The government mobilized quickly to fight in World War II and needed a safe place to store ammunition. The courts determined that the public need outweighed the personal needs for the property and granted the use of eminent domain. While there is no definitive documentation of why this area specifically was seized, it is likely that the proximity to Boston, presence of a local railway, and relatively low population density contributed to the decision. However sensible the decision may have been, the outcome had an outsized impact on the individuals who had to relocate from their family homes.
Authors of a book about "The Taking" explain, in their words: “Their lives were not only interrupted by having to locate to a new place to live… these same families were often farmers and had worked these properties for their livelihoods. Their income was severed. (page 1)" “There was a recompense using a standard called fair market value, but none-the-less, the families had no say in the matter whatsoever...” (page 3) For example, an individual whose family was affected in Maynard recalled that "his father had just spent $3,000 repairing the old farm with new windows, an expense he would never recoup for he had bought the property for $4,000 and sold it to the government for $6,000.” (page 132) This family "was one of the last to move out of their house. Two months after initial notice of the taking, they were told to move within 5 days.” (page 133). The authors also note the wide variety of cultures that were impacted: “Due to the prosperity of the mills, Maynard had been a magnet for immigrants from Europe and Canada in the late 1800 and early 1900s... there will be a rich blend of Finnish, Dutch, and Italian names adding to the families of the English, Irish, and French heritage who often hailed from the Canadian maritimes, all co-mingled with established American families.” (page 16) Having interviewed many family members, the authors note that most families accepted the loss as a sad but necessary consequence of war. “The authors found no evidence the government’s actions were malicious or made harsher than need be... There are no villains here beside those who caused World War II to happen and the churn on these families was collateral damage.” (page 208) In Sudbury, the seized land is sometimes referred to as the Northwest DIstrict. Land seized in Hudson did not include homes but did include commercial entities. Years after the war, part of the siezed land became a Superfund clean-up site to fully mitigate the space after being used by the military. Eventually the area became Assabet River National Wildlife Refuge.