Video no. 1 showing Lake Massasoit, ca. 1991

This is one of 5 VHS tapes showing scenes of and around Lake Massasoit. The label on the VHS tape says "Lake Massasoit dub - no. 1". There is sound, but the sound is mostly background noise and seems to not be important to the video. The video is about 2 hours and 26 minutes long and shows a timer at the bottom of the frame throughout. Some are still shots, zooming in and out of a single area, other parts show an activity like canoeing or an interview or conducting experiments. Some of the shots were taken in the snow. It is believed that this is raw video that may have been used in the documentary "The Lost River: The story of the Mill River".In 1809, Lake Massasoit was formed by the army by damming the Mill River. The purpose of the dam was to ensure a constant flow of water downstream for the Springfield Armory “Watershops.” The Springfield Armory was America’s first and last National Armory, formed in 1777 and continuing production up until 1968. The formerly named Watershops Pond has 7 miles of shoreline and covers 186 acres. From 1892-1900, the buildings of Springfield College began to come about, and the name was changed to Lake Massasoit by Springfield College officials. The name came from a local hotel, the Massasoit House, owned by Marvin Chapin, a generous benefactor of the college. In 1920, the college purchased a large area of land on the upper end of the pond, and called it the “Freshman Camp.” Since the college was formed, students, faculty and visitors have used the Pond for sailing, swimming, ice skating and fishing. However, the lake was officially closed for swimming in 1984 when the lake was said to be unhealthy.Notes from digitization: "Begins with :30 of color bars. Intermittent video dropout. On-screen time code window."