Lake Siog was a center of American Indian culture in pre-colonial times, and arrowheads were so numerous, that settlers supposed that a great battle might have taken place there. More likely the area had been settled for hundreds of years as the open meadows provided good hunting, the sandy soil was easy to work, and the pond had plenty of fish, especially pickerel for which the Nipmuck name was Siog. In time the area became a center for summer residents in the town with numerous summer cottages as well as year-round homes. The shores of Hamilton Reservoir, in contrast, were scantly populated, because the dam, constructed in 1865, was used, not for recreation, but to ensure a supply of water to the mills in Southbridge. In the summer months, the water would be released, and the lake would be reduced to mud flats.

Holland was altered forever in August of 1955 when 19 inches of rain caused the old stone dam to fail resulting in widespread flooding. The dam was replaced and a series of flood-control dams were installed by the Army Corps of Engineers. In Holland, about 170 acres were purchased by the federal government so that the land could be flooded when necessary. The houses and cottages were either moved or torn down. You will be traveling chiefly through the flood-control area.