Mount Greylock
Mount Greylock from Hancock, MA
Elevation:	1,064 m (3,491 ft)
Location:	Massachusetts–Berkshires
Range:	Appalachians
Coordinates:	42°38′15″N, 73°10′00″W
First ascent:	unknown
Easiest route:	road

Mount Greylock is a mountain of 3,491 feet (1,064 m) in northwestern Massachusetts, on the Appalachian Trail just south of Vermont and not too far east of New York. It is the highest point in the state. Image File history File links Photographed by Daniel Case on 2005-06-21 from Route 43 in Hancock, MA File history Legend: (cur) = this is the current file, (del) = delete this old version, (rev) = revert to this old version. ... A topographical summit is a point on a surface which is higher in elevation than all points immediately adjacent to it. ... State nickname: Bay State Official languages English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Governor Mitt Romney (R) Senators Edward Kennedy (D), John Kerry (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 44th 27,360 km² 25. ... The Berkshires are a branch of the Appalachian Mountains in Western Massachusetts. ... The most general definition of a mountain range is a group of mountains bordered by lowlands. ... A rainy day in the Great Smoky Mountains, Western North Carolina The Appalachian Mountains are a vast system of North American mountains, partly in Canada, but mostly in the United States, extending as a zone, from 100 to 300 miles wide, running from Newfoundland and Labrador, Canada, 1500 miles south... Map of Earth showing lines of latitude (horizontally) and longitude (vertically); large version (pdf) The geographic (earth-mapping) coordinate system expresses every horizontal position on Earth by two of the three coordinates of a spherical coordinate system which is aligned with the spin axis of the Earth. ... In climbing, a first ascent (FA) is the first climb to reach the top of a mountain, or the first to follow a particular climbing route. ... Southern and northern Mount Everest climbing routes as seen from the International Space Station. ... State nickname: Bay State Official languages English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Governor Mitt Romney (R) Senators Edward Kennedy (D), John Kerry (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 44th 27,360 km² 25. ... The Pocosin cabin along the trail in Shenandoah National Park The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply The A.T., is a 2,174 mile (3500 km) marked hiking trail in the eastern United States, extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin... State nickname: The Green Mountain State Official languages None Capital Montpelier Largest city Burlington Governor Jim Douglas (R) Senators Patrick Leahy (D) Jim Jeffords (I) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 43th 24,923 km² 3. ... State nickname: The Empire State Official languages English Capital Albany Largest city New York City Governor George Pataki (R) Senators Charles Schumer (D) Hillary Clinton (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 27th 141,205 km² 13. ...

Location

Mount Greylock is located in northwestern Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The summit is located in Adams, but the entire landform is also contained within the towns of North Adams, Williamstown, Cheshire, New Ashford and Lanesborough. The mountain is composed of a north-south oriented central ridge: Saddle Ball Mountain (elev. 3,247'), Mount Greylock (3,491'), Mount Fitch (3,110') and Mount Williams (2,951'); flanked by two subordinate ridges: on the west by Mount Prospect (2,690') and Stony Ledge (2,560'), and on the east by Ragged Mountain (2,528'). Berkshire County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. ... State nickname: Bay State Official languages English Capital Boston Largest city Boston Governor Mitt Romney (R) Senators Edward Kennedy (D), John Kerry (D) Area  - Total  - % water Ranked 44th 27,360 km² 25. ... Adams is a town located in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. ... Public Library in the 1920s North Adams is a city located in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. ... Williamstown is a town located in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. ... Cheshire is a town located in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. ... New Ashford is a town located in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. ... Lanesborough is a town located in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. ...

The mountain generally rises 1,000 feet above the surrounding landscape, where on a clear day views upwards to 70-100 miles distant into five diferent states: Massachusetts, New York, Connecticut, Vermont and New Hampshire are possible.

