Mount Tom, Massachusetts

Mount Nonotuck, 827 feet (252 m), is the northernmost peak of the Mount Tom Range of traprock mountains located in the Connecticut River Valley of Massachusetts and part of the larger Metacomet Ridge which stretches from Long Island Sound to nearly the Vermont border. Rugged and considered scenic, the peak rises steeply from the river valley 700 feet (210 m) below. It is located within the town of Holyoke.The 110-mile (180 km) Metacomet-Monadnock Trail, maintained by the Berkshire Chapter of the Appalachian Mountain Club, crosses Mt. Nonotuck, and a seasonal auto road (closed to vehicles indefinitely due to deteriorating conditions, hikers still welcome) climbs to a small parking lot just beneath the summit. During the winter, the auto road is often used for cross country skiing.

The Mount Tom Station was a coal-fired power plant located in Holyoke, Massachusetts. It was the last coal-fired plant in Western Massachusetts before its closure in December 2014.

The Manhan River is a 27.6-mile-long (44.4 km) river in western Massachusetts. It is a tributary of the Connecticut River. The river begins near the boundary between the towns of Huntington and Westhampton, Massachusetts, and flows southeast to White Reservoir and then Tighe Carmody Reservoir in Southampton. The river continues southeast, then turns northeasterly and flows through the middle of Easthampton to its confluence with the Connecticut River at a westward curve called The Oxbow. The river provides excellent views of nearby Mount Tom. Europeans first settled the area in 1664 and later established saw mills on the river. In 1847 large mills began with the Williston-Knight Button Company; a number of other factories sprang up nearby in the next few years. Small lead mines also were established near the river. Of particular note is the Manhan River mine near Loudville, noted for its pyromorphite and wulfenite. A former railroad has been converted to the Manhan Rail Trail, which now provides a scenic pathway along the river.

The Oxbow, also known as the Ox-Bow, is an extension of the Connecticut River, located in Northampton, Massachusetts. It is well-known for its appearance in the 1836 painting The Oxbow by Thomas Cole.

Mount Tom State Reservation encompasses the Mount Tom Range and is located in the Connecticut River Valley region of Massachusetts, just north of the city of Springfield. The reservation is noted for its biologic diversity, high cliffs, and rugged scenery.

The Pioneer Valley is the colloquial and promotional name for the portion of the Connecticut River Valley that is in Massachusetts in the United States. It is generally taken to comprise the three counties of Hampden, Hampshire, and Franklin. The lower Pioneer Valley corresponds to the Springfield, Massachusetts metropolitan area, the region's urban center, and the seat of Hampden County. The upper Pioneer Valley region includes the smaller cities of Northampton and Greenfield, the county seats of Hampshire and Franklin counties, respectively. Historically the northern part of the Valley was an agricultural region, known for growing Connecticut shade tobacco and other specialty crops like Hadley asparagus; however, since the late 19th century its economy has become increasingly a knowledge economy, due to the prominence of the Five Colleges in Hampshire County. Similarly the Springfield-Chicopee-Holyoke economies transformed from volume producers of goods such as paper and armaments, into a combination of specialized manufacturing and distribution services for Boston and New York. Many of the cities and towns include areas of forests, and Springfield itself, which in the early twentieth century was nicknamed "The City in a Forest," features nature within its city limits and over 12% parkland. The Pioneer Valley is known for its scenery and as a vacation destination. The Holyoke Range, Mount Tom Range, and numerous rolling hills, bluffs, and meadows feature extravagant homes from the Gilded Age, many of which surround New England's longest and largest river, the Connecticut River, which flows through the region.The name Pioneer Valley originates in the 20th century with travel writers using it in the 1920s and 1930s to designate the region. In 1939 the Pioneer Valley Association was formed to promote the region using that name.

Hockanum Rural Historic District is a rural historic district along the Connecticut River in Hadley, Massachusetts. The district includes much of the area in Hadley west of Mount Holyoke and east of the river. Its formal boundaries run from Hockanum Cemetery in the southwest, following the river and the summit ridge of Mount Holyoke to the northeast corner of J.A. Skinner State Park. It includes the summit area of Mount Holyoke, including the Summit House, Halfway House, and other historic structures within the park, along with the agricultural lands of the valley below.The views of the Connecticut River valley from Mount Holyoke were popularized in the early 19th century by the writing of Timothy Dwight, a Northampton native and president of Yale College. The summit area was a tourist destination, and artists such as Thomas Cole immortalized the views in art. In the late 19th century tourism waned, but saw a brief resurgence in the 1910s and 1920s due to the activities of Joseph Skinner, a local industrialist and philanthropist. He purchased and rehabilitated the mountaintop facilities and modernized the road to the summit. His success was brief, hurt by the Great Depression and the effects of the 1938 New England hurricane, which nearly destroyed the Summit House. He donated his holdings to the state to form the core of Skinner State Park.The agricultural lands in the valley have undergone only relatively modest changes, and farming continues to be a dominant activity in the area. Most of the structures in the valley are related to agricultural activities. There is no church, but the community has historically been focused around taverns that were in the area, and more recently around the Hockanum School, a small brick schoolhouse built c. 1853.The district was added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993.

