Skip to main content

Travel New England: Shelburne Falls

The picturesque Village of Shelburne Falls, Massachusetts is a small slice of New England.  The village sits along both sides of the Deerfield River within the Towns of Shelburne and Buckland.  It is home to numerous shops, art galleries, cafes, breweries and more.  


Shelburne Falls is a village of about 1700 residents which is nearly half of the combined population of Shelburne and Buckland.  The area was settled in the mid-1700s with both Shelburne and Buckland incorporated by 1779.




Two of the major attractions in Shelburne Falls is the Bridge of Flowers and the Glacial Potholes. The Bridge of Flowers is a concrete arch bridge that originally served as a trolley bridge over the Deerfield River. Opened in 1909, the bridge carried freight and passengers for the Shelburne Falls & Colrain Street Railway for nearly 20 years until the railway company went bankrupt.  It was in 1928, when members of the local Women's Club, petitioned and raised funds to convert the old trolley bridge to an open air garden.





The bridge is always full of tourists and photographers - professional and amateur alike.  The blooms are amazing in any season and is one of my all time favorite photography spots.



The glacial potholes along the Deerfield River date to the end of the last Ice Age over 14,000 years ago.  As the glaciers receded, the Deerfield River began to erode at the sediment and bedrock below.  The process is a result of strong whirlpools within the currents of the Deerfield River.  The potholes sit below Salmon Falls named after the once numerous salmon that would leap the falls to return to their spawning pools.



Shelburne Falls is a great stop for those traveling through Massachusetts along the Mohawk Trail or even Interstate 91.  The small village really does have something for everyone.

All photos taken by post author - October 2006 & May 2012.

Further Reading:

Comments

Popular posts from this blog

Former US Route 50 and the Pioneer Route Lincoln Highway on Johnson's Pass Road

Johnson's Pass Road is one of the oldest highway corridors in California.  Johnson's Pass was part of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road as it was completed during 1856 over the Sierra Nevada.  The pass would later be incorporated into the Pioneer Branch of the Lincoln Highway in 1913 and US Route 50 in 1926.  Johnson's Pass Road would be bypassed by a new alignment of US Route 50 over Echo Summit in 1938.  A replacement of the Meyers Grade east of Johnson's Pass would be opened to traffic in 1947.   Johnson's Pass Road remains accessible to traffic and is still signed by the Lincoln Highway Association.  Pictured as the blog cover is the view from the top of Johnson's Pass Road overlooking modern US Route 50 and Lake Tahoe.   Part 1; the history of Johnson's Pass Much of the history of what become the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road is discussed in the  September 1950 California Highways & Public Works  during its Centennial Edition.  The or...

Former US Route 50 and the South Lincoln Highway from Folsom east to Placerville

The corridor of Folsom of Sacramento County east to Placerville of El Dorado County has been a long established corridor of overland travel dating back to the California Gold Rush.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor was once part of the path of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road which became the first California State Highway and later the South Lincoln Highway.  In time the South Lincoln Highway's surface alignment was inherited by US Route 50.  The Folsom-Placerville corridor also includes the communities of; Clarksville, Shingle Springs and El Dorado. Part 1; the history of the Lake Tahoe Wagon Road, South Lincoln Highway and US Route 50 through Folsom-Placerville Folsom is located on the American River/Lake Natoma of eastern Sacramento County.  That lands now occupied by the City of Folsom were part of Rancho Rio de los Americanos prior to the finding of gold at Sutter's Mill during 1848.  During the California Gold Rush the lands of Rancho Rio de los Americanos were p...

Angus L. Macdonald Bridge

At 1.3 kilometers (or about 0.84 miles) in length, the Angus L. Macdonald Bridge is one of two bridges crossing over the Halifax Harbour between Halifax, Nova Scotia and Dartmouth, Nova Scotia, with the other bridge being the A. Murray Mackay Bridge . Opened in 1955 and named after former Nova Scotia Premier and Canadian Minister of Defense for Naval Services Angus L. Macdonald, the Macdonald Bridge was the first bridge that crossed Halifax Harbour that was opened to traffic. The Macdonald Bridge was also the subject of the Big Lift, which was only the second time in history that the span of a suspension bridge were replaced while the bridge was open to traffic. Planning began in 2010 for the Big Lift, while construction took place between 2015 and 2017. Similar work occurred on the Lion's Gate Bridge in Vancouver, British Columbia before the project took place on the Macdonald Bridge. At this time, much of the bridge infrastructure is new, leaving only the towers, main cables and...