New England Trail

The New England Trail flows through Holyoke down the backbone of Mount Tom Range and East Mountain. Through the Mount Tom Reservation it supports many side trails on the eastern flanks of Mount Nonotuck and Mount Tom.

As it leaves the Mount Tom Reservation, the trail still has side trails into the former Mount Tom Ski Area and then into the Whiting Street Reservoir area. As a hiker crosses Route 141, the trail enters East Mountain. To the east are side trails into the Holyoke Community College area and the Jarvis Road area and to the west are side trails to Mountain Road. Lastly, at the southern end of the trail in Holyoke, a hiker will have side trails to McLean Reservoir and Ashley Reservoir.

Ludlow Canal

The Ludlow Canal is now gone but was a strong power source for the mills in that community during the industrial revolution.

1911 general Sanborn map for Ludlow. The 1906 does not show this area. The 1919 shows about the same as the 1911 map.

Mill No. 4 canal – Digital Commonwealth

View of canal adjacent to LMA – Digital Commonwealth

The Putts Bridge Dam that has been in place since 1919 is NOT the one that leads the water into the former canal. This dam was a direct power source.

Charles Hubbard bought out the Ludlow Mills and renamed them the Ludlow Manufacturing Associates. In 1878 he sold to the Ludlow Manufacturing Company.

The Ludlow Manufacturing Company made jute, flax, and cotton products since about 1878 in Ludlow. Their very early buildings had to use canal power in order to generate hydromechanical energy. This canal took water from the Chicopee River to power some mills. The mills would have been located in between the canal and the river. This canal was built in the year 1878. Since they had now a strong canal, a mill number 4 was built. In 1888 mill 5 was built and a canal was built on the upper dam. In 1889 mill 6 was built. In 1891 mill 2 was built. In 1894 mill 1 and mill 3 were built. In 1900 mill 8 was built (dedicated Feb 16 1901). In 1905 mill 9 was built. In 1906 mill 8 got an annex. In 1907 mill 10 was built.

millstartedcanalgone
11894one
21891one
31894one
41878one
51888two
61889two
7none
81900nonestill
91905nonestill
101907nonestill
11nonestill

The following pictures come from the book Jute – An Account of its Growth and Manufacture – 1928 publication.

After 1895 or so, electricity would have been available to the mills from an outside source and those it was no longer necessary to have the canal and thus later mills like 8, 9, 10, and 11 were off the canal. In 1900 the Red Bridge Dam was replaced with a larger one.

Workers’ housing was available from the Ludlow Manufacturing Company. This look like regular homes.

Ludlow mill 10

Ludlow mill 11

Ludlow Manufacturing Company Mill Workers Housing

38 Winsor St1895
26 Winsor St1905
53-55 Joy St1880

Forestdale West Cemetery tour

Cemeteries of Holyoke

Forestdale West Cemetery tour – gates

Baby Boy Hatch

This is the first burial in Forestdale West Cemetery of Holyoke. This happened 4 decades before any other burials because the administrator of the cemetery was hoping to have a new cemetery here but continue burials in Forestdale Cemetery. In order to not pay taxes on the land, you need to have at least one burial.

Robert Miller Memorial

Robert Miller is buried in Forestdale Cemetery but he has a memorial area in the Forestdale West Cemetery. FINDAGRAVE

Spatial Arrangement of the Cemetery

Day Brook data

Day Brook data

Day Brook is about 2.5 miles long from the top of Crafts Hill to its end at the Connecticut River. The segment from Norwood Terrace to just past MacKenzie Field was placed underground from 1925 to 1926. This is 4883 feet long or about 0.9 miles. It is not yet know when the next segment from just past MacKenzie Field to the Connecticut River was placed under ground.

The Day Brook project cost $20,560.86 in 1925. The Day Brook project cost $126,094.66 in 1926. The two year project was thus $146,655.52. That would be about $6 million in 2023 money.

The diameter of the lines were 36, 42, 51, and 54 inches which is very wide for sewer lines.

1925 information from the Holyoke annual municipal register.

1926 information from the Holyoke annual municipal register.