Monument Mountain (reservation)

Public park in Massachusetts, United States

Monument Mountain

View looking South East from the Devils Pulpit on Monument Mountain near Great Barrington, MA.

Location| Massachusetts, United States
Coordinates| 42°14′50.4″N 73°20′26.6″W﻿ / ﻿42.247333°N 73.340722°W﻿ / 42.247333; -73.340722
Elevation| 500.5 m (1,642 ft)
Established| 1899
Operator| The Trustees of Reservations
Website| Monument Mountain

Monument Mountain is the name of a popular 503-acre (204 ha) open space reservation located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts on the southeast side of Monument Mountain. The reservation is centered on the 1,642 feet (500 m) subordinate summit of Peeskawso Peak. It is managed by The Trustees of Reservations, a non-profit conservation organization and is notable for its expansive views of the Housatonic River Valley, the Berkshires, the Taconic Mountains, and the Catskill Mountains of New York from the knife-edge summit of Peeskawso Peak.[1] Monument Mountain, composed of erosion resistant quartzite, is of The Berkshires geology. The reservation receives more than 20,000 visitors a year. The mountain was logged for charcoal to fuel a furnace in Vandusenville at the corner of Division Street and Route 41 in Great Barrington. Remnants of the furnace can be seen if one stands on the Route 41 bridge and looks upstream on the Williams River.

## History

[edit]

Inscription Rock, a landmark located within Monument Mountain. The inscription reads: "This ridge and the cliffs of Monument Mountain were conveyed to the Trustees of Public Reservations by deed bearing date October 19 AD 1899 by fulfillment of a wish of Rosalie Butler that such portions of this mountain might be preserved to the People of Berkshire as a place of free enjoyment for all time" (sic)

Monument Mountain was a sacred place to the ancestors of the Mohican people dating back before written history. They left stone prayers atop a monument that gives the mountain its name. These stones have all been removed or have decayed following the expulsion of the Mohicans to their current-day reservation in Wisconsin.

It has been the subject of art and literature since as early as 1815 when the poet William Cullen Bryant penned "Monument Mountain," an account of the story of a Mohican woman who allegedly leapt from what is now called Peeskawso Peak. In 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville picnicked on the mountain; a thunderstorm forced them to seek cover in a boulder cave where they engaged in a lengthy discussion that inspired some of Melville's ideas for his novel Moby Dick.[2]

In the 1930s, red pines were planted on the reservation; by that time much of the mountain had been heavily logged for the charcoal industry in support of iron foundries in Falls Village, Connecticut and Lenox, Massachusetts.

The reservation was acquired as the gift of Helen C. Butler in 1899 and John Butler Swann in 1980. Additional parcels were purchased in 1985 and 1986.

In 2021, the Trustees renamed the summit and two trails after collaboration with the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohicans.[3][4] Indian Monument Trail was renamed the Mohican Monument Trail, Squaw Peak Trail was renamed the Peeskawso Peak Trail, and Squaw Peak, a summit of Monument Mountain, was renamed Peeskawso Peak.

## Recreation

[edit]

A trailhead parking lot is located on Massachusetts Route 7 north of Great Barrington center. Parking is free for Trustees of Reservations members and $6 per car for the general public. The trail system consists of the Hickey and Mohican Monument Trails (which form a loop around Peeskawso Peak) and the Peeskawso Peak Trail, which ascends the knife-edge summit between the other two trails. The trail to the summit includes a some rock scrambling and has been the scene of a few accidents and falls.[5] An unnamed waterfall is located along the Hickey Trail. The Devil's Pulpit, part of Peeskawso Peak, is a free-standing pillar of stone visible from the Peeskawso Peak Trail.

The reservation is open to hiking, picnicking, and hunting (in season).

Peeskawso Peak on Monument Mountain located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts

## External links

[edit]

Wikimedia Commons has media related to Monument Mountain (reservation).

