2/25/2023 0 Comments Spectacle pondThe property was such an outstanding acquisition, the National Land Conservation Conference in 2010 brought attendees on a special trip to Spectacle Pond Farm. Lower Spectacle Farm includes a 15-acre stand of old-growth eastern hemlock. "They sold soda and hamburgers and hot dogs and rented rowboats in the summer." They had a snack shack near the pond's outlet. The Rowleys built rental cottages on the pond and hunting camps in the woods, Loring said. In spring, they tapped a sugar bush near the pond using wooden buckets and spiles. In winter, the family cut ice on the pond. "Toward the end, they broke down and bought a used hay bailer," Loring said. In the barn, the hay was lifted with a fork connected to a rope and pulley and the wagon driven out, the hay then dumped in the appropriate mow. In summer, hay was raked into windrows then horses drew a tall loader to tumble the loose hay onto a wagon. Nancy Loring said her father William Rowley and her Uncle Marvin Rowley farmed until the mid-1980s. The developer got $3.5 million, Audubon $1.7 million. To avoid a Land Court struggle to divide the land, DCR negotiated a settlement. The other heirs, Margaret Hawley, Eugene and Robert Rowley and Evelyn Sellig, sold their half share to the developer, Spectacle Pond LLC, for $1.95 million. Massachusetts Audubon in 2006 exercised an option and for $1.513 million purchased a half undivided interest in the property from heirs Nancy Rowley Loring, Thelma Kennedy, Frank H. Developer Jeffrey Polidoro of Egremont wanted the entire parcel. Seven heirs of the last two farming brothers of the Rowley/Hawley family disagreed on the property's disposition. The purchase came after skirmishing with a developer. The Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation (DCR) in July 2007 acquired 907.3-acre Spectacle Pond Farm, folding it into 3,799-acre Otis State Forest for management purposes. The proposed new line will have 36-inch pipes. The 24-inch line ruptured during blasting for a second line in 1981 and forced an evacuation. Northeast Gas Transmission obtained a 30-foot right-of-way from the Rowley family in 1951 and installed a high-pressure pipeline. In the modern era, Civilian Conservation Corps Company 109 encamped at Upper Spectacle Pond in 1933-35 and built the dam and made other recreational improvements. This is the most historic road in Berkshire County, and it crosses Otis State Forest, and the pipeline. Knox and the teamsters stopped at Henry Spring Jr.'s tavern, the foundation of which is at the north end of Spectacle Pond Farm. Henry Knox in January 1776 used the route to sled mortars, cohorns and cannons from Fort Ticonderoga to Dorchester Heights to assist George Washington's effort to menace the British out of Boston. James Clephane (the equivalent of today's Army Corps of Engineers) hacked and shoveled, straightened and flattened the old track across Berkshire to accommodate four regiments marching to New York on their way north to attack Quebec City.Īmerican Col. Jeffery Amherst's 200 Pioneers under the command of Maj. It became a war road in October 1758 when British Gen. In the same family (which came to include Rowleys) for generations, that farm tells a forgotten but common story of New England's agricultural growth and decline.īut even more, between the Spectacle Ponds is an old Indian path that became a fur trade trail. "Nine farms surrounding the lower Spectacle pond had in the days of my grandfather 72 inhabitants," he said, "where now there are only six living to till them. Hawley in The Berkshire Gleaner in 1909 described how he had amassed the property he called Mill Brook Farms. I am most excited about hosting weekly meetings to read that week's poems, discuss some of the inspirations and themes for the work, and take questions. In addition to offering more accompanying pieces and exclusive content, the highest tier patrons will be able to interact with the work in its entirety. I have started this Patreon to offer additional ways to interact with my work and to help sponsor this work that has been 30 years in the making. It was important to me to offer this first book in this collection of five for free in a digital format. I'm thrilled to announce that my newest book, Reflections on Spectacle Pond: The Weekly Edition, will be available for free to email subscribers, on a weekly basis, for the year 2022.
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