place

Pocumtuck Ridge Trail

Hiking trails in MassachusettsMassachusetts geography stubsPocumtuck RangeProtected areas of Franklin County, MassachusettsUnited States trail stubs
Pocumtuck Ridge Trail
Pocumtuck Ridge Trail

The Pocumtuck Ridge Trail is a 20-mile (32 km) footpath that traverses the Pocumtuck Range of Deerfield and Greenfield, Massachusetts. The trail is known for its dramatic views of the Deerfield River and Connecticut River valleys from extensive cliff faces. It traverses the ridgeline from Sugarloaf Mountain, at the southern end of the range, in the Mount Sugarloaf State Reservation, north over the main ridgeline of Pocumtuck Ridge, to Poet's Seat in Greenfield. Seventy percent of the footway is located on conservation land. As of May 2010, an exception exists approximately one mile north of the east–west crossing high tension power line that is itself north of Stage Road and Ridge Road in Deerfield. Here, a private landowner has barricaded the trail with orange snow fencing, and has posted a plethora of no-trespassing signs including "you do not have permission to be here" and "you are being watched."

Excerpt from the Wikipedia article Pocumtuck Ridge Trail (License: CC BY-SA 3.0, Authors, Images).

Pocumtuck Ridge Trail
County Road,

Geographical coordinates (GPS) Address Nearby Places
placeShow on map

Wikipedia: Pocumtuck Ridge TrailContinue reading on Wikipedia

Geographical coordinates (GPS)

Latitude Longitude
N 42.523888888889 ° E -72.591388888889 °
placeShow on map

Address

Connecticut River Greenway State Park

County Road
01342
Massachusetts, United States
mapOpen on Google Maps

Pocumtuck Ridge Trail
Pocumtuck Ridge Trail
Share experience

Nearby Places

Deerfield, Massachusetts
Deerfield, Massachusetts

Deerfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. Settled near the Connecticut River in the 17th century during the colonial era, the population was 5,090 as of the 2020 census. Deerfield is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area in western Massachusetts, lying 30 miles (48 km) north of the city of Springfield. Deerfield includes the villages of South Deerfield and Old Deerfield, which is home to two museums: Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association and Historic Deerfield, Inc. Historic Deerfield is designated as a National Historic Landmark district, and the organization operates a museum with a focus on decorative arts, early American material culture, and history. Its eleven house museums offer interpretation of society, history, and culture from the colonial era through the late nineteenth century. The Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association operates Memorial Hall Museum, which opened in 1880, as well as the Indian House Memorial Children's Museum and Bloody Brook Tavern. The site of early 18th century colonial battles including the Raid on Deerfield, the town is a center of heritage tourism in the Pioneer Valley. Deerfield has numerous schools, including Deerfield Academy, a private secondary preparatory school; Frontier Regional High School; Deerfield Elementary; and two separate private junior boarding schools, Bement School, which is co-ed, and Eaglebrook School, which is a school for boys.

Raid on Deerfield
Raid on Deerfield

The Raid on Deerfield, also known as the Deerfield Massacre, occurred during Queen Anne's War on February 29, 1704, when French and Native American raiders under the command of Jean-Baptiste Hertel de Rouville attacked the English colonial settlement of Deerfield, Massachusetts, just before dawn. They burned parts of the town and killed 47 colonists. The raiders left with 112 colonists as captives, whom they took overland the nearly 300 miles to Montreal; some died or were killed along the way because they were unable keep up. Roughly 60 colonists were later ransomed by their associates, while others were adopted by Mohawk families at Kahnawake and became assimilated into the tribe. In this period, English colonists and their Indian allies were involved in similar raids against French villages along the northern area between the spheres of influence. Typical of the small-scale frontier conflict in Queen Anne's War, the French-Indian forces consisted of French soldiers and about 240 Indian warriors, mostly Abenaki (from what is now Maine), but including Huron (Wyandot) from Lorette, Mohawk from Kahnawake (both mission villages), and a number of Pocomtuc who had once lived in the Deerfield area. Given the diversity of personnel, motivations, and material objectives, the raiders did not achieve full surprise when they entered the palisaded village. The defenders of some fortified houses in the village successfully held off the raiders until arriving reinforcements prompted their retreat. However, the raid was a clear victory for the French coalition that aimed to take captives and unsettle English colonial frontier society. More than 100 captives were taken, and about 40 percent of the village houses were destroyed. Although predicted because of existing tensions during the war, the raid shocked colonists throughout New England. Conflict increased with the French and French-allied Indians. Frontier settlements took actions to fortify their towns and prepare for war. The raid has been immortalized as a part of the early American frontier story, principally due to the published account by a prominent captive, the Rev. John Williams, who was the principal leader of the village. He and much of his family were taken on the long overland journey to Canada. His seven-year-old daughter Eunice was adopted by a Mohawk family; she became assimilated, married a Mohawk man, and had a family with him. Williams's account, The Redeemed Captive, was published in 1707 soon after his release, and was widely popular in the colonies. It became part of the genre known as captivity narratives.