Our history is in plain sight, even if we don’t notice it

Date: 8/8/2022

WESTERN MASS. – It’s a fact – I love history.

The bane of many students who moan they don’t care what happened in the past, I see history as the roadmap that explains why things are today.

And the history I love the most is local history. What particularly intrigues me is there are places we may pass by every day that have a building, a marker or an artifact that could tell us something about the past but we simply don’t pay attention.

Recently I compiled a short list of our history that we may not notice but is pretty much in plain sight. Maybe you noticed some, maybe not. I hope you do after reading this story.

Prehistory

Our area is renowned around the world for the deposits of dinosaur footprints and one of the easiest places to see them is along Route 5 in Holyoke where the Trustees of the Reservation maintain a property with a large outcropping of shale with plenty of footprints. It’s free and there are trails throughout the area, some leading to the Connecticut River.

If you want a more intense fossil experience, you need to take a road trip to Amherst and Amherst College’s Beneski Museum. Fossils of all sorts will keep you and your kids enthralled, and yes, there are plenty of local dinosaur footprints. Check the website, https://www.amherst.edu/museums/naturalhistory, for additional information.

George Washington slept here – he really did

Well, he actually did sleep in Springfield and we have a marker to prove it. Thousands of people every week pass by Court Square and a large stone with a plaque on it. I doubt that many have stopped to read it, but if they did, they’d see that in 1775 the future president of the United States was “entertained” at Parsons Tavern, located where the stone now rests.

I have a postcard in my collection showing the tavern once it had been moved to another location many years later. Unfortunately, it no longer exists.

Mountain Houses

People who lived in Western Massachusetts in the 19th century may not have gone to Cape Cod for a break – that trip would have been substantial – but there’s a good chance they went to a mountain house for a great view, potentially cooler temperatures and a meal.

The Connecticut River had three mountain houses, only one of which, ironically the first, still exists at Skinner State Park in Hadley (https://www.mass.gov/locations/mount-tom-state-reservation). Ever been up there? The views are great and it’s well worth a trip to Hadley to spend a few hours.

Want a more adventurous experience? Travel to the Mount Tom State Reservation (https://www.mass.gov/locations/mount-tom-state-reservation) near the Holyoke/Easthampton line and ask for directions to the ruins of the Eyrie House.

This mountain house with its hotel and restaurant was so successful that the owners expanded it and built boardwalks around it on the peak of the mountain for even better views. In 1901 a fire destroyed everything and an effort to rebuild the hotel was started but not completed.

One can see those ruins – as well as some of the support structures of the first hotel – after a hike of about a mile. It’s pretty impressive.

Cold War

Here is some recent history. In the 1950s and through the 1960s Westover Air Reserve Base was an active air base and home to B-52s carrying nuclear weapons. With the Cold War raging, there was a decision made to create the “Post-Attack Command and Control System Facility” into the side of Bare Mountain. It was a command facility hardened to withstand a nuclear attack and provide a place from which military personnel could command military actions.

Reportedly, this facility is large enough to house 135 people.

As a kid I remember the road was protected by no-nonsense military police.

In 1970 the facility was closed and today there are no military police ready to turn you away. The facility now is storage for the Five Colleges. I will readily admit I would love to see inside.

Keep your eyes open as you travel though the Pioneer Valley. This is just the tip of the iceberg. Our history is all around us and it’s pretty fascinating.