* The Trustees of Reservations
* Trail map

## References

[edit]

1. ^ Burk, John S. (2021). Massachusetts trail guide : AMC's comprehensive guide to hiking trails in Massachusetts, from the Berkshires to Cape Cod (11th ed.). Boston, Massachusetts. p. 81\. ISBN 978-1-62842-130-9.`{{cite book}}`: CS1 maint: location missing publisher (link)
2. ^ "The Melville Trail". Berkshire Historical Society.
3. ^ "Western Mass. Summit And Trail Are Renamed With Native American Input". WBUR News. April 11, 2021. Retrieved June 3, 2021.
4. ^ Stevens, Lauren R. (May 8, 2021). "Hikes & Walks: Monument Mountain reveals newly-named Peeskawso Peak". The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved June 28, 2021.
5. ^ Bellow, Heather (October 19, 2019). "Survivor: 'This could happen to anybody'". Berkshire Eagle.

* v
* t
* e

Protected areas of Massachusetts

Federal

| National Estuarine Research Reserves|

* Waquoit Bay

|

National Historic Sites and Historical Parks|

* Adams
* Blackstone River Valley
* Boston
* Boston African American
* Frederick Law Olmsted
* John Fitzgerald Kennedy
* Longfellow House–Washington's Headquarters
* Lowell
* Minute Man
* New Bedford Whaling
* Salem Maritime
* Saugus Iron Works
* Springfield Armory

National Marine Sanctuaries|

* Stellwagen Bank

National Recreation Areas|

* Boston Harbor Islands

National Seashores|

* Cape Cod

National Trails|

* Appalachian Trail
* New England
* Washington–Rochambeau Revolutionary Route

National Wild and Scenic Rivers|

* Assabet
* Concord
* Sudbury
* Taunton
* Westfield

National Wildlife Refuges|

* Assabet River
* Great Meadows
* Mashpee
* Massasoit
* Monomoy
* Nantucket
* Nomans Land
* Oxbow
* Parker River
* Silvio O. Conte
* Thacher Island

Other|

* National Historic Landmarks (Boston)
* National Natural Landmarks
* National Register of Historic Places
* Wilderness Areas

State parks

| Parks|

* Alewife Brook
* Ames Nowell
* Ashland
* Bash Bish Falls
* Blackstone River and Canal Heritage
* Borderland
* Boston Harbor Islands
* Bradley Palmer
* C. M. Gardner
* Callahan
* Castle Island State Park
* Chicopee Memorial
* City Square
* Clarksburg
* Cochituate
* Connecticut River Greenway
* Demarest Lloyd
* Dighton Rock
* Dunn
* Ellisville Harbor
* Fall River Heritage
* Gardner Heritage
* Governor Thomas Dudley
* Great Brook Farm
* Greycourt
* Halibut Point
* Hampton Ponds
* Holyoke Heritage
* Hopkinton
* Lake Lorraine
* Lake Wyola
* Lawrence Heritage
* Lowell Heritage
* Lynn Heritage
* Massasoit
* Maudslay
* Moore
* Mount Holyoke Range
* Natural Bridge
* Nickerson
* Pearl Hill
* Pilgrim
* Quinsigamond
* Robinson
* Roxbury Heritage
* Rutland
* Skinner
* South Cape Beach
* Wahconah Falls
* Webb Memorial
* Wells
* Western Gateway Heritage
* Whitehall
* Wompatuck

|

Reservations|

* Beaver Brook
* Belle Isle Marsh
* Blue Hills
* Breakheart
* Charles River
* Chestnut Hill
* Cutler
* Dorchester Shores
* Elm Bank
* Fort Phoenix
* Hammond Pond
* Hemlock Gorge
* Horseneck Beach
* Jug End
* Lynn Shore
* Middlesex Fells
* Mount Everett
* Mount Greylock
* Mount Sugarloaf
* Mount Tom
* Myles Standish
* Mystic River
* Nahant Beach
* Nantasket Beach
* Nasketucket Bay
* Neponset River
* Pope John Paul II
* Purgatory Chasm
* Quincy Quarries
* Quincy Shore
* Revere Beach
* Rumney Marsh
* Salisbury Beach
* Sandy Point
* Scusset Beach
* Stony Brook
* Upper Charles River
* Wachusett Mountain
* Walden Pond
* West Island
* Weymouth
* Wilson Mountain

