2025 Holyoke Massachusetts area guided tours and presentations — FREE and OPEN to the public. [Except for the listed private tours and presentations.] Keep checking back since information will change. Presented by Robert Comeau. Sign up at Eventbrite for most of these tours. The Holyoke Preservation Trust is the promoter for most of the events and oftentimes the host too.
2025 tours and presentations:
Elmwood Cemetery tour (Holyoke) – Saturday April 12 2025 at 11 AM to noontime – park within the cemetery only – sign up at EVENTBRITE
South Hadley Canal – presentation on Wednesday April 23 2025 at 6:00 in the Community Room of the South Hadley Public Library – Leo Labonte of South Hadley will be the presenter – https://vimeo.com/130568191
Plainville Cemetery (Hadley) – Saturday April 26 2025 from 11 AM to noontime – park and meet just outside the cemetery – sign up at EVENTBRITE in early April
South Hadley Canal – Saturday May 3 2025 from 10 AM to noontime – meet at the South Hadley Parking Lot across from the St Patrick’s Church and be ready to walk 2 miles – We will start at the Riverside Park of South Hadley and walk to the Bicentennial Park and beyond. – sign up at EVENTBRITE in April
Holyoke Canal Tour (Holyoke) – presentation at a venue in Holyoke
Tuesday May 6 2025 from 11 AM to 1 PM taken
Thursday May 8 2025 from 11 AM to 1 PM taken
Holyoke Canal Tour (Holyoke) – a bus tour – Saturday May 17 2025 from 1 to 4 PM – first hour will be a walking tour and then two hours on the bus – funded through a grant from the Tourism Advisory Board of Holyoke – sign up at EVENTBRITE the last week of April
Precious Blood Church (Holyoke) and Precious Blood Cemetery – a bus tour – Saturday May 24 2025 from 1 to 4 PM – first hour will be a walking tour and then off to the cemetery in South Hadley for another walking tour – the trolley bus will transport us from the church campus to the cemetery and later back to the church – funded through a grant from the Tourism Advisory Board of Holyoke – sign up at EVENTBRITE the first week of May
Tuesday May 27 2025 from 12:30 to 3:30 PM – private tour
Precious Blood Church Fire of 1875 – Thursday May 29 2025 from 5:30 to 6:30 PM – A presentation will take place in the Community Room of the Holyoke Public Library of Holyoke. It will be about the May 27 1875 fire at the Precious Blood Church in Holyoke Massachusetts. I will discuss the fire, the victims, and the burials. I have been able to find the vast majority of the birth, marriage, and burial documents of the victims.
Ireland Parish Goes to War – jointly funded by the Holyoke Local Cultural Council and the Holyoke Preservation Trust – (Revolutionary War Veterans in Holyoke) – at the Holyoke Public Library
Sacred Heart Church (Springfield) – Saturday June 7 2025 from 11 AM to noontime – park on Everett Street and meet on the sidewalk in front of the church – sidewalk walking tour around the campus – they celebrated their 150th year in 2024 – sign up at EVENTBRITE in May
Tuesday June 10 2025 from 12:30 to 3:30 PM – private tour
Southampton Center Cemetery (Southampton) – Saturday June 14 2025 from 11 AM to noontime – park within the cemetery and meet near the front gate – walking tour of these hollowed grounds – sign up at EVENTBRITE in May
Holyoke Canal System Walking Tour (Holyoke) – a Saturday June 21 2025 from 10 AM to noontime – meet at the Dwight Street side of Holyoke Heritage State Park – be ready to walk 2.5 miles total along the first and second level canals – 11th annual – Register at EVENTBRITE in May 2025. – sign up at EVENTBRITE starting the first of June
The Six Power Canals of the Chicopee River – (presentation in Ludlow at the Hubbard Memorial Library) on Thursday June 26 2025 at 6 PM
Warner Pine Grove Memorial Cemetery (Belchertown) – 100th year anniversary in 2025 – Saturday June 28 2025 from 11 AM to noontime – park along Turkey Hill Road and meet near the front gate – sign up at EVENTBRITE in June
The Six Power Canals of the Chicopee River – (presentation in Wilbraham at the Wilbraham Public Library) on Monday June 30 2025 at 6 PM
The Catholic Churches of Chicopee (a Chicopee presentation) – Tuesday July 29 2025 from 6:30 to 7:30 at the Chicopee Public Library – part 2 in 2026 will be about the Protestant Churches