History

Prior to the arrival of Europeans the Mahican people were closely associated with this region. The trade path connecting the Hudson and Connecticut River Valleys (today, Route 2 known as the Mohawk Trail) passes beneath the northern face of Mount Greylock. The mountain was known to eighteenth century English settlers as Grand Hoosuck. In the early nineteenth century it was called Saddleback Mountain because of its appearance (Saddle Ball, the name of the peak to the south, still reflects this). Herman Melville is said to have taken part of his inspiration for Moby Dick from the view of the mountain from his house Arrowhead in Pittsfield, since its snow covered profile reminded him of a great white Sperm Whale breaching the ocean's surface. The Mahicans (also Mohicans) are a Native American tribe who were living in and around the Hudson Valley at the time of their first contact with Europeans in 1609. ... The Mohawk Trail began as an Native American trade route which connected Atlantic tribes with tribes in Upstate New York and beyond. ... (17th century - 18th century - 19th century - more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 18th century refers to the century that lasted from 1701 through 1800. ... Alternative meaning: Nineteenth Century (periodical) (18th century — 19th century — 20th century — more centuries) As a means of recording the passage of time, the 19th century was that century which lasted from 1801-1900 in the sense of the Gregorian calendar. ... Herman Melville Herman Melville (August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American novelist, essayist, and poet. ... Moby-Dick book cover Moby-Dick – the hyphen in the title is present in the original edition – is a novel by Herman Melville. ... Arrowhead (1780) was the home of American author Herman Melville during his most productive years from 1850-1863. ... Pittsfield is a city located in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. ... [[{{{diversity_link}}}|Diversity]] {{{diversity}}} Binomial name Physeter macrocephalus Linnaeus, 1758 Trinomial name {{{trinomial}}} Type Species {{{type_species}}} {{{subdivision_ranks}}} {{{subdivision}}} Sperm Whale range (in blue) Synonyms {{{synonyms}}} The Sperm Whale (Physeter macrocephalus) is the largest of the toothed whales and is believed to be the largest toothed animal to ever inhabit the planet. ...

The origin of the present name of Greylock and its association with the mountain is unclear. It first appeared in print about 1819, and came into popular use by the 1830s. It may be in reference to its appearence, as it often has a gray cloud, or lock of gray mist upon his head, or in tribute to a legendary Native American chief, Gray Lock. Gray Lock (c.1670-1750) was a Western Abenaki Missisquoi chief of Pocomtuc ancestry, born at Woronoco, present-day Russell/Westfield (MA). Continued English settlement onto Abenaki lands erupted into a new conflict in 1722. While the French, New York colonists, and Iroquois watched on, Abenakis from coastal Maine to Lake Champlain focused raids on the Massachusetts Colony. Known as Dummer's War, Three Years War, Lovewell's War, The War with the Eastern Indian or Father Rasle's War, Gray Lock was prominent in the course of the conflict by conducting guerrilla raids into Vermont and western Massachusetts. Gray Lock consistently eluded his pursuers, and acquired the name Wawanolet (Wawanolewat, Wawanotewat), meaning “he who fools the others, or puts someone off the track.” Eastern Abenaki groups made peace with Massachusetts in 1725 and 1726, and Abenakis from Canada agreed to peace terms in 1727, but Gray Lock refused to negotiate a settlement. Although it is not clear whether he actually was ever personally associated with the mountain, perhaps in tribute to his notoriety the mountain eventually came to bear his name. Native Americans (also Indians, Aboriginal Peoples, American Indians, First Nations, Alaskan Natives, Amerindians, or Indigenous Peoples of America) are the indigenous inhabitants of The Americas prior to the European colonization, and their modern descendants. ... Abenaki couple The Abenaki (also Wabanaki), meaning people of the dawn, are a tribe of Native Americans/First Nations belonging to the Algonquian peoples of northeasternNorth America. ... The Pocomtuc were a Native American tribe inhabiting the Connecticut River valley from the northern tip of Connecticut, Western Massachusetts, and the tri-state area of Vermont, New Hammpshire, and Massachusetts. ... Places: Westfield is a place name for the following: Westfield, Indiana Westfield, Massachusetts Westfield, New Jersey Westfield (village), New York Westfield (town), New York Westfield, Pennsylvania Westfield, Texas Westfield, Vermont Westfield, Wisconsin Westfield Center, Ohio Westfield, Western Australia Westfield, New Zealand Other: The Westfield Group is an Australian-owned company... The Province of Massachusetts Bay was a crown colony organized October 7, 1691 in North America by the monarch of England. ... Dummers War (c. ... It has been suggested that this article or section be merged into Dummers War. ... Dummers War (c. ...

