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By EVELINE MACDOUGALL

Editor’s note: This is the first of a two-part series about the history and modern-day workings of Wheel-View Farm in Shelburne.Lifelong Shelburne resident Carolyn Wheeler is of the fourth generation to live and actively farm on familial land, and...

By CARLA CHARTER

The development of hydroelectric plants was widespread in the early 20th century. Some provided power to private industries, others to railway systems and the public. Among them was the Athol-Orange Power Plant at Wendell Depot. In 1909, W.G. Webber...

By ADA DENENFELD KELLY

The Hilltown History Trail was started out of a desire to enable community members to access the rich and thoughtful local history museums often open only a few hours per week. It is returning for its third year the first Saturday in August, despite...

By ERIN-LEIGH HOFFMAN

It was 1970 when Greenfield Community College Professor Emeritus Richard Little first discovered Jurassic armored mud balls in the sandstone cable anchors of a now-dismantled suspension bridge over the Connecticut River between Turners Falls and Gill....

By ANTHONY CAMMALLERI

ERVING — The Historical Commission brought a proposed bylaw before the Selectboard this week that would, if passed, allow the commission to place a delay of up to a year on the demolition of historically relevant properties following a public hearing....

By CARLA CHARTER

The Full Moon Coffeehouse, located in Wendell Town Hall, has been a staple in Wendell and the surrounding North Quabbin towns for 38 years.“The coffeehouse is about supporting the arts, activism, creativity and helping those in need,” said Paul...

By ADA DENENFELD KELLY

The 1875 murder of a Civil War veteran named Joseph Riley Farnsworth is a story that is often forgotten in the annals of Colrain history, according to Catamount Hill Association historian Prentice Crosier.Farnsworth was coming back from a trip to...

By PAIGE HANSON

Driving down the road on Route 5 in South Deerfield, commuters are met with a prehistoric surprise: a giant volcano with a huge dinosaur statue smack in front of a bright-green shack. Most find themselves asking, “What in the world is this...

By CARLA CHARTER

Historical events abound this summer in the North Quabbin area. From learning about local mysteries, to Quabbin hikes, to a relaxing day on the porch, historical societies are offering something for everyone this summer.Orange Historical Society The...

By SAM FERLAND

GREENFIELD — The Conway School of Landscape Design is working with the Nolumbeka Project on designs to preserve the 61-acre Wissitinnewag site in a way that makes it more accessible through an efficient trail system and parking area, while also...

By ADA DENENFELD KELLY

GREENFIELD — As part of his Eagle Scout project, Junior Assistant Scoutmaster Sean Babineau, a recent graduate of Greenfield High School, created a historical walking trail highlighting landmarks that played important roles in Greenfield’s...

By CHRIS LARABEE

WHATELY — On Feb. 2, 1847, Dr. Myron Harwood and his wife Judith welcomed their daughter Mary Eliza into the world.Unfortunately, the sixth of eight children was not meant to be, as just six short weeks later, the newborn, like many in that period,...

By DOMENIC POLI

CHARLEMONT — Being born into slavery in a place called Libertytown is perhaps the ultimate irony.But that’s a significant part of the life story of Basil C. Dorsey, a self-emancipated man whose remarkable quest for freedom will be detailed by local...

By DOMENIC POLI

ORANGE — Three local women are awaiting the arrival of a bronze plaque to be embedded onto the face of a new memorial stone installed to commemorate the former Memorial Hall building that stood for 104 years before being demolished in 1996.Pam Rand,...

By DOMENIC POLI

WENDELL — If you go to Wendell Old Home Day on Sept. 21, understand that that’s not a Salvation Army volunteer you see and hear ringing a bell on the town common. That’s Kathy-Ann Becker — and she’s actually the town crier.Once the trusted messengers...

By CARLA CHARTER

Laura Barletta and her husband Vincent’s connection to New Salem began with Vincent’s grandmother Helen Truman, who attended school at New Salem Academy. After the school closed in 1969, the building, which originally housed the home economics classes...

By STEVE PFARRER

Not long after 20 years of war finally ended in Vietnam in 1975, another wave of horrendous violence erupted just to the west.The Khmer Rouge, the Communist party of Cambodia, seized control of the country and began a brutal “reeducation” campaign...

By DOMENIC POLI

TURNERS FALLS — The 348th anniversary of the Great Falls Massacre will be marked with a Day of Remembrance on Saturday, as well as a commemoration of the 20th anniversary of the reconciliation ceremony held to establish friendship and trust between...

GREENFIELD — The Historical Society of Greenfield will host Gary Sanderson for a program titled “New Discoveries about Old Tavern Farm and its Greenfield Meadows Neighborhood” on Wednesday, May 15, at 6 p.m. in the Whiteman Room at the Episcopal...

By CHRIS LARABEE

CONWAY — With the adoption of a new policy this week, historical records have been returned to the town vault following a “series of misunderstandings” between the Historical Commission and town clerk over the custody and safety of the records.After...