Mountain Park Entrance Crossroads
This is the intersection of three roads – Aerator Road (part of Whiting Street Reservoir Road), Mountain Park Road, and Mount Tom Ski Area Road. (LOCATION)
It is obvious what they led to. The ski area is only a mile away from this point. The Mount Tom Ski Area Road also leads to an access road to climb the mountain. The trolley bed at one time passed close to here. The road to the reservoir was made in 1963 and is called Aerator Road.
Holyoke Street Railway and the Mountain Park Entrance
Pictures of the Gates on Northampton Street.
If you look carefully to the east of Mountain Park Road, you can see the support piers for the trolley to elevate the cars over a gully. The tar roads for cars was a bit more to the north. Read much more about the trolley lines at HOLYOKE TROLLEY. (On the inset map, the trolley line is in deep black and is between the blue and the lower red lines.)
| road from highway to Mountain Park | trolley piers | gateway from highway |
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Old Gate at Whiting Street Reservoir
At the crossing of Kenilworth Road and Mountain Park Road there is an old road leading west. (In the inset map just above, it is the black line above the upper RED line and is marked “Road to Reservoir”). (LOCATION) It starts about 70 feet into the driveway of the Kenilworth Castle Condos.) This is the remnant of the entrance to Whiting Street Reservoir. It once led to the reservoir but in 1963 when the interstate highway was put in, the Reservoir Road was partially taken out. The Kenilworth Castle was to the south. The stream nearby is the end of Roaring Brook which soon crosses Northampton Street and empties into the Connecticut River. This entrance had a large castellated gate from 1912 to 1963 but it has mostly been removed.
In 1914 an iron pipe fence lined both sides of the road from this gate to the reservoir. In 1918 this entrance road was paved with bituminous macadam. The iron gate across the road was added in 1919. By the next year 1920 the gate was being used a lot to restrict driving whenever needed.
Part of a surface pump and some walls are still here. This road is the property of Holyoke Water Works so you may walk up it but it only leads to a fence on the interstate highway. Another dirt road leading north was constructed in 1915 to lead to Mountain Park. This road was paved in 1928. (On the inset map, this is the UPPER RED line.) The tar road that you drove in on, going to the park and reservoir was made in 1965. (On the inset map, this is the BLUE line.)
In 1912 also a pipeline was lain from the castle area near this gate to the Mt Tom Country Club. This would bring water to the golf course for the first time.
The first chlorination plant of two at Whiting Street Reservoir was put in place in January 24 of 1941 having been started in 1940. It was 100 feet north of this gate. It was easterly of the Water Works road (between the two old roads that are described above). See the schematic above for a look at its design. It had a Ross hydraulic pump that injected chlorine into the water. (In 1941, 25 pounds of chlorine was used every 24 hours.) The equipment could hold 1 ton of chlorine at a time so the tanks must have been large. The plant included a Venturi meter (January 7 1`941) and a Ventilator both of which were stored in the basement in order to stay clear of the chlorine. The plant was 25 feet long and 12 feet wide. At 8 feet 3 inches high, it also had a cellar. Each of the three segments had doors and each had a window. The northern section had a stairway down to the cellar.
This area had a large platform for a floral and bush display and the chlorination plant was to its western edge.
Christine Hurlburt was found murdered in 1968 close to this spot. FINDAGRAVE
| gateway | still there and see also image to the left | upper Roaring Brook after it comes out from the interstate area | |
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| garden area | flower plot on top | ||
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Whiting Coal
William Whiting brought his large family to Ireland Parish in the mid-1840s. There he developed a coal business with one of his sons – Edward Gustavus Whiting. Another of his sons – William Whiting – would develop a large paper mill and also enter politics.
Unitarian Church of Holyoke
Horatio Knight
John Mayher house
Mayher Fountain 1902
Park Street in Easthampton starts at Main Street in Easthampton at its northmost terminus. Read about Main Street HERE.
| house | Park Street – odd | built in | notes |
| Easthampton Library | 9 | 1881 | |
| John Mayher | 15 | 1884 | |
| Joseph Winslow | 19 | ||
| George Colton | 21 | 1892 | |
| Payson Williston | 31 | 1790 | |
| Clifford Richmond | 37 | 1920 | Williston Academy Headmaster’s House |
| Williston Academy Chapel | 41 | 1965 | |
| Thomas Thompson | 85 | 1905 | |
| house | Park Street – even | built in | notes |
| Easthampton High School | 4 | 1912 | |
| Clark House | 8 | 1865 | |
| Susan Jewett | 10 | 1877 | |
| Horatio Knight | 20 | 1855 | Lt. Gov. |
| Samuel Williston | 28 | 1843 | Williston Academy Headmaster’s House |
| Williston Seminary | |||
| Manhan Rail Trail | |||
| Aseph Wait | 114 | 1840 | |
| John Ludden | 116 | 1830 | |
| Daniel Rust | 148 | 1850 | |
| Levi White | 158 | 1825 | |
| Stephen Wright | 228 | 1793 | |
| John Lyman | 238 | 1860 |
17 Park Street
23 Park Street
Aseph Wait
John Ludden
22 Park 1925
18 Park 1905
12 Park 1899 Mitchell
David Booth house
Thomas Bliss house
