Monument Mountain (reservation)

Monument Mountain
Monument Mountain
	View looking South East from the Devils Pulpit on Monument Mountain near Great Barrington, MA.
Location	Massachusetts, United States
Coordinates	42°14′50.4″N 73°20′26.6″W / 42.247333°N 73.340722°WCoordinates: 42°14′50.4″N 73°20′26.6″W / 42.247333°N 73.340722°W
Elevation	500.5 m (1,642 ft)
Established	1899
Operator	The Trustees of Reservations
Website	Monument Mountain

Monument Mountain is the name of a popular 503-acre (204 ha) open space reservation located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts on the southeast side of Monument Mountain. The reservation is centered on the 1,642 feet (500 m) subordinate summit of Peeskawso Peak. It is managed by The Trustees of Reservations, a non-profit conservation organization and is notable for its expansive views of the Housatonic River Valley, The Berkshires, the Taconic Mountains, and the Catskill Mountains of New York from the knife-edge summit of Peeskawso Peak. Monument Mountain, composed of erosion resistant quartzite, is of The Berkshires geology. The reservation receives over 20,000 visitors a year.

History[]

Monument Mountain has been the subject of art and literature since as early as 1815 when the poet William Cullen Bryant penned "Monument Mountain," an account of the story of a Mohican woman who allegedly leapt from what is now called Peeskawso Peak. In 1850, Nathaniel Hawthorne and Herman Melville picnicked on the mountain; a thunderstorm forced them to seek cover in a boulder cave where they engaged in a lengthy discussion which inspired some of Melville's ideas for his novel Moby Dick.

In the 1930s, red pines were planted on the reservation; by that time much of the mountain had been heavily logged for the charcoal industry in support of iron foundries in Falls Village, Connecticut and Lenox, Massachusetts.

The reservation was acquired as the gift of Helen C. Butler in 1899 and John Butler Swann in 1980. Additional parcels were purchased in 1985 and 1986.

In 2021, the Trustees renamed the summit and two trails after collaboration with the Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohicans.^[1] ^[2] Indian Monument Trail was renamed the Mohican Monument Trail, Squaw Peak Trail was renamed the Peeskawso Peak Trail, and Squaw Peak, a summit of Monument Mountain, was renamed Peeskawso Peak.

Recreation[]

A trailhead parking lot is located on Massachusetts Route 7 north of Great Barrington center. The trail system consists of the Hickey Trail and Mohican Monument Trail which form a loop around Peeskawso Peak; and Peeskawso Peak Trail which ascends the knife edge summit between the other two trails. An unnamed waterfall is located along the Hickey Trail. Devil's Pulpit, part of Peeskawso Peak, is a free-standing pillar of stone visible from the Peeskawso Peak Trail.

The reservation is open to hiking, picnicking, and hunting (in season).

Peeskawso Peak on Monument Mountain located in Great Barrington, Massachusetts

External links[]

References[]

^ "Western Mass. Summit And Trail Are Renamed With Native American Input". WBUR News. 11 April 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.
^ Stevens, Lauren R. (8 May 2021). "Hikes & Walks: Monument Mountain reveals newly-named Peeskawso Peak". The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved 28 June 2021.

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[1] "Western Mass. Summit And Trail Are Renamed With Native American Input". WBUR News. 11 April 2021. Retrieved 3 June 2021.

[2] Stevens, Lauren R. (8 May 2021). "Hikes & Walks: Monument Mountain reveals newly-named Peeskawso Peak". The Berkshire Eagle. Retrieved 28 June 2021.

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