River Works Park (Greenfield, MA)

Date Visited: May 13th 2016

Location: 250 Deerfield Street, Greenfield, MA

Hours: Open 24 hours a day, 365 days a year

Cost: Free

Parking:  There is a lot that can accommodate about 30 or so cars behind the waterfall off Meridian St (a side road off Deerfield  St where the bridge is) or you can park in one of the lots of the local establishments and walk to the park, after patronizing them of course.  You can’t park on Deerfield St.

It’s not often that you see a silver fish on a pole while you’re driving down the main streets of a busy suburb.  So, when I saw Brookie, the mascot of River Works Park, I had to stop and check it out.

The River Works Park is a quiet place (if you can ignore the passing traffic on Deerfield Rd) where residents and visitors can sit on the benches or walk along the sidewalk or bridge and admire the Green River below.

For a roadside attraction, the River Works Park is full of surprises and beauty.  One of these surprises is the walk way along the sidewalk that is blocked off by a fence.  Of course, there was an opening in the wire fence.  The views from the walk way weren’t so great though and I only managed to get a few scratches when I walked along it.

The walkway, which was dedicated in November of 1999, has several memorials and plaques along the sidewalk.  This bench was dedicated to Barbara Tillmanns, Greenfield’s “#1 cheerleader.”  Tillmanns was a town councilor for Greenfield and very active in the community.  She passed away in 2014 at the age of 72.  One of her endeavors was to begin an initiative to establish a series of commemorative benches throughout Greenfield.  Here’s one:

A sign remains where the J. Russell Co once stood.  The company made Green River Knives.  Greenfield Tap & Die also stood there once upon a time.  The J. Russell Co and Greenfield Tap & Die were the main employers of the area for much of the 1800’s and the J. Russell Co made the highly touted Green River Knife.

If you look closely at Brookie, the mascot of River Works Park, you can see the forks, spoons, cutlery and other utensils collected from the residents of Greenfield and Franklin County that make up the shape of the fish as a tribute to the J. Russell Cutlery Co. (you may have to zoom into the photo).

The aptly named Green River, runs through the park.  There were some modest waves and ripples in the river.  The reason for this will soon be evident.

I thought made for a pretty backdrop.

However, just beyond the bridge, we found this pretty waterfall.

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There is no sidewalk on the side of the road where the best views of the waterfalls are so I had to keep the video short since I shot it during a red light.

There is a lot of interesting historical information about the J. Russell Co and the area which you can access in the links below

J. Russell Co

John Russell Manufacturing Co

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