Smith's Ferry is a neighborhood in Holyoke, Massachusetts, United States, located to the north of the city center, approximately 1.5 miles (2.4 km) from downtown. The neighborhood prominently features the Mount Tom State Reservation, as well as the Mountain Park Amphitheater, the Dinosaur Footprints Reservation, and several other recreational and historic venues. Smith's Ferry is the second largest geographic division in Holyoke after Rock Valley, comprising roughly 3,800 acres (1,500 ha) of mixed residential, commercial, and recreational zoning.

Fort Hill Historic District is a historic district roughly on South Street between Lyman to Monroe in Northampton, Massachusetts. Fort Hill was listed on the National Register of Historic Places on April 7, 1989. Fort Hill is a collection of well-preserved houses from the 18th and early 19th centuries. The 2.2-acre (0.89 ha) district consists of 5 properties on the east side of South Street and one on the west side: The Preserved Bartlett House, 124 South Street (1792) The Theodore Bartlett House, 130 South Street (c. 1830) The Eleazer Strong House, 133 South Street (c. 1797) The Col. Elisha Strong Homestead, 134 South Street (c. 1800) The Graves-Parsons House, 144 South Street (c. 1830) The Capt. Roger Clapp House, 148 South Street (DAR Headquarters, 1753)All six buildings are wood-frame structures, 2+1⁄2 stories in height, with clapboard siding. Five of them have side gable roofs and are five bays wide; the Theodore Bartlett House is a Greek Revival house with a front-facing gable and a three-bay front facade. Three of the houses are basically Georgian colonial in character, the Roger Clapp House being the oldest of these (built c. 1753). Two are Greek Revival, and one, the Eleazer Strong House (built 1797), is one of the city's oldest Federal style houses.In addition to their age and architectural significance, all six buildings are notable for their association with the families of some of its earliest settlers. Preserved Clapp was one of Northampton's first settlers, and it was his son Roger who built the Clapp House that now stands. The two Strong houses were built by sons of Elder John Strong, another prominent early arrival, and the two Bartlett houses were built by descendants of Robert Bartlett, a town selectman between 1657 and 1663.

Mount Holyoke, a traprock mountain, elevation 935 feet (285 m), is the westernmost peak of the Holyoke Range and part of the 100-mile (160 km) Metacomet Ridge. The mountain is located in the Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts, and is the namesake of nearby Mount Holyoke College. The mountain is located in the towns of Hadley and South Hadley, Massachusetts. It is known for its historic summit house, auto road, scenic vistas, and biodiversity. The mountain is crossed by the 110-mile (180 km) Metacomet-Monadnock Trail and numerous shorter trails. Mount Holyoke is the home of J.A. Skinner State Park which is accessible from Route 47 in Hadley, Massachusetts.

Joseph Allen Skinner State Park is a state-owned, public recreation area located in the towns of Hadley and South Hadley in the Connecticut River Valley of western Massachusetts. The state park surrounds Mount Holyoke, the westernmost peak of the Mount Holyoke Range. At the summit is the historic Prospect House, an old hotel first opened in 1851. The park is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Union Station is a historic building in Northampton, Massachusetts, that served as a train station from 1897 until 1987. Built at the close of the nineteenth century, the structure incorporates many features of the Richardsonian Romanesque architectural style. The buff brick masses of the station are trimmed with red Longmeadow brownstone and hooded by red tile roofs. Steep dormers protrude from the roofline. The interior once featured Italian marble floors, oak woodwork, and a large fireplace.The building, which is privately owned, was converted in 2013 into a 200-seat banquet facility, a sports bar, and a facility known as the Tunnel Bar that runs underneath the building.On December 29, 2014, Amtrak's Vermonter began stopping at a new passenger rail boarding platform located just to the south of the Union Station building. A pilot program added two daily round trips of the Valley Flyer in August 2019.