth’s Blackstone River and Canal Heritage State Park. The map shows the current extent of Upton State Forest.
The Watershed
Almost all of Upton State Forest is within the Blackstone River Watershed. Some lands located near Westborough and in Hopkinton, are within the Sudbury watershed. The Blackstone River Watershed encompasses approximately 540 square miles draining all or part of 29 communities in Massachusetts. The river originates in the hills of Worcester and flows 48 miles south into Narragansett Bay near Providence, Rhode Island. There are six major tributaries: the Quinsigamond, Mumford, West, Branch, Mill, and Peters Rivers. Most of Upton State Forest is drained by Warren Brook and Center Brook, which are tributaries of the West River. The Blackstone River is named for an early European resident of the area, Reverend William Blaxton but was called the Nipnet by the Nipmuc people.