Created near the top of Turkey Hill, the Sugden Reservoir Dam impounds the waters of Shaw Brook and Turkey Hill Creek, creating the Sugden Reservoir for waterpower storage.

This waterpower supplied industry in both the Upper and Lower Wire Village, sections of North Spencer, Massachusetts.

At one time, Spencer had eleven factories and twenty-six buildings for wire drawing along Turkey Hill Creek and the Seven Mile River.

The energy storage was considerable because of the high elevation of this reservoir relative to the mouth of Turkey Creek where it enters the Seven Mile River.

The residential valley below would suffer considerably should this dam fail, which is the primary reason for this classification.