Mill River Greenway Initiative

A community-based steward for the Mill River

JW Sinton

New Williamsburg Mill River Greenway Study

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Here it is!  After a year’s study, Williamsburg’s Mill River Greenway Committee has published its Mill River Greenway Feasibility Report that focuses on ways to link Haydenville and Williamsburg Center along the river.  It’s well worth a look, and congratulations go out to the committee and the town.

“Our study established conceptual path corridors and documented public comments, which serve as a basis for the next physical planning phase. The report identifies a number of strategic phases for competitive grant applications in order to combine our local objectives with ongoing regional planning processes to achieve the economy of scale needed to obtain economic feasibility.

The Mill River Greenway Committee concludes that such a Greenway within the Mill River Corridor is feasible, and would be of great benefit to our Town and the surrounding communities. We have refined the goal, identified community support, and affirmed the physical, ecological, technical, and economic feasibility of implementing alternative transportation linkages.”

You can find the full report here.

 

June 1st Launch of MRGI’s First Riverwalk Brochure — Paradise Pond to Old South St.

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Come help us launch the first of MRGI’s series of self-guided historic riverwalks, this one from Paradise Pond on the Smith College campus to Old South Street in downtown Northampton.  You will be walking through more than 350 years of history on this riverwalk, which focuses on the centers of Northampton’s early industries as well as the history of the river itself.

John Sinton, MRGI’s co-moderator, will lead the tour, which includes stops at early mill sites, at the 1940 diversion, then a walk alongside the former bed of the “Hidden Mill River” and an endpoint where the first bridge across the Mill was built in the 17th century.

Everyone will get a copy of the beautiful brochure with its map and text, along with historic maps and photos.

Time & Date: 10:00-11:30  Saturday, June 1st

Meeting Place: The Boathouse across from the Greenhouse on Paradise Pond

Heavy rain cancels the event.

Please join us for our Spring Celebration

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Come celebrate another year of inspiring activity on the Mill River with us at our annual spring celebration. The party will take place on Friday April 26th, from 5 to 7 PM at the home of MRGI co-moderator Neal Bastek, 3 Village Hill Avenue, in Williamsburg.

An advance copy of our first self-guided Mill River Walk brochure will be available at the party. The tour explores the changes to the river’s flow as a result of Northampton’s growth as an industrial center in the late 18th and early 19th centuries. The walk follows the Mill River between Paradise Pond and South Street, Northampton, revealing the ‘hidden’ clues to the original river bed and the many diversions that once flowed through what is now downtown Northampton. Free copies will be distributed to the public in May. We’ll also share a presentation to introduce our vision of a Mill River Greenway that Sophia Geller, a Smith senior, developed.

We’re looking to grow our membership base this year so please consider bringing a friend of the river along and introducing them to our work. Please rsvp to info@millrivergreenway.org

A Mill River History

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1700 Northampton according to Cestre. Courtesy of Forbes Library

1700 Northampton according to Cestre. Courtesy of Forbes Library

This month we are introducing our Mill River History, beginning with the river’s re-emergence from under glaciers after the last Ice Age.

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Introduction and Geological History

We will introduce you to the Mill River and its major features as it brings life to the valley.  You will then discover its recent geological history since the disappearance of the last glaciers and the post-glacial landscape of Lake Hitchcock.  Much of the credit for this account goes to Dr. John Brady, Professor of Geology at Smith College, although the author of the account remains responsible for its writing.