Other|

* Appalachian Trail
* Ashuwillticook Rail Trail
* Cape Cod Rail Trail
* Fort Revere
* Lake Dennison Recreation Area
* Lower Neponset River Trail
* Mass Central Rail Trail—Wayside
* Nashua River Rail Trail
* Norwottuck Branch Rail Trail
* Quabbin Reservoir
* Southwest Corridor Park
* Squantum Point Park
* Streeter Point Recreation Area
* Sudbury Reservoir
* Wachusett Reservoir
* Ware River Watershed Area

State forests

* Barnstable
* Beartown
* Berkley
* Billerica
* Brimfield
* Chester-Blandford
* DAR
* Douglas
* Erving
* F. Gilbert Hills
* Federated Women's Club
* Franklin
* Freetown-Fall River
* Georgetown-Rowley
* Gilbert A. Bliss
* Granville
* Harold Parker
* Kenneth Dubuque Memorial
* Leominster
* Lowell-Dracut-Tyngsboro
* Manuel F. Correllus
* Mohawk Trail
* Monroe
* Mount Grace
* Mount Washington
* Myles Standish
* October Mountain
* Otter River
* Pittsfield
* Sandisfield
* Savoy Mountain
* Shawme-Crowell
* South River
* Spencer
* Tolland
* Upton
* Warren H. Manning
* Wendell
* Willard Brook
* Willowdale
* Windsor

