Parking: There are about half a dozen parking spots next to the tower and they fill up quickly.(and they were all filled at 8 o’clock on a Friday morning). There is also parking at the gate of the entrance on Mountain Road for about another half a dozen vehicles. The walk to the tower from the main entrance is about a mile.
Cost: Free
Hours: Open 365 days a year from sunrise to sunset
Perhaps it’s the unobstructed, sweeping views of the landscapes or maybe it’s the solitude of being in such an isolated tall structure. Whatever the reason, poets seemed to flock to this observation tower. It has since been known as the “poets seat tower” because of the long tradition of poets that have been attracted to the location. Frederick Goddard Tuckerman, a local poet at the time, is credited with bestowing this name on the structure in 1850. The tower, which was built in 1912, now attracts people of all walks of life, not just poets. Prior to the construction of the sandstone tower, a wooden observation tower had been built on the edge of the lookout in 1879. A plaque at the tower acknowledges Tuckerman’s role in the history of the tower.
Even before you reach the top of the tower, if you dare, there are some impressive views of the Greenfield (MA), Connecticut, Deerfield (MA) and Green River valleys. The ledge of the road where the tower is bult has a rocky ledge from where you can get some views of the Greenfield area below. It’s a long way down!
The highest point of Greenfield, the tower is 4 floors (counting the ground floor and top floor). The views from each floor are pretty stunning. After all the rain in the area, the greens were very vivid.
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As I stood looking over the land below I couldn’t help but think of how the landscape has changed over the years. Many years ago people looked over farmlands and valleys. Now, we look over schools, houses, parks and businesses. I also thought about all of the people who came here to rid their mind and soul of their worries by taking in the beautiful views. It really can make you take a step back (and hopefully not forward) when you’re up so high and appreciating the nature around us.
The journey to the top is not difficult. A trip up one stairwell and one spiral staircase take you to the top.
The arches and architecture of the tower rival the beauty of the views from the top of the tower.
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And what would a historic structure be without graffiti? As seems to be customary, particularly in Western Mass, there was graffiti on the walls of the sandstone structure. It did seem fitting that poetry lined the walls of “Poet’s Seat Tower”
“Jump off the cliff and build your wings on the way down”
The are also benches along the road to the tower which offer views of the area. There are also hiking trails that branch off from the road to the tower. The trails look easy to moderate but I could not walk on them because of time constraints. I did hear a lot of presumably animal activity in the woods.
Below is a video of the view from the top of Poet’s Seat Tower
If there is one thing Vermont and New Hampshire are known for, besides moose and lakes, it has to be covered bridges. But, of the 164 covered bridges listed for Vermont and New Hampshire one stands alone.
The Windsor-Cornish Bridge (or Cornish-Windsor if you like) is the longest covered bridge in all of New England. At 449 ft and 5 inches, the Windsor-Cornish Bridge is not only the longest covered bridge in New England it is the second longest wooden covered bridge in the entire United States just behind the Smolen-Gulf Bridge in Ohio (613 ft) which opened in 2008. It is, however, the longest wooden covered bridge as well as the longest two span covered bridge in the United States.
The bridge was originally framed at a nearby meadow northwest of the site and later moved to its proper location. As an aside, I didn’t see anyone cross it on a horse. But, if they did, they had better walk it across or be ready to pay their two bits.
It has been through three constructions and repairs due to being transported from another location and after being repaired due to flood damage and ice in 1977. In July, 1987, the bridge was closed to traffic due to deterioration and reconstructed in 1989. The bridge is listed on the National Register of Historic Places.
The Windsor-Cornish Bridge holds another unique distinction. It is one of the few bridges that used to be a toll bridge but no longer has a toll (usually it works the other way around in new England). The bridge was purchased by the state in 1936 and operated it as a toll bridge until June 1, 1943. The bridge does have two lane traffic but pedestrians traffic is not allowed.
The Windsor-Cornish Bridge is one resilient bridge. Previously, there have been three bridges built on this site in 1796, 1824 and 1828. All of these bridges were destroyed by floods. For now, though, the bridge still stands proudly.
The videos below show what driving through the tunnel (both ways) feels like.
New Hampshire isn’t known as the “Live Free Or Die” state for no reason. The quote, which is said to have French origins and adorns license plates and other kitschy souvenirs, is directly attributed to General, and former New Hampshire resident, John Stark. It was at John Stark Park in Manchester, NH, that I found this historical tribute to the revolutionary warrior.
The remaining of the “live free or die…”quote is lesser known, yet just as poignant.
