Mount Greylock State Reservation
Encyclopedia
Mount Greylock State Reservation is a Massachusetts
state park
that was created in 1898 as Massachusetts' first public land for the purpose of forest preservation. It is located on its namesake Mount Greylock
.
and Housatonic River
watersheds from erosion due to recent trends of deforestation (particularly noted on the Adams side). Another concern was to preserve it for the public rather than private/exclusive enjoyment. On June 20, 1898 (Mount) Greylock (State) Reservation was created, with the stipulation that the state add to the original land (to ultimately total 10000 acres (40.5 km²)). With this acquisition the first public land in Massachusetts for the purpose of forest preservation was created, later to become the state park system. 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 in Massachusetts were previously managed and operated by county commissions for the state.
Massachusetts
The Commonwealth of Massachusetts is a state in the New England region of the northeastern United States of America. It is bordered by Rhode Island and Connecticut to the south, New York to the west, and Vermont and New Hampshire to the north; at its east lies the Atlantic Ocean. As of the 2010...
state park
State park
State parks are parks or other protected areas managed at the federated state level within those nations which use "state" as a political subdivision. State parks are typically established by a state to preserve a location on account of its natural beauty, historic interest, or recreational...
that was created in 1898 as Massachusetts' first public land for the purpose of forest preservation. It is located on its namesake Mount Greylock
Mount Greylock
Mount Greylock is the highest natural point in Massachusetts at . Its peak is located in the northwest corner of the state in the western part of the town of Adams in Berkshire County. Although geologically part of the Taconic Mountains, Mount Greylock is commonly associated with the abutting...
.
History
By the winter of 1897, with the Greylock Park Association venture in debt, conservation interests in the state sought to protect the mountain through other means. Legislation was filed by William H. Chase, Editor of the Berkshire Sunday Democrat of North Adams, under the auspices of the Board of Trade of North Adams to transfer the GPA land holdings on the mountain to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts for a state reservation. This included supporting testimony from Williams College Professor of Geology T. Nelson Dale, and a $25,000 appropriation bill filed through Judge Arthur M. Robinson. Additional support came from the Massachusetts Forestry Association's initiative to advocate for the establishment of a state park system, and to make the case point, fight inappropriate development of the state's highest peak, Mount Greylock. The principal argument for making the mountain a public reservation was to protect the HoosicHoosic
Hoosac is an Algonquian word meaning place of stones.Hoosic, Hoosick or Hoosac may refer to:-Communities:*Hoosick, New York, a town in Rensselaer County**Hoosick Falls, New York, a village in the above town-Geography:...
and Housatonic River
Housatonic River
The Housatonic River is a river, approximately long, in western Massachusetts and western Connecticut in the United States. It flows south to southeast, and drains about of southwestern New England into Long Island Sound...
watersheds from erosion due to recent trends of deforestation (particularly noted on the Adams side). Another concern was to preserve it for the public rather than private/exclusive enjoyment. On June 20, 1898 (Mount) Greylock (State) Reservation was created, with the stipulation that the state add to the original land (to ultimately total 10000 acres (40.5 km²)). With this acquisition the first public land in Massachusetts for the purpose of forest preservation was created, later to become the state park system. 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 in Massachusetts were previously managed and operated by county commissions for the state.