Wildlife management areas

| Wildlife
management areas|

* Agawam Lake
* Agawam Mill Pond
* Ashby
* Ashfield Hawley
* Attitash
* Ayer Game Farm
* Baddacook Pond
* Bakers Pond
* Bay Circuit Trail
* Bearse Pond
* Becket
* Bennett
* Birch Hill
* Black Brook
* Blackstone / West River
* Bolton Flats
* Boxboro Station
* Brayton Point Salt Marsh
* Breakneck Brook
* Brewer Brook
* Bullock Ledge
* Burrage Pond
* Canoe River
* Catamount
* Chalet
* Chase Garden Creek Salt Marsh
* Childs River
* Chockalog Swamp
* Church Homestead
* Clapps Pond
* Clinton Bluff
* Concord River
* Connecticut River
* Cook Pond
* Copicut
* Coy Hill
* Crane Pond
* Cummington
* Cusky Pond
* Dartmoor Farm
* Darwin Scott Memorial
* Day Mountain
* Deerfield River
* Dogfish Bar Beach Coastal
* Dolomite Ledges
* Dunstable Brook
* E. Kent Swift
* Eagle Island
* East Mountain
* Eastham Salt Marsh
* Elbow Meadow
* English Salt Marsh
* Eugene D. Moran
* Facing Rock
* Fairfield Brook
* Farmington River
* Fish Brook
* Fisherville Pond
* Fisk Forestdale Lot
* Fisk Meadows
* Five Mile River
* Flagg Swamp
* Flint Pond
* Four Chimneys
* Fox Den
* Fox Island Salt Marsh
* Frances A. Crane
* George L. Darey Housatonic Valley
* Glen Echo Lake
* Gosnold
* Grassy Pond (Dennis)
* Grassy Pond (Plymouth)
* Green River Access (Franklin County)
* Green River (Berkshire County)
* Greenfield River
* Halfway Pond
* Hamilton
* Hancock
* Harlow / Cooks Pond
* Haskell Swamp
* Hauk Swamp
* Hawksnest State Park
* Hawley
* Head Of The Plains
* Herman Covey
* High Ridge
* Hinsdale Flats
* Hiram H. Fox
* Hockomock Swamp
* Hog Pond Lot
* Honey Pot
* Hoosatonic River
* Hoosic River
* Hop Brook
* Housatonic River
* Hubbard Brook
* Hunting Hills
* Hyannis Ponds
* Ipswich River
* John J. Kelly
* Joint Base Cape Cod
* Jug End
* Jug End Fen
* Kampoosa Fen
* Katama Plains
* Knops Pond
* Konkapot River
* Lackey Pond
* Lake Lorraine
* Lake Rohunta
* Lake Snipatuit
* Lake Warner
* Lanesboro
* Lawrence Brook
* Lawrence Pond Lot
* Leadmine
* Leyden
* Lilly Pond
* Little Alum Pond
* Long Sought For Pond
* Maple Hill
* Maple Springs
* Martha Deering
* Martin H. Burns
* Mascuppic Lake
* Mashpee Pine Barrens
* Mashpee Pond Lot
* Mashpee River
* Mckinstry Brook
* Meetinghouse Swamp
* Merrill Pond
* Miacomet Heath
* Mill Brook Bogs
* Mill River
* Millers River
* Mine Brook
* Montague
* Montague Plains
* Moose Brook Access
* Moose Brook
* Moose Hill
* Mossy Pond
* Mount Watatic Reservation
* Mt. Esther
* Mt. Toby Highlands
* Mt. Toby
* Mt. Tom
* Muddy Brook
* Muddy Pond
* Mulpus Brook
* Nashua River
* Natty Brook
* Nemasket River
* Nissitissit River
* Noquochoke
* Nordeen Marsh
* North Brookfield
* North Shore Salt Marsh
* Northboro
* Oakham
* Olivers Pond
* Orange
* Otis
* Packard Pond
* Palmer
* Pantry Brook
* Pauchaug Brook
* Peru
* Peterson Swamp
* Phillipston
* Podunk Marsh
* Poland Brook
* Popple Camp
* Popponesset Spit
* Poutwater Pond
* Powell Brook
* Prince River
* Provincetown Route 6 Corridor
* Purchade Brook
* Quaboag
* Quacumquasit
* Quag Pond Bog
* Quashnet River
* Quashnet Woods State Reservation
* Quinapoxet River
* Quinsigamond Marsh
* Quisset
* Raccoon Hill
* Rainbow Beach
* Red Brook
* Richardson
* Robbins Pond
* Rochester
* Rocky Gutter
* Rowe
* Salisbury Salt Marsh
* Salisbury Salt Marsh WMA
* Sandwich Game Farm
* Sandy Pond
* Satan's Kingdom
* Savage Hill
* Savoy
* Sawmill River
* Scorton Creek Coastal
* SE Mass Bioreserve
* Sevenmile River
* Shattuck Brook
* Sheperds Island
* Shubael Pond
* Sibley Brook
* Sly Pond
* South Barrier Beach
* South Meadow Pond
* South Shore Salt Marsh
* South Triangle Pond
* Southampton
* Southwick
* Spectacle Pond
* Springhill Lot
* Sputtermill Pond
* Squannacook River
* Stafford Hill
* Sudbury River
* Sunderland Islands
* Taconic Mountain
* Taunton River Access
* Taunton River
* Tekoa Mountain
* Thad Ellis
* Thayer Pond
* Three Mile Pond
* Townsend
* Townsend Hill
* Trapfall Brook
* Triangle Pond
* Tully Brook
* Tully Mountain
* Tully River
* Wakeby Pond
* Wales
* Walnut Hill
* Ware River
* Warwick
* Wendell
* West Meadows
* Westboro
* Westfield River
* Westfield
* Weymouth Back River
* Whately Great Swamp
* Whately Ponds
* Whately
* Wilbraham Game Farm
* William Forward
* Williams River
* Williamsburg
* Winimusset
* Wolf Swamp

|

Wildlife
sanctuaries|

* Billingsgate Island
* Carr Island
* E. Howe Forbush
* Egg Rock
* Grace A. Robson
* J.C. Phillips
* Knight
* Penikese Island
* Ram Island (Mattapoisett)
* Ram Island (Salisbury)
* Susan B. Minns
* Tarpaulin Cove
* Watatic Mountain

The Nature Conservancy

* Black Pond Bog
* Boat Meadow
* Francis Newhall Woods
* Grassy Pond
* Greene Swamp
* Halfway Pond Island
* Hawley Bog
* Hockomock Swamp
* Hoft Farm
* Homer-Watcha
* Katama Plains
* McElwain-Olsen
* Miacomet Moors
* Reed Brook
* Roger and Virginia Drury
* Sandy Neck
* David H. Smith Preserve and Fire Trail
* Stacy Mountain
* Tatkon

