Chapel Brook
Encyclopedia
Chapel Brook of Franklin County, Massachusetts
is the name of a tributary of the South River (of the Deerfield River
watershed) and the name of a 173 acres (70 ha) open space preserve located along the brook. The brook, est. 3.79 mi (6 km) long, is located in southeast Ashfield
and southwest Conway
. It drains into Poland Brook, thence into the South River, the Deerfield River, the Connecticut River
, and Long Island Sound
. The Chapel Brook reservation, managed by the non-profit conservation
organization The Trustees of Reservations
, is located in Ashfield and contains Chapel Falls, a series of three waterfall
s on Chapel Brook, measuring 10 feet (3.0 m), 15 feet (4.6 m) and 20 feet (6.1 m) high; and Pony Mountain (also called Chapel Ledge) est. 1,400 feet (426 m), a 100 feet (30.5 m) open granite
cliff face and popular recreational rock climbing
site.
s and a two-room schoolhouse. The school "doubled as a Methodist chapel on Sundays, when the folding doors separating the two rooms were swung open."
The original acreage of the Chapel Brook reservation was donated by Mrs. Henry T. Curtiss in 1964 in memory of her husband and expanded with purchases derived from Curtiss' endowment in 1981 and 1989. Additional acreage was donated in 1992.
Chapel Falls are accessed via a short footpath. A 1 miles (1.6 km) trail ascends to the open ledges of Pony Mountain where there are scenic vistas of the surrounding woodlands. A 2 miles (3.2 km) forest trail, managed by the local trailbuilding organization Ashfield Trails, leads from the base of Pony Cliffs to West Road in Ashfield. You can cross West Rd and the trail continues up into the Daughters of American Revolution State Forest (DAR SF). Trailheads to the property are located along Williamsburg Road in South Ashfield.
Franklin County, Massachusetts
-Demographics:As of the census of 2000, there were 71,535 people, 29,466 households, and 18,416 families residing in the county. The population density was 102 people per square mile . There were 31,939 housing units at an average density of 46 per square mile...
is the name of a tributary of the South River (of the Deerfield River
Deerfield River
Deerfield River is a river that runs for from southern Vermont through northwestern Massachusetts to the Connecticut River. The Deerfield was historically influential in the settlement of western Franklin County, Massachusetts, and its namesake town...
watershed) and the name of a 173 acres (70 ha) open space preserve located along the brook. The brook, est. 3.79 mi (6 km) long, is located in southeast Ashfield
Ashfield, Massachusetts
Ashfield is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,737 at the 2010 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
and southwest Conway
Conway, Massachusetts
Conway is a town in Franklin County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,809 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area.- History :...
. It drains into Poland Brook, thence into the South River, the Deerfield River, the Connecticut River
Connecticut River
The Connecticut River is the largest and longest river in New England, and also an American Heritage River. It flows roughly south, starting from the Fourth Connecticut Lake in New Hampshire. After flowing through the remaining Connecticut Lakes and Lake Francis, it defines the border between the...
, and Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound
Long Island Sound is an estuary of the Atlantic Ocean, located in the United States between Connecticut to the north and Long Island, New York to the south. The mouth of the Connecticut River at Old Saybrook, Connecticut, empties into the sound. On its western end the sound is bounded by the Bronx...
. The Chapel Brook reservation, managed by the non-profit conservation
Conservation movement
The conservation movement, also known as nature conservation, is a political, environmental and a social movement that seeks to protect natural resources including animal, fungus and plant species as well as their habitat for the future....
organization The Trustees of Reservations
The Trustees of Reservations
The Trustees of Reservations is a non-profit land conservation and historic preservation organization dedicated to preserving natural and historical places in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is the oldest regional land trust in the world and has 100,000 dues-paying members...
, is located in Ashfield and contains Chapel Falls, a series of three waterfall
Waterfall
A waterfall is a place where flowing water rapidly drops in elevation as it flows over a steep region or a cliff.-Formation:Waterfalls are commonly formed when a river is young. At these times the channel is often narrow and deep. When the river courses over resistant bedrock, erosion happens...
s on Chapel Brook, measuring 10 feet (3.0 m), 15 feet (4.6 m) and 20 feet (6.1 m) high; and Pony Mountain (also called Chapel Ledge) est. 1,400 feet (426 m), a 100 feet (30.5 m) open granite
Granite
Granite is a common and widely occurring type of intrusive, felsic, igneous rock. Granite usually has a medium- to coarse-grained texture. Occasionally some individual crystals are larger than the groundmass, in which case the texture is known as porphyritic. A granitic rock with a porphyritic...
cliff face and popular recreational rock climbing
Rock climbing
Rock climbing also lightly called 'The Gravity Game', is a sport in which participants climb up, down or across natural rock formations or artificial rock walls. The goal is to reach the summit of a formation or the endpoint of a pre-defined route without falling...
site.
History
After Ashfield was incorporated in 1765, colonial settlers moved into the region and cleared the forest for pasture. By 1831, the area around Pony Mountain contained the larger part of a herd of 8,000 sheep. At the same time, Chapel Falls became the site of at least two gristmillGristmill
The terms gristmill or grist mill can refer either to a building in which grain is ground into flour, or to the grinding mechanism itself.- Early history :...
s and a two-room schoolhouse. The school "doubled as a Methodist chapel on Sundays, when the folding doors separating the two rooms were swung open."
The original acreage of the Chapel Brook reservation was donated by Mrs. Henry T. Curtiss in 1964 in memory of her husband and expanded with purchases derived from Curtiss' endowment in 1981 and 1989. Additional acreage was donated in 1992.
Recreation
The Chapel Brook reservation is open to hiking, mountain biking, picnicing, fishing, rock climbing, and wading in the pools below the falls.Chapel Falls are accessed via a short footpath. A 1 miles (1.6 km) trail ascends to the open ledges of Pony Mountain where there are scenic vistas of the surrounding woodlands. A 2 miles (3.2 km) forest trail, managed by the local trailbuilding organization Ashfield Trails, leads from the base of Pony Cliffs to West Road in Ashfield. You can cross West Rd and the trail continues up into the Daughters of American Revolution State Forest (DAR SF). Trailheads to the property are located along Williamsburg Road in South Ashfield.