Day/Date: SUNDAY -3/9/24
Towns visited: Sheffield & New Marlborough
Had we ever been to these towns before? No
Drive to town: 136 miles Time spent in towns: 8 hours
What did we do in the towns/area?
We stayed the night in western Massachusetts so that we could visit a few towns in the area. Today’s visits were in the small Berkshire towns of Sheffield and New Marlborough.
SHEFFIELD:
We began our day in Sheffield with a lovely hike at the Trustee’s property, located along the Housatonic River, known as Bartholemew’s Cobble. This natural landmark is known for its biodiversity. The soil produced by the rocky knolls allows for rich and divergent plant and fern growth that is not usually found so closely together. Despite it being winter, it did feel mossy and ferny and kind of otherworldly—like you might expect to see a tiny elf walking around or something. And though we didn’t see many birds, this place is apparently a migratory habitat for many species of birds.
The trail we took wasn’t too long, and there were more trails that we could have taken to see more of the land; however, it was very muddy, and the Housatonic had overflown its banks, so we noted that we’d love to come back in warmer, drier weather to explore more of this property.
Another place that was also too muddy for exploration today (a little further down the road) was the Mass Audubon’s Lime Kiln Farm Wildlife Sanctuary. This spot offered great views of the nearby Mount Everett. We hope to revisit that place, too.
We heard from a friend that Sheffield has a blue-covered bridge in a place called Thom Reed UFO Monument Park and that it was a cool site to see. So, we headed over there. Not only was the bridge lovely, but this park was also bizarrely unique. The Sheffield Covered Bridge (aka UFO Bridge) is said to be the place where the first U.S. encounter with a UFO has been “verified.” The event took place in 1969. Here’s the story as it is told by the website Atlas Obscura – as they tell it better than we could.
“The 1969 event was not Thom Reed’s first bizarre encounter, but it was the most verifiable. Not only did he and his family encounter the UFO that night, but witnesses in four surrounding towns also reported seeing it. Those witnesses, though, did not have as close an encounter as Reed’s family.
According to Reed, after crossing the bridge, he and his mother, grandmother, and brother saw a bright light rise out of the water of the Housatonic River. They were taken, mysteriously, from their car to what appeared to be an airplane hanger, where they saw creatures that resembled large insects. He was separated from his mother and grandmother and taken to a strange room, though he could hear them calling for him. Then, just as suddenly, they were all back in the car. Forty people reported strange lights and a saucer-like object in the sky to a local radio station that night, and when Reed took a polygraph test he was found to be 99.1% truthful. For this reason, the Great Barrington Historical Society voted 6-3 to recognize the encounter as “historically significant and true.” It was the first time a UFO encounter has had this kind of recognition.
A 5,000-pound granite monument, with a plaque commemorating “our nation’s first off-world/UFO incident” was placed near the covered bridge where the encounter took place. A few solar lampposts and a couple of benches later joined it. Not everyone in town is thrilled to be known for such a thing, but Reed feels validated by the historical society and the state historians and governor who also officially recognized the encounter as historical, something very few UFO witnesses ever get to feel. “
In2019, the monument wasremoved from the site by the town of Sheffield after squabbles between Reed and the town’s select board over the legality of the monument. Reed pursued his legal options. And in Julyof 2021, the granite monument was replaced with a sign from the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, signed in by GovernorCharlie Baker.
After that interesting stop, we drove to downtown Sheffield, where the town hall, the historical society, the library, and a place called Dewey Hall, which hosts a Farmer’s market on Saturdays, were all located. We were hopeful we would find some goodies at the farmer’s market, and we did. We managed to get a sweet apple pastry, some homemade granola (from Soupçon), and a pound of fresh ground beef from Mountain Falls Farm.
We then stopped in the Old Stone Store, the oldest standing mercantile establishment in Sheffield. It was built in 1834 with stones from nearby quarries. Today, it serves as the gift shop and exhibition space for the Sheffield Historical Society.
Inside, there was an interesting exhibit tracing the genealogy of a few African American families from Sheffield. We learned about the Guinea Flats, an early African American Community in the town. Unfortunately, another word for “flats” is “swamp,” so, typical with a lot of American history, the African American folks were delegated to some undesirable property.
Outside the Old Stone Store is a statue of Elizabeth Freeman, probably the most well-known resident of Sheffield. Elizabeth “Mum Bett” Freeman was the first enslaved woman who successfully sued for her freedom. Her case, in 1781, served as a precedent to end slavery in the state of MA. We found this quote of hers, which says it all:” I heard that paper read yesterday, that says, ‘All men are born equal and that every man has the right to freedom’. I am not a dumb critter; won’t the law give me my freedom?” The incredible bronzed statue in front of the historical society building of Ms. Freeman, sits alongside a stone with a plaque upon it that honors her story.
Our last stop of the day was at the local Big Elm Brewery. It was a little early for Jenny to be drinking, so she picked up a 4-pack of their American Lager for the road. It was Mass. Beer week after all. 😊
Near the brewery, we noticed a plaque on the side of the road. It puts meaning to the name of the brewery! The plaque states, “Here stood the big elm for many years the largest in Massachusetts. Under its spreading branches, historic meetings were held.” The big elm is featured on the town seal with the phrase, “He who plants a tree plants hope.”
NEW MARLBOROUGH:
This very rural town comprises five villages: Southfield, New Marlborough Village, Mill River, Hartsville & Clayton. The total population of all of these villages is about 1500. So, some of the villages are difficult to distinguish. But, though we drove around most of them, we did spend time in a few of them, mainly Southfield and Mill River.
We enjoyed some amazing sandwiches and coffee at the Southfield Store. Across the street from the store was the Whip Shop. This old horse whip manufacturing facility was once the largest employer in town. It has now been converted into apartments and office space. Around the back of the building is even a soup outpost! Farm Country Soup had a self-serve small store with a cooler of many delicious soups! We were going to pick one up, but they didn’t take cards or Venmo, and there wasn’t an ATM around for miles.
But, we later found the soups for sale at the Mill River General Store and picked some up there. Wow, the Portuguese kale and bean soup with chorizo was terrific!!!! Adam, at the general store, gave us the skinny on where to hike to see some ruins of old mills that used to be in town. (Thanks, Adam!) We also went for a short hike nearby to see Umpachene Falls – it was flowing with all of the recent rain!
Lastly, we ventured to the Berkshire Fish Hatchery, run by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Unfortunately, we were a little too late. It had just closed a few minutes before we got there. But we were NOT too late to see this majestic bald eagle hanging out in front of the stocked pond!
It had started to rain, so it was time to return home to Newton.
We really loved our weekend in the Southwest corner of this fantastic state. There was so much to see and do that we can’t wait to return!
Indigenous/ Native land info for this region: Mohican, Schaghticoke
Massachusetts 351 