Trustees of Reservations

* Governor Oliver Ames Estate
* Appleton Farms
* Ashintully Gardens
* Bartholomew's Cobble
* Bear Swamp
* Bear's Den
* Boston Community Gardens
* The Brickyard
* Bullitt
* Chestnut Hill Farm
* Colonel John Ashley House
* Dunes' Edge Campground
* Francis William Bird Park
* Eleanor Cabot Bradley Estate
* Bridge Island Meadows
* Brooks Woodland
* William Cullen Bryant Homestead
* Cape Poge
* Cedariver
* Castle Hill
* Chapel Brook
* Charles River Peninsula
* Chase Woodlands
* Chesterfield Gorge
* Coolidge
* Copicut Woods
* Cormier Woods
* Coskata-Coatue Wildlife Refuge
* Crane Beach
* Crane Wildlife Refuge
* Crowninshield Island
* Dexter Drumlin
* Dinosaur Footprints
* Doane's Falls
* Doyle
* Dry Hill
* East Over
* Elliott Laurel
* Farandnear
* FARM Institute
* Field Farm
* Fruitlands Museum
* Fork Factory Brook
* Glendale Falls
* Goose Pond
* Greenwood Farm
* Hales Brook and Sippican River
* Halibut Point
* Hamlin
* Allen C. Haskell Public Gardens
* Holmes
* Governor Hutchinson's Field
* Jacobs Hill
* Little Tom Mountain
* Land of Providence
* Leatherbee Woods
* Long Hill
* Long Point
* Lowell Holly
* Lyman
* Malcolm
* Mashpee River
* McLennan
* Medfield Meadow Lots
* Medfield Rhododendrons
* Menemsha Hills and The Brickyard
* Misery Islands
* Mission House
* The Monoliths
* Monument Mountain
* Moose Hill Farm
* Moraine Farm
* Mount Ann
* Mount Warner
* Mountain Meadow
* Mytoi
* Naumkeag
* Noanet Woodlands
* Noon Hill and Shattuck
* Norris
* North Common Meadow
* Norton Point Beach
* Notchview
* Old Manse
* Old Town Hill
* Peaked Mountain
* Pegan Hill
* Peters
* Petticoat Hill
* Pierce
* Pine and Hemlock Knoll
* Powisset Farm
* Questing
* Quinebaug Woods
* Ravenswood Park
* Redemption Rock
* Rock House
* Rocky Narrows
* Rocky Woods
* Royalston Falls
* Shattuck
* Signal Hill
* Slocum's River
* Stavros
* Stevens-Coolidge
* Swift River
* Tantiusques
* Tully Lake Campground
* Two Mile Farm
* Tyringham Cobble
* Ward
* Wasque
* Weir Hill
* Weir River Farm
* Westport Town Farm
* Whitney and Thayer Woods
* World's End

Audubon Society wildlife sanctuaries

* Allens Pond
* Arcadia
* Ashumet Holly
* Attleboro Springs
* Barnstable Great Marsh
* Blue Hills Trailside Museum
* Boston Nature Center
* Broad Meadow Brook
* Broadmoor
* Burncoat Pond
* Canoe Meadows
* Daniel Webster
* Drumlin Farm
* Eagle Lake
* Eastern Point
* Endicott
* Felix Neck
* Flat Rock
* Graves Farm
* Great Neck
* Habitat
* High Ledges
* Ipswich River
* Joppa Flats
* Kettle Island
* Lake Wampanoag
* Laughing Brook
* Lime Kiln Farm
* Lincoln Woods
* Long Pasture
* Lynes Woods
* Marblehead Neck
* Moose Hill
* Museum of American Bird Art
* Nahant Thicket
* Nashoba Brook
* North Hill Marsh
* North River
* Oak Knoll
* Pierpont Meadow
* Pleasant Valley
* Poor Farm Hill
* Richardson Brook
* Road's End
* Rough Meadows
* Rutland Brook
* Sampsons Island
* Sesachacha Heathlands
* Skunknett River
* Stony Brook
* Wachusett Meadow
* Waseeka
* Wellfleet Bay
* Wildwood Camp

Other

* Concord Land Conservation Trust
* Harvard Forest
* Lincoln Land Conservation Trust
* Lloyd Center for the Environment
* Lynn Woods Reservation
* Norcross Wildlife Sanctuary
* Old Harbor Wildlife Refuge

* Category
* Boston
* Emerald Necklace
* Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs
* Commons

*[v]: View this template
*[t]: Discuss this template
*[e]: Edit this template