Upper Mill River Factory Hollow Walking Tour

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 some three dozen mills and factories, beginning at least as early as 1727 and continuing production well into the twentieth century.

This tour, lead by Bryan Harvey, will focus upstream, where a thriving paper industry once operated (featuring a long rivalry between the Cushman and Roberts families), as well as additional grist and sawmills, textile and metalworking operations, and the ice business owned by the Puffer family at the Pond. This tour will also discuss the many physical changes to the River. (Approximately 1.25 miles roundtrip.)  CLICK HERE TO REGISTER