Timothy Dwight IV, President of Yale University, along with Williams College President Ebenezer Fitch climbed Greylock in 1799, probably over a rough route cut by a local farmer Jeremiah Wilbur (in that time more land had been cleared on the slopes for farming than today). In his account from Travels in New England and New York describes his period experience, although it was noted the summit vegetation was so thick that they had to climb a tree (balsam) to get a better view: "(Saddle Back) is the highest land in the state. Its whole length from northeast to southwest may be about six miles. Its southeastern front is extensively visible throughout Berkshire, and from high elevations in the states of New Hampshire, New York, Vermont and Connecticut at very great distances...During a great part of the year, it is either embosomed or capped by clouds, and indicates to the surrounding inhabitants the changes of weather with not a little exactness." Timothy Dwight is the name of two presidents of Yale University Timothy Dwight IV (1752-1817) -- President of Yale University from 1795-1817. ...

On May 12, 1830 a crew of students from nearby Williams College cut a trail from the end of the latter to the summit in order to build an observatory; this route exists today as the Hopper Trail. That same day they built the first observation tower on the mountain; in 1841 a more permanent structure was built. Williams College is a private, coeducational, highly-selective liberal arts college located in Williamstown, Massachusetts. ... Observatory of Strasbourg An observatory is a location used for observing terrestrial and/or celestial events. ...

Beginning in the nineteenth century the area of Greylock has inspired writers and artists: among them Nathaniel Hawthorne, William Cullen Bryant, Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr., Herman Melville, and Henry David Thoreau. Thoreau summited and spent a night in July of 1844. His account of the hike in A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers described his approach up what is today the Bellows Pipe Trail. After taking a compass bearing from adjoining Ragged Mountain he bushwhacked the remainder of his route to the summit. Scholars contend that this Greylock experience transformed him, affirming his ability to do these excursions on his own, following his brother John's death; and served as a prelude to his experiment of rugged individualism at Walden Pond the following year in 1845. Nathaniel Hawthorne in the 1860s Nathaniel Hawthorne (July 4, 1804 – May 19, 1864) was a 19th century American novelist and short story writer. ... William Cullen Bryant William Cullen Bryant (November 3, 1794 - June 12, 1878) was an American Romantic poet and journalist. ... Henry David Thoreau Henry David Thoreau (July 12, 1817 – May 6, 1862; born David Henry Thoreau) was an American author, naturalist, transcendentalist, pacifist, tax resister and philosopher who is famous for Walden (available at wikisource) on simple living amongst nature and Civil Disobedience (available at wikisource) on resistance to civil... Thoreaus Cove, Concord, Mass. ...

In 1885 the Greylock Park Association (GPA) was incorporated by a group of local businessmen, and they purchased 400 acres (1.6 km²) of the summit and surrounding land to protect it from clear-cutting logging practices. They also undertook long-needed repairs to the Notch Road so that carriages could the summit. To fund its operation the GPA charged a 25-cent toll for the carriage road and a 10-cent fee to ascend the iron observation tower (built 1889).

By the winter of 1897, with the GPA venture in debt, conservation interests sought to protect the mountain through other means. Legislation was filed to transfer the GPA land holdings on the mountain to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. On June 20, 1898 Greylock State Reservation was created, with the stipulation that the state add to the original acreage (to ultimately total 10,000 acres). With this land acquistion the Massachusetts State Park system was created. A three-person, governor-appointed Greylock (Reservation) Commission, a body of Berkshire County government, was entrusted with the care and maintenance of the Reservation. The title Reservation refers to county management of state land, since there was only one state forester and a handful of state fire wardens in service at the time; similarly other early State Reservation properties were previously managed and operated through the state by county commissions.

