UPCOMING WALKING TOURS

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Explore Amherst’s historic West Cemetery through the lens of Emily Dickinson’s correspondence with guide Sarah Zureick-Brown, a trustee of the Amherst Historical Society and the creator of The Silent Sod. During this 75 minute tour, you’ll meet Dickinson’s local contemporaries to whom she expressed grief and solace in her letters, and you’ll also be introduced to some of Amherst’s other literary legends

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If you walk along the Mill River conservation trail in North Amherst today, you will see little to suggest that this small, shaded valley — situated roughly between Pine Street and Pulpit Hill Road — has changed much in the three centuries since Hadley farmers first moved into the area. But a glance at some of the old maps tells a different story: “Factory Hollow” was once the scene of intensive use of the River to power early industry in Amherst, ranging from grist mills to substantial textile and paper mills. In fact, the River — along nearly its entire Amherst course from Leverett in the north to Hadley in the west — powered more than three dozen mills and factories, beginning at least as early as 1727 and continuing in production well into the twentieth century.

Bryan Harvey will lead a walking tour along the conservation trails in this area, giving an overview of the Mill River History Project — a community-based exploration of the ways in which the Mill River in North Amherst has been harnessed over the years — and pointing out key sites and features (some still visible).

This tour will cover the area downstream of Puffer’s Pond to the current Mill River Recreation Area, an area in which many textile and woodworking mills once stood, as well as grist and sawmills and even a cendle wiching factory

This tour will is approximately 2 miles round trip and will involve walking along trails in the woods (with frequent stops).  Appropriate footwear is recommended.

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Elizabeth C. Dearden will lead a cemetery tour of West Cemetery as a case study of funerary symbolism in relation to the antecedent events of the American Revolution. From Puritan iconography to Whig inspired Neoclassical imagery, these symbols were used for memorialization, persuasion, sustained momentum, and inspiration for the Patriot cause.

Dearden is a public historian from Western Massachusetts. She received her MA in history from Salem State University with a graduate certificate in public history. Each October she usually can be found haunting local burying grounds and old houses: giving tours or as a costumed interpreter.

REGISTER HERE

If you walk along the Mill River conservation trail in North Amherst today, you will see little to suggest that this small, shaded valley — situated roughly between Pine Street and Pulpit Hill Road — has changed much in the three centuries since Hadley farmers first moved into the area. But a glance at some of the old maps tells a different story: “Factory Hollow” was once the scene of intensive use of the River to power early industry in Amherst, ranging from grist mills to substantial textile and paper mills. In fact, the River — along nearly its entire Amherst course from Leverett in the north to Hadley in the west — powered more than three dozen mills and factories, beginning at least as early as 1727 and continuing in production well into the twentieth century.

Bryan Harvey will lead a walking tour along the conservation trails in this area, giving an overview of the Mill River History Project — a community-based exploration of the ways in which the Mill River in North Amherst has been harnessed over the years — and pointing out key sites and features (some still visible).

This tour will focus upstream, where a thriving paper industry once operated as well as grist and sawmills, textile and metalworking operations and the ice business owned by the Puffer family at the Pond.

This tour will is approximately 1 1/4 miles round trip and will involve walking along trails in the woods (with frequent stops).  Appropriate footwear is recommended.