For someone who is so heroic and brave, General Stark is not someone who many of us are familiar with. But, heroic he is. As the plaque in front of his statue explains, after being kidnapped by a Native American tribe and eventually ransomed, Stark joined the American Revolution and became a general. His most notable achievement was in 1777 when he commanded his troops to prevent British troops and supplies from connecting with the main army in Saratoga, New York, which was considered a key point which led to the American victory in the war.
Crisp blue skies awaited me at the park. It almost felt fall-like. What struck me most about the park was how peaceful it was. The gazebo is a nice touch also. The statue of General Stark was sculpted by Richard Recchia in 1948. The park is one of the older parks in New Hampshire, dating back to 1893 (it is the second oldest park in Manchester).
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General Stark his, wife and a few of their children are buried at the bottom of the hill from the entrance.
One of the interesting things about Stark Park is the loop behind the park. It’s only about a quarter of mile and it is a great place to take your dog for a walk. But, there is a trail that branches off to a bridge and some other trails which eventually lead to the Heritage Trail. But, apart from some interesting trees and some wildlife, there isn’t much on the trails. Most of them lead to residential areas. I walked most of the narrow trails as far as I could go before they ended, rather disappointingly, at roadways and residential areas.
The big payoff to walking the loop behind the park was meeting Bennie. Bennie is a Chinook which is the state dog of New Hampshire.
In the annals of presidential history, Quincy, Massachusetts, holds a special place. The birthplace of two U.S. Presidents; John Adams and John Quincy Adams, Quincy, MA, has earned earned the nickname “City of Presidents.” (originally, both Adams’ were born in Braintree MA but their birthplace became Quincy after Quincy split from the town of Braintree in 1792, John Hancock was also from Braintree before the area was renamed Quincy). In fact, the high school sports teams have adopted the menacing moniker, “Presidents.”
On this frigid Presidents Day, I decided to take a visit to the Old House At Peace Field, the retirement home of John and Abigail Adams as well as John Quincy Adams, when Presidents were really Presidents. The Adams’ and their future generations would call this home until 1927.
The Stone Library located adjacent to the Adams House.
The house is much prettier during the spring and summer. Flowers of a wide spectrum of colors adorn the walkway and throughout the estate. It is closed to the public until spring time. But the front gate was open, as though they were expecting me.
Further down the road on Hancock Street, in front of City Hall, stands John Adams.
I was wondering why he was looking off into the distance (wary of the British perhaps?). Then, I noticed a statue of Abigail and little John Quincy Adams was situated across the street.
Both of the Adams’ are buried in the United First Parish Church, located directly across from City Hall and, inconveniently for the drivers of Quincy, in the middle of the busy roadway. It is also the church I almost got into a fight at as a child until the other kid said he, “didn’t fight in churches” pffft. Oh, the memories.
There are other Adams’ residences and historical places, such as his original birthplace, also in Quincy, MA, that I will cover in later posts.
Holidays and mansions. Sounds like a pretty good combination to me. That is what the folks at the Newport mansions are offering all their patrons. As part of the holiday season, the Newport mansions have been decorated for the season. The $29 tour includes 3 of the mansions (The Elms, The Breakers and The Marbles). But, I was only able to see The Elms Mansion.
The mansions aren’t the only ornate buildings in the area. Some of the homes in the area are very pretty as well. Before you arrive at the mansions, you can peak at the pretty houses in the neighborhood.
When you enter the mansions, you are given an audio player with headphones to use as part of the self guided audio tour. Indoor photography is limited to certain rooms (usually they don’t allow photography at all in the mansions but they relaxed their policy slightly for the holiday tours). I might have sneaked in a few more photos from the rooms that weren’t authorized for picture taking. It’s actually kind of a good thing that they limit photography because you could easily be inundated with things to photograph. One room seemed more beautiful or interesting then the previous room.
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Photo taking is allowed on the exteriors of the mansions and the grounds of the buildings.
The mansions are available for tours throughout the year. So, if you can’t make it there during the holiday try going another time when it is less busy. If you go to the holiday mansion tour, it is only during daylight hours. Parking can be difficult, especially if you arrive later in the day. But, you should be able to find parking somewhere in the area if you can’t find a spot in the parking lots at the mansions.
After visiting Plimoth Plantation, the next obvious destination was the Mayflower II. The Mayflower II, an exhibit of the Plimoth Plantation, is a replica of the original Mayflower. It is located only a few miles from Plimoth Plantation in the Frazier Memorial State Pier.