In 1906 began the surveying and construction of another approach from the south. Two years later it was opened to the public, and today the Rockwell Road is probably the most popular route up the mountain. Afterwards the Commission turned its attention to the foot trails, and by 1913 it was able to boast that 17 trails existed on the mountain and ridge.

By 1929 the Massachusetts section of the Appalachian Trail route up Mount Greylock from Cheshire had just been cut then using a right-of-way that dated to the mid-19th century. But due to disputes between the local Berkshire Hills Conference trail group and the Appalachian Trail Conference/Appalachian Mountain Club Berkshire Chapter. The trail was in jeopardy of not being maintained until the Mount Greylock Ski Club assumed maintainence in 1937. The Pocosin cabin along the trail in Shenandoah National Park The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply The A.T., is a 2,174 mile (3500 km) marked hiking trail in the eastern United States, extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin... Right-of-way is a legal term which may have any of several meanings: priority at a crossing, or in traffic. ... The Appalachian Trail Conference (ATC) (formerly Appalachian Trail Conference) is a nonprofit organization dedicated to the conservation of the Appalachian Trail, which runs from Maine to Georgia. ... The Appalachian Mountain Club is one of the United States oldest outdoor groups. ...

The greatest period of recreational development on Mount Greylock occured in the 1930s. The Massachusetts War Memorial Tower on the summit was constructed (1931-32). The Civilian Conservation Corps (107th Company, Camp SP-7) made extensive improvements on roads; trails, vistas, firebreaks, forestry health and recreation areas. The CCC constructed Adirondack shelters, the Thunderbolt Ski Shelter (1940) and completed work on the rustic Bascom Lodge (1933-37). The CCC cut the Thunderbolt Ski Trail (1934), site of the United States Eastern Amateur Ski Association (USEASA, today the United States Ski Association) Championship Races in 1938 and 1940. Civilian Conservation Corps workers restoring the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. ...

In 1966, following years of legal disputes led by the conservation group, the Mount Grelock Protective Association, over the Greylock Commission's intended commercial use of public land, responsibilities for management and operation the mountain reverted to the state of Massachusetts.

Features

The 12,500 acre (48 km²) Mount Greylock State Reservation is managed and operated by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, Division of State Parks and Recreation. A paved auto road crosses over the mountain and is accesible to traffic from mid-May through late-October (as long as safe driving conditions permit; call ahead). Access to the park is free; however, there is a $2 fee to park at the summit only. The staffed Visitors Center in Lanesborough is open year-round (1.5 miles off of Route 7) and provides orientation, trail maps, informational brochures, exhibits and accessible rest rooms. The campground on Sperry Road provides both individual and group sites, reservations are suggested. Five lean-to shelters are available for backpacking. About 70 miles of hiking trails approach the mountain from various locations, including the Appalachian Trail. The Pocosin cabin along the trail in Shenandoah National Park The Appalachian National Scenic Trail, generally known as the Appalachian Trail or simply The A.T., is a 2,174 mile (3500 km) marked hiking trail in the eastern United States, extending between Springer Mountain in Georgia and Mount Katahdin...

The ridgeline of Greylock, between Mount Fitch on the north and Saddle Ball on the south is the only place in Massachusetts where a boreal forest or sub-alpine forest flourishes. Taiga (SAMPA /taIg@/, from Russian тайга́) is a biome characterized by its coniferous forests. ...

War memorial atop Mt. Greylock

Prominent features on the summit are the Massachusetts Veterans War Memorial Tower, Bascom Lodge, the Thunderbolt Ski Shelter and a television/radio tower. Based on the the cultural significance of the summit and examples CCC period structures, the area was designated a National Historic District in 1998. Image File history File links Download high resolution version (884x663, 132 KB)Photographed by Daniel Case 2005-06-21. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (884x663, 132 KB)Photographed by Daniel Case 2005-06-21. ... The National Register of Historic Places is the USAs official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures, and objects worthy of preservation. ...

