This map shows the center of Petersham, Massachusetts, in 1871. The town is located in Central Massachusetts, today just north of the Quabbin Reservoir.  It was a typical New England village, and has many well-preserved colonial-era houses and greens. This made the village an attractive summer destination for affluent city residents. Petersham is a rural town, but in the 1800s, there were small-scale cottage industries where women produced boots, shoes, and palm leaf hats.