In the 1800s and well into the 1900s,
the area around Lake Quinsigamond, in Shrewsbury and Worcester, was
one huge summer resort. Hotels, ethnic and social clubs, boat clubs,
a horse racing track, picnic grounds, and two amusement parks,
Lincoln Park and White City Park, lined the shore. Steamboats and
smaller steam launches transported tourists to the area. Canoes,
rowboats, sailboats, and motorboats crowded the lake on weekends.
Crew boat regattas, which started in the 1850s, continue to this
day. Lake Quinsigamond and White City Amusement Park lets readers
experience the attractions, such as the shoot the chutes and White
City roller coaster, and enjoy the fun atmosphere during those
long-ago summers.
About the author
Author Michael Perna Jr., a
lifelong Shrewsbury resident, is the author of 'Shrewsbury' and has
written weekly historical articles for a number of years in the
Shrewsbury Chronicle. A past president of the Shrewsbury Historical
Society and a member of the Shrewsbury Historic District Commission,
he received the historical society’s Spirit of History Award.
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