Chesterfield, Massachusetts

The Chesterfield Center Historic District is a historic district that encompasses the traditional village center of the town of Chesterfield, Massachusetts. The village is reflective of the town's 18th and 19th-century development as an agrarian hill community, with architectural styles before about 1850 predominating. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2000.

The Bisbee Mill is a historic gristmill at 66 East Street in Chesterfield, Massachusetts. Located on the Dead Branch of the Westfield River, the mill complex includes a wood frame mill building, along with its former mill pond, impounded by a dam across the river, and a canal that brought river water to the mill for power. Also included on the property is the site of the Damon sawmill, which was established in 1761, and the Pierce cornmill, which occupied a site north of the Bisbee mill building in 1823. The Pierce mill was moved to the site, from an earlier one that may also be on the grounds of the Bisbee mill complex.The Bisbee mill complex has an evolutionary history that begins with the establishment of the mill pond in 1823 by Elisha Bisbee. Neither the dam he built, nor an 1859 dam built to form a second mill pond, have survived. Bisbee also dug a canal to bring water to his new mill building; other canals would also have been dug for the other two mills, but traces of them have not yet been found, and their exact route is not known. The mill building on the site was used, modified, and added onto, by five generations of Bisbees, until it closed its doors in the 1960s. The property was acquired by the Chesterfield Historical Society, which has operated it since 1997 as the Bisbee Mill Museum.The main mill building started in 1823 as a single 2+1⁄2-story gable-ended wood frame block measuring 30 feet (9.1 m) by 24 feet (7.3 m). This was extended eastward in the 1850s with the addition of a second block, 20 feet (6.1 m) by 24 feet (7.3 m). The two sections were joined by their end gables, although at slightly different elevations. Both sections were originally on fieldstone foundations; these have been replaced in part with modern concrete, and in part strengthened by the addition of concrete. A third section was added to the building between 1888 and 1829. Measuring 12 feet (3.7 m) by 58 feet (18 m), this section had a shed roof, and was added to the south side of the main blocks. A fourth major addition was made in 1954, when another large section was added to the north side of the building.Inside the building are the working portions of the mill. The water power it provided was delivered to the three levels of the mill by shafts, gears, and belts, and operated a number of different types of machinery. The major operations were as a gristmill, a woodworking mill, and a smithy. On the bottom level, the wheel pit, located in the original 1823 part of the building, houses a turbine wheel that dates to 1919. All levels of the mill have been adapted to showcase equipment that was used in the mill during its more than 100 year active lifetime.The mill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2005.

The West Chesterfield Historic District is a historic district that encompasses the 19th century industrial and residential heritage of the village of West Chesterfield in the town of Chesterfield, Massachusetts. Centered at the junction of Main Road and Ireland Street, it was one of the town's main industrial sites for many years. The district was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2008.

Chesterfield Gorge is a nature reserve located in Chesterfield, Massachusetts, United States. The property is owned by The Trustees of Reservations, who have administered the property since 1929. Chesterfield Gorge was initially carved from the metamorphic bedrock by torrents of glacial meltwater. Today, the gorge continues to be shaped by the East Branch of the Westfield River. The walls of the gorge are quite steep, more than 30 feet (9.1 m) in some places. During periods of low water, it is possible to get down to the floor of the gorge, but it is not recommended, and no trails exist from the cliff edge to the bottom. Rock climbing is prohibited. The surrounding forest features oak, pine, and hemlock, and is home to bears, bobcats, and turkeys, among many others. A half-mile trail along the cliff top offers views of the gorge, the river, and the forest. A railing runs along the length of the cliff for safety. Along the cliff ledge are fields of boulders, some of which are quite massive. Stone abutments of a bridge that once spanned the river are all that remain of the old post road between Boston, Massachusetts and Albany, New York. A toll gate was established at its eastern end, but no trace of it exists today. During the American Revolution, British redcoats marched over this bridge to Boston following General Burgoyne's defeat at Saratoga, New York. In 1835, floodwaters swept away the bridge along with some nearby grist and sawmills. A short trail leads along the river upstream from the gorge to the remains of the old bridge. A more extensive trail network extends southward down the river, through the Hiram H. Fox Wildlife Management Area and towards Knightville Dam. Chesterfield Gorge is the entrance to an extensive natural area along the Westfield River, and is designated a National Wild and Scenic River. Fly fishing for trout is a popular pastime. Atlantic salmon are stocked here, and must not be confused with the local trout, as it is illegal to keep them if caught. There is, coincidentally, a similar natural area named Chesterfield Gorge located in Chesterfield, New Hampshire.