The War Memorial Tower was legislated in October of 1930, supported by Senator Theodore Plunkett of Adams and Governor Frank G. Allen. The memorial was designed by Boston-based architects Maginnis and Walsh, and built by contractors John G. Roy & Son of Springfield in 1931-32 at a cost of $200,000. The tower takes the form of a perpetually lighted beacon to honor the state's dead from World War I (and now subsequent conflicts). The architectural design of the tower was intended to have no suggestion of Utilitarianism, but to display classic austerity (Starved Classicism), a 93-foot (28 m) tall shaft with eight frieze-framed observation openings. It includes some details of Art Deco such as the decorative eagle on the base. Inside the base is a domed chamber for a reverential shine, that was intended to store tablets and war relicts from wartime units in the state’s history. Although local legislators and residents advocated for local stone to be used, it was ultimately quarried from Quincy (MA) Granite. In part it bears the inscription "they were faithful even unto death." The transluscent globe of light at its top, originally illuminated by twelve 1,500 watt lights (now six), is said to be visible at night for 70 miles (110 km). The formal dedication ceremony in 1933 by Governor Joseph Ely, was attended by about 1,500 and broadcast nationally over NBC radio. Clockwise from top: Trenches in frontline, a British Mark I Tank, a Warship, a Machine gunner with Gas mask and a Biplane. ... ... Classicism door in Olomouc, The Czech Republic. ... Asheville City Hall. ... Quincy is the name of several places in the United States of America: Quincy, California Quincy, Florida Quincy, Illinois Quincy, Massachusetts Quincy, Michigan Quincy, Ohio Quincy, Washington Quincy, Adams County, Wisconsin Quincy Township, Michigan Quincy may also refer to: John Quincy Adams, the 6th president of the United States, who...

Bascom Lodge was begun in 1933 by Jules Emil Deloye, Jr. and completed in 1937 through the Civilian Conservation Corps, built using native Greylock Schist and Red Spruce. Designed by Pittsfield Architect, Joseph McArthur Vance (b.1868 - d.1948) it displays the rustic architectural design of period park structures. It is open from mid-May though mid-October, operated as a concession by arrangement with the state. It sells hot food and rents overnight lodging. Civilian Conservation Corps workers restoring the Chesapeake and Ohio Canal. ... Categories: Mineral stubs | Metamorphic rocks ... Binomial name Picea rubensSarg. ...

Television/Radio Tower: Three stations transmit from a broadcast tower below the summit on the west side:

• WAMC (90.3 Albany, New York)
• WCDC-TV (19/36 Adams, Massachusetts)
• WNYA-TV (51 Pittsfield, Massachusetts)
• A NOAA Weather Radio station (WWF-48, 162.525 MHz) also broadcasts from this site.

Bascom Lodge and Saddle Ball Mtn. as seen from the memorial tower.

WAMC/Northeast Public Radio is a public radio station out of Albany, NY, brodcasting on the 90. ... Motto: Nickname: Location in Albany County, New York Founded Incorporated 1614 1686  County Albany County Borough {{{borough}}} Parrish {{{parrish}}} Mayor Gerald D. Jennings Area  - Total  - Water 56. ... WTEN is the call letters for a television station in Albany, New York. ... Adams is a town located in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. ... WNYA is the callsign of the Capital Districts UPN affiliate. ... Pittsfield is a city located in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 143 KB) This is my personal photo. ... Image File history File links Download high resolution version (1024x768, 143 KB) This is my personal photo. ...

External links

• Mass.gov: Mt. Greylock State Reservation
• Berkshire Web: Mt. Greylock
• America's Roof: Mt. Greylock
• Preserved One-room Schoolhouse on Mt. Greylock
• Summit Log of Mt. Greylock