|
|
Charlemont Massachusetts
is a highland town with peaks like Pocumtuck Mountain as high as 1872 feet.
The town is on the Mohawk Trail, the primary Indian route between the Hudson
River Valley and the Connecticut River Valley, and was the site of forts
built in 1744 as part of the line of defense to protect settlers further
south from Indian attack during the French and Indian wars.
In fact, sections of the town were
abandoned by their residents in 1746 after the attack and destruction of
Fort Massachusetts by French and Indian forces. Exposure to this kind of
attack slowed the community's development. When the ending of the wars
stabilized the area, the town grew as an agricultural and industrial site
with grist and saw mills, brick yards, potash production, furs, hides and
palm leaf hats.
Charlemont was agricultural through
the mid-20th century. Bisected by the Deerfield River, the town is now
a rural recreation center and because of its location on the Mohawk Trail,
was the site of a very early flow of tourists.
Charlemont Massachusetts is located
in Northwestern Massachusetts, bordered by Heath and Rowe on the north,
Florida on the west, Savoy on the southwest, Hawley and Buckland on the
south, and Shelburne and Colrain on the west and northwest. Charlemont
is 19 miles west of Greenfield and 114 miles northwest of Boston. |