Before you board the boat, you are informed the people on the boat are still living in the 17th century. They are not aware of cellphones, automobiles or any other modern day comforts. There is a replica of the Mayflower Compact in the entrance to the boarding area.
Actors on the boat discuss the duties of crew members and portray people from that era. This man reminded me of James Franco, particularly because of his dry sense of humor.
The quarters of the Mayflower were not the most comfortable. Not exactly Carnival Cruise.
The views from the harbor were very pretty.
Meet Porsche, a service dog I saw as I was leaving the pier.
Walking into Plimoth Plantation is like walking back in time.
The constructed plantation is both educational and entertaining.
A short video running in the visitor center runs on a loop and gives you some background of the plantation. It also gives a little history of the historical of the place a history of the area.
The plantation is divided into two sections: the Wampanaog Homesite and the Colonial English community of the 1600’s.
All of the people on the Wampanaog Homesite are Native Americans (they’re not actors or re-enactors). They are from the Wampanaog tribe or one of the other tribes indigenous to the Plymouth area. A cutout on the trail before you reach the Wampanoag Homesite reminds visitors that not every native American “is the same”. While most of the people residing at the Homesite are Wampanoag, not all of them are. Also, the cutout reminds people to not call the people “braves” or any other demeaning and sterotypical term as they are not considered compliments or polite ways to address the people there.
The views on the way to the Homesite and at the main visitor center are very pretty.
This is a Gathering Circle located on the trail to the Wampanoag Homesite.
The Native Americans at the Homesite tell stories about their life there and describe what tasks they are completing.
This woman was showing how they cook their food and answering questions from the visitors.
The Native Americans answer questions inside one of the wigwams at the plantation.
These men were hollowing out a boat.
There are structures made with the same materials and the very same way they were built in the 1600’s and earlier.
This is a meeting room where elders and the rest of the people would meet to discuss issues affecting the community.
After exiting the Wampanoag Homeesite, a stairway leads to the English side of the plantation
Everything past this sign is pure 17th century. The structures, the clothing the people wear and the way the people speak are all from the 1700’s. This fort acted as a lookout.
The people even wash their clothing the old way.
The inside and outside of the houses closely mimic the houses of the 1700’s
Actors inhabit the homes.
This woman said “My Christian name is Sarah” when I asked her what her name is.
This man and his wife were getting ready for dinner when I stopped by. it looks like a cozy little place.
There are also actors walking throughout the plantation.
This woman was making apple tarts, the old fashioned way.
Plimoth Plantation has a limited amount of livestock. There is a bull and a hawk.
There is a dining and rest area outside of the plantation area.
There is also Nye Barn located on the way out of the plantation.
In other news, I have been nominated for a Liebster Award on my other blogging profile (Mr. Wayne)! Please follow the link below to read about the nomination, see my answers to the questions sent to me and to see who I nominated for this award at Mr. Wayne’s Blog
Salem, MA and the people of Salem are known for more than just the well publicized witch hysteria. While the city remembers this somber time with memorials, they also have other monuments, statues and other decorations, particularly during the Halloween season.
This is probably the most recognized statue in Salem. It is the statue of Roger Conant, the founder of Salem. Because of the dark, foreboding image of the statue and the fact that it is located directly in front of the Salem Witch Museum, it is often at first glance considered a monument in tribute to the victims of the witch hysteria. That was my thoughts when I first saw it as a younger person. As an fyi, it is very hard to take a photo of the statue without throngs of crowds nearby doing the same thing, often times ruining your photo. I had to arrive very early Halloween day to get this photo without a lot of people or car traffic. It is a very popular stop for tourists.
While we’re all familiar with people like Nathaniel Hawthorne, there are other people who were pivotal members of Salem that are less noted than Hawthorne like the reverend Theobald Mathew, an apostle of temperance, according to the script on the statue. Even if you’re not familiar with people like Mathew, the artwork and of the statues is enough to impress anyone.
Speaking of Hawthorne, just farther down the road on, you guessed it, Hawthorne Boulevard is the Nathaniel Hawthorne statue.
One of the things you have to love about Salem is they don’t try to sweep the past under the rug and they try to educate others about tolerance. This sign for the Witches Education League is an example of this.
There is also a memorial to the The Blue Star Memorial Program which is dedicated to all of the men and women who serve in the United States armed services.
Salem has another memorial dedicated to a Congressional Medal of Honor recipient, John Phillip Riley. Riley is one of 5 Medal of Honor recipients from Salem, dating back to the Civil War.
This monument, located in Salem Common, is a tribute to those who died during World War II
The Salem Fire Department has two memorials at their Ladder 2 station.