Gate Cemetery is a historic cemetery on Ireland Street in West Chesterfield, Massachusetts. It is located just under one mile (1.6 km) south of the center of West Chesterfield, the junction of Main Road and Ireland Street. The 1/3 acre cemetery is on a plateau of land on the east side of Ireland Street, flanked to the east by the Westfield River and to the west by a steep hillside. It takes its name from a toll gate that was erected nearby when the area was settled in the late 18th century.The date of the cemetery's establishment is uncertain, but may be related to a deed transfer of land in the area to the town in 1794. The oldest grave marker, that of Joseph Gere, dates to 1808, while the latest (one of only three dated after 1959) is dated 1997. There are 121 full markers and 26 fragments, and there may be unmarked gravesites. The markers are laid out in 13 rows in the roughly rectangular plot. Most of the markers are marble, although there are number that are granite or slate. Five of the markers are obelisks; none of them exhibit any particular artistic sophistication. The plot is demarcated by fieldstone walls about four feet high; the entrance is marked by two granite posts, into which pockets are carved that hold wooden rails that must be removed to gain access to the grounds. None of the gravesites is fenced off, and there are no circulating paths or roadways on the grounds.The cemetery, along with the nearby Ireland Street Cemetery, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

ATT Chesterfield is a former facility owned by AT&T that was operational from the 1970s to the early 1990s. It was the location of a planned fallout shelter for Julie Nixon, who was attending Smith College at the time. The location still exists and is being reused by a business.

The Ireland Street Cemetery is a historic cemetery on Ireland Street in West Chesterfield, Massachusetts. The cemetery contains 185 stones, dating from 1772 to 1996, most of which date to the 18th and 19th centuries. It is one of the town's oldest cemeteries, and contains the work of three significant funerary carvers of the late 18th and 19th centuries. The cemetery was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2009.

Western Massachusetts, known colloquially as "western Mass," is a region in Massachusetts, one of the six U.S. states that make up the New England region of the United States. Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and universities including UMass in Amherst, MA, with approximately 100,000 students; and such institutions as Tanglewood, the Springfield Armory, and Jacob's Pillow. The western part of western Massachusetts includes the Berkshire Mountains, where there are several vacation resorts. The eastern part of the region includes the Connecticut River Valley, which has a number of university towns, the major city Springfield, and numerous agricultural hamlets. In the eastern part of the area, the Quabbin region is a place of outdoor recreation.

Goshen is a town in Hampshire County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 960 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The town has a rural atmosphere, with one general store, a post office, a fire station, a regional elementary school in nearby Chesterfield, and a town hall. The town encompasses both the Upper and Lower Highland lakes, Upper being a part of the D.A.R. State Forest. The Lower Highland Lake is privately held by a homeowners' association for families who own yearlong and summer properties on the lake.

Goshen Town Hall is the historic civic heart of the town of Goshen, Massachusetts. Located at 42 Main Street in the village center, it is a fine example of Classical Revival architecture, built out of locally quarried fieldstone. The building, which now houses a meeting space and the town library, was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2018.

Massachusetts's 1st congressional district is a United States congressional district located in the western and central part of Massachusetts. The state's largest congressional district in area, it covers about one-third of the state and is more rural than the rest. It has the state's highest point, Mount Greylock; the district includes the cities of Springfield, West Springfield, Pittsfield, Holyoke, Agawam, Chicopee and Westfield. The shape of the district underwent some changes effective from the elections of 2012, after Massachusetts congressional redistricting to reflect the 2010 census. The old 1st and 2nd districts were essentially merged, placing most of western Massachusetts in a single district. The entire Springfield area is included in the new 1st district, and the Worcester County areas of the old 1st district were split between the new 2nd and 3rd districts. Richard Neal, a Democrat from Springfield, represents the district; he previously represented the old 2nd from 1989 to 2013.

Mountain Rest is a historic religious summer retreat on Wildwood Lane, off Spruce Corner Road in Goshen, Massachusetts. Built in the first decade of the 20th century, it served as a retreat for Christian missionaries to foreign countries during periods of furlough in the United States, and as a training facility for future missionaries. The camp was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1983. The camp closed in 1970, and in 1987 the complex was converted to condominiums.