Ashleyville Cemetery (West Springfield) – Saturday August 9 2025 at 10 to 11 AM park within the cemetery and meet near the front gate – learn about this old neighborhood cemetery on Riverdale Road – sign up at EVENTBRITE in July
Saint Anthony of Padua Church (Chicopee) – Saturday August 16 2025 at 10 to 11 AM – park on Saint Anthony Street and meet on the sidewalk in front of the church – honor the 100th anniversary of this church campus with a sidewalk tour – sign up at EVENTBRITE in July
Brookside Cemetery (Easthampton) – Saturday August 23 2025 at 10 to 11 AM – park within the cemetery and meet near its front gate – historical stroll in this garden cemetery – sign up at EVENTBRITE starting in the first week of August
Chicopee Center Canal (Chicopee) – Saturday August 30 2025 from 10 AM to noontime – meet at the Chicopee Public Library – be ready to walk 2 miles – sign up at EVENTBRITE starting in the first week of August
Rural Cemetery (Belchertown) – Saturday September 6 2025 from 11 AM to noontime – park and meet on the tree belt in front of the cemetery – learn about this very old cemetery’s properties and first burial – sign up at EVENTBRITE starting in the second week of August
Island Pond Cemetery (Ludlow) – Saturday September 13 2025 from 11 AM to noontime – park and meet within the cemetery near its front – take a historical circuit around this pretty burial site – sign up at EVENTBRITE starting in the third week of August
East Street Cemetery (Chicopee) – Saturday September 20 2025 from 11 AM to noontime – park on East Street and meet on the sidewalk in front of the cemetery – might be 200 years old this year – sign up at EVENTBRITE starting in the last week of August
Burial Grounds of Southampton throughout its History – a presentation in Southampton – Thursday September 25 2025 from 5:30 to 6:30 at the Edwards Public Library about the cemeteries used by the town’s people
Cherry Lane Cemetery (Springfield) – Saturday September 27 2025 from 11 AM to noontime – park on Cherry Lane and meet on the sidewalk in front of the cemetery – walking tour – 200th anniversary of the cemetery in January 2026 – sign up at EVENTBRITE starting in the first week of September
East Street Cemetery (Easthampton) – Saturday October 4 2025 from 11 AM to noontime – park and meet on the road in front of the cemetery – great views – sign up at EVENTBRITE starting in the second week of September
Lake Vale Cemetery (Belchertown) – Saturday October 11 2025 from 11 AM to noontime – park and meet on the tree belt in front of the cemetery – be capable of walking on uneven terrain – sign up at EVENTBRITE starting in the third week of September
Dufresne Park (Granby) – A History and Nature Walk into its Woods – Saturday October 18 2025 from 10 AM to noontime – park and meet in the parking lot off of Kendall Street – learn about dams and reservoirs on the trails in the southern reaches of the parkland and also about tree species – sign up at EVENTBRITE starting in the last week of September
North Amherst Cemetery (Amherst) – Saturday October 25 2025 from 11 AM to noontime – meet and park within the cemetery – walk around this historic burial ground – sign up at EVENTBRITE starting in the first week of October
Fuller Cemetery (Ludlow) – Saturday November 1 2025 from 11 AM to noontime – meet and park on the road just in front of the cemetery – learn about how cemeteries were laid out – sign up at EVENTBRITE starting in the second week of October
Main Street Cemetery (Easthampton) – Saturday November 8 2025 from 1 to 2 PM – meet and park within the cemetery – learn about the moved gravestones around the holding tomb – sign up at EVENTBRITE starting in the first week of October
Green Lawn Cemetery (East Longmeadow) – Saturday November 15 2025 from 1 to 2 PM – park along Callender Avenue and meet at the gate of the older part of the cemetery – walk around both segments – sign up at EVENTBRITE starting in the third week of October
Burial Grounds of Springfield throughout its History (a Springfield presentation part 1 of 5)
A House in Holyoke through Time – A Colonial House (a Holyoke presentation in November of 2025)
A Mill in Holyoke through Time (a Holyoke presentation)
Ludlow Canal – (Ludlow)
Indian Orchard Canal (Springfield)
The Six Power Canals of the Chicopee River – (presentation in Springfield)
The Six Navigational Canals of the Connecticut River (presentation in Montague)
EARLIER this year:
Precious Blood Church Fire of 1875