One memorial is a memorial to the victims of September 11.The metal in the middle of the monument is from the rubble at Ground Zero. The two concrete beams in the background represent the North and South towers at the World Trade Center.
There are two ceramic angels in a cup placed on the memorial. People leave pennies in honor of the victims.
The other memorial at the fire station is in honor of the firefighters from their station who have paid the ultimate price
Closer to the heart of the city, there is also a monument with a quote from Eli Wiesel.
During the Halloween festivities, the original water pump was displayed in the main drag of the walk way on Essex Street. This is the original pump the people of salem had to use before they had indoor plumbing and other amenities we take for granted.
Some of the monuments, statues and signs are more lighthearted like the Bewitched statue in Lappin Park. Little known fact: some of the Bewitched shows were filmed in Salem, MA.
This placard reminds us that even ghosts like bacon.
I also met some very cute dogs during my travels.
There was Massie
Creed
And Harley. Harley didn’t like my camera. But, he felt safe when he was with his dad.
and this cute fella whose name I didn’t get.
As these monuments, statues, memorials, signs and dogs have shown, there is more to Salem than just the Halloween festivities. My next blog will deal with the impressive architecture of the homes, museums and other buildings of the Salem area from my recent visits.
Nestled behind the Salem Witch Trials Memorial, is the final resting place for some of Salem’s earlier residents; the Burying Point. Located among the bustling downtown Salem area, the Burying Point is the oldest cemetery in Salem, MA,
Tour groups and visitors from all over the country walk over sacred graves. In fact, the Burying Point is one of the most popular attractions in Salem.
The cemetery is well kept and the vast majority of the visitors are respectful of the tenants there. The one thing I find to be a little weird, besides the obvious weirdness of walking around a cemetery as though it was an “attraction”, was the “haunted house” located feet away from the cemetery. I’m generally not one to care either way, but it still felt odd hearing ghastly screams and people ordering hot apple cider while we stroll along the cemetery.
Although many headstones are difficult to read, it is worth observing that many of them show the female deceased as the “wife of…” Just another sign of the times.
While many of his relatives reside in the cemetery of the overly commercialized town of Salem, Nathaniel Hawthorne is not buried in Burying Point. Instead he rests in Sleepy Hollow Cemetery in Concord, Massachusetts.
The storied feud of Nathaniel Hawthorne and his ancestors is of legend. Just to recap, John Hathorne, a Salem magistrate, was appointed by the then Governor Sir William Phips to be a judge in the Salem Witch Trials. However, during the trials, he acted more like a prosecutor than a judge. He would often presume the guilt of an accused witch and demand they confess to witchcraft as well as pressuring accused witches to name other witches after they were inevitably found guilty or they confessed under pressure of Hathorne and his court. He became known as a “hanging judge”.
In light of his ancestors misdeeds, Nathaniel Hawthorne, Judge Hathorne’s great grandson, would change his name by adding a “w” after the “Ha” in his last name and he would distance himself farther from Judge Hathorne by penning The Scarlet Letterand speaking out against the deeds of his ancestor.
Judge William Hathorne’s grave is on the left in this photo, next to his son’s much larger gravestone. No one left anything on his gravestone.
I wanted to thank everyone who reads, likes and leaves comments on my blogs. It is appreciated. I also wanted to mention that I have begun (resumed) blogging as Mr.Wayne after a fairly long hiatus. I have always been a writer at heart and, after being inspired by so many wonderful blogs on wordpress, I have decided to resume my written blogs again, in addition to my photoblogs. Please view my most recent post What Could Have Been. Thank you.
In the midst of half drunk college pranksters, families on day trips, tourists dressed in their Halloween costume of choice and an assortment of other revelers stands a somber memorial to the victims of the Salem witch trials.
Directly across from shops that hawk kitschy tourists souvenirs and “haunted houses” designed to spook people of all ages, is a memorial that commemorates a dark part of American history. Without this dark time, there would be no kitschy souvenirs or haunted houses.
Dedicated in 1992, the Salem Witch Trials TerCentenary, the Salem Witch Trials Memorial, pays tribute to the 20 victims of the hysteria.
Twenty benches, representing each of the 20 victims, stretch out from the stone wall. Each bench or slab has each victim etched into it with the date of their death. Often times, people will leave stones, coins, flowers, notes and other little gifts or mementos behind.
At the entrance on the ground are snippets of the quotes from some of the victims just before their deaths.
Of course, trials has a double meaning and it is a fitting use of the term.
New England Nomad 