Every Lake
Whitehall Reservoir
Dammed in the 1890s to send Boston its drinking water, not to be a lake.
- 7 ft · first step
- 14 ft
- 21 ft
- 28 ft
- 35 ft
- 41 ft · bottom
About Whitehall Reservoir
Whitehall Reservoir was built in the 1890s when the Massachusetts state water board dammed local streams as part of the Sudbury Reservoir system, a chain of reservoirs built to supply drinking water to Boston. The work flooded farmland and roads in Hopkinton, a town about 20 miles east of Worcester. Like several reservoirs in the Sudbury chain, it was eventually retired from active water supply duty, and the state opened much of its shoreline to the public.
Today the reservoir sits mostly inside Hopkinton State Park, where anglers fish for bass and pickerel, kayakers and canoers paddle the shoreline, and swimmers use the park's designated beach. Motorboats on the water are limited to electric trolling motors, so it stays quieter than lakes nearby that allow gas engines. Hopkinton itself is better known nationally for something unrelated to the water: it's the starting line of the Boston Marathon, run every April.
- 6 depth layers, each step engraved with its depth in feet
- Compass rose, title block with coordinates, max depth and area; keyhole hanger on the back
Turn it in your hands
Live 3D of the actual cut files — drag to orbit, pinch to zoom. Every road you see is engraved on the real thing.
Viewer not showing? Open it full screen.
Whitehall Reservoir depth chart, in wood
This is a Whitehall Reservoir depth chart you can hang: 6 stacked layers of birch, each one a depth contour — 7 ft, 14 ft, 21 ft, 28 ft, 35 ft and deeper, down to the deepest hole at about 41 ft. The lake covers about 0.9 square miles. The shape of the bottom is the real one from published soundings, so anglers recognise their drop-offs and points.
A Whitehall Reservoir map for the wall — or a gift
Most of these go to a cabin wall, a lake house entry, or a home office; a lot are gifts — the family that has been on Whitehall Reservoir for three generations, the retirement move, the first boat. The 12-inch is the desk-and-shelf size; the 24- and 30-inch boards read across a room. Add a line under the title and star your place on the shore, and it becomes the map of your Whitehall Reservoir.
Whitehall Reservoir map — the details
How big is the map?
Four sizes: 12, 17, 24 and 30 inches on the long side, from $149. Every size is cut from the same depth data of Whitehall Reservoir; the bigger boards carry more shoreline roads and place names.
Is it made from real depth data?
Yes. Whitehall Reservoir is cut layer by layer from published bathymetric soundings — each layer of birch is a depth contour, so the shape of the bottom is the real one, not decorative.
Can I add my own place on it?
Yes. At checkout you can add a line under the title (a family name, a cabin name, a year) and star the spot on the shore that matters to you.
How long does it take?
Made to order in Waterford, Pennsylvania and shipped in 7–10 days; shipping is free in the lower 48.
Can you make a lake that isn't listed?
Any lake in the United States — we hold depth data for 104,419 of them. Search for yours; if it isn't built yet we build it when you order.
- 6 depth layers down to 41 ft
- 0.9 square miles of water
- Title block, compass rose and depth markers
- Birch plywood, keyhole hanger, made in Waterford, PA
