Franklin County

CHAPTER 5: ARCHAEOLOGICAL AND HISTORIC RESOURCES – FRANKLIN COUNTY The Route 112 Scenic Byway runs through portions of the Towns of Colrain, Shelburne, Buckland, and Ashfield in Franklin County and is steeped in regional and local history. Native Americans occupied the area since the retreat of the last glacial ice sheets approximately 12,000 years ago. They probably concentrated in the floodplains of the North River, the Deerfield River and Clesson Brook, though little evidence remains of their settlements. As European settlers moved in, the mainstays of the region’s economy were farming and timbering, with pockets of industrial development growing up around mills along the waterways. In subsequent years, the settlers eventually upgraded former Native American trails to support the use of horse and cart. Much of the present‐day Route 112 was laid out over old country roads that had developed through the centuries to connect the towns that had developed along the valley with the rest of the state. The construction of Route 112 began in Buckland in 1896, and continued for a period of almost 75 years with few changes being made other than minor realignments and minimal widening. A portion of the roadway was significantly altered in the Ashfield section in the 1950s that straightened the highway by eliminating existing sections and laying a new road from the top of Ashfield Mountain south to the Route 116 intersection. In the 1970s the roadway in Ashfield was further modified by extending it to the Goshen line along Cape Street. More recently, a new overpass was constructed on Route 2 in Buckland (1999) and bridges have been replaced over the North River in Colrain (2002) and over Clesson Brook in Buckland (2006). In addition, the road has been widened and new guardrails have been installed in many sections to improve safety. The history of the Route 112 Scenic Byway region is a significant component of the Corridor Management Plan. The region’s history plays an important role in understanding the unique resources of the area and in preserving these assets for future residents and visitors. This chapter of the plan provides insight into the development of the area prior to, during and after the construction of the Byway. This information is intended to help tell the story of the Byway and has been obtained from the Massachusetts Historical Commission’s (MHC) Reconnaissance Survey Report for each Town (prepared in 1982 and 1983), the Colrain Open Space and Recreation Plan (2004), the Shelburne Open Space and Recreation Plan (2004), the Buckland Open Space and Recreation Plan (2004), the Route 112 Scenic Farm Byway Final Report (1995, focusing on the towns of ______________________________________________________________________________________ Route 112 Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan — Page 5‐1 Archaeological and Historic Resources – Franklin County Buckland and Ashfield), the Buckland-Shelburne Master Plan (1999), and The Franklin County Rural Historic Landscape Preservation Plan Report (1992). Native American Use of Area Post‐glacial effects, which produced the agriculturally productive floodplain areas of the Connecticut and Hudson River Valleys, are also responsible for the more severe conditions of the uplands that lie between them. Beginning approximately 12,000 years ago the ice retreated, leaving immediately behind it a vista reminiscent of todayʹs tundra conditions, including low shrubs. The result was an area utilized by widely distributed, thinly dispersed, and highly mobile groups of hunter/gatherers. This period is classified as Paleo‐Indian and lasted from 12,000 to around 9,000 years ago. The residents of the area during the Paleo‐Indian Period were hunters of larger game such as caribou, using weapons mounted with a fluted spear point. Only a few artifacts of this era have been found due to the wide distribution of people. There are only four known sites for this period in Western Massachusetts. The closest one to the Byway is located in Deerfield. Most of the early sites are located in lowland regions along rivers and floodplains where food sources were close at hand. Evidence of the upland sites from this period are few due to the more limited resources of those areas at that time; however, travel through the area was probable. More productive soils evolved naturally and allowed for an increase in the number and diversity of the flora and fauna of the region. From the dominant, boreal type forest with little diversity, the landscape gradually took the shape of a more mature temperate forest with an increasing preponderance of nut‐producing trees including oak, chestnut, and beech, providing food for many species of wildlife including deer, bear, squirrels, etc. The more diverse herbaceous level increased the foraging prospects for both animals and humans. These changes initiated the expansion of foraging societies into the upland areas. The number of prehistoric sites increased proportionately in response to the greater availability of food resources. The period from 9,000 to 8,000 years ago, known as the Early Archaic Period, is typified by a dramatic increase in the production of nut‐bearing trees, with oak production tripling to about 30 percent over the previous period. The larger rivers supported a variety of fish and other aquatic species that were important food sources, particularly shad, which ascended the river each spring. The Middle Archaic Period lasted from about 8,000 to 6,000 years ago, with the area following the general trend found in Southern New England based on prehistoric sites found. The most sites have been found from the Late Archaic period of 6,000 to 3,000 years ago. The number of artifact styles associated with this period increases and is complicated by ______________________________________________________________________________________ Route 112 Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan — Page 5‐2 Archaeological and Historic Resources – Franklin County the fact that there were three distinct cultural traditions present (Laurentian, Small Stem, and Susquehanna) during that time. It is thought that the Laurentian cultural traditions may represent a specialized adaptation by small, mobile bands to exploit the interior resources without semiannual relocations for food sources. The Small Stem cultural traditions, which may have been handed down from the Middle Archaic, most likely exploited resources on a more seasonal basis by summering near the coast and wintering in the interior. The Susquehanna cultural tradition, considered a transitional period, is seen more toward the end of the Late Archaic Period. With its introduction, the beginnings of a horticultural society emerge. Only a few prehistoric sites have been documented within the Route 112 Byway Corridor Study Area in Franklin County, and not all have complete information. In order to protect the identified sites, only general descriptions and locations are included in this report. Other potential sites of archaeological interest can be identified based on slope, existence of landscape terracing, and proximity of water. Most of the information below relates to native populations in the region during the Contact Period (1500‐1620). Little changed during the Plantation Period (1620‐1675) to alter the native populations’ settlement patterns or transportation routes. However, early contacts between European settlers and natives resulted in widespread epidemics that decimated the native population. With the end of the French and Indian Wars during the Colonial Period (1675‐1775), European settlers began to establish permanent communities that further encroached on the native population’s settlement areas and traditional ways of life. There are no reported native period sites located in Colrain dating back to the Contact Period (1500‐1620). However, the presence of a relatively diverse upland resource base suggests native occupation likely occurred in several locations. Native period sites probably focused on the North River floodplain, particularly the broader expanses of the East Branch and lower portion of the North River (between Lyonsville and Shattuckville). An especially inviting location would have been the area in the vicinity of the confluence of the two branches of the North River. These floodplains would have provided excellent sites for hunting and fishing encampments. In addition, moderate‐ sized horticultural tracts probably were established on these fertile plains. Smaller fishing and hunting encampments were probably located adjacent to the Green River and scattered about local uplands. Colrain’s fertile floodplains and extensive network of waterways were capable of supporting a moderate native population. The town probably was part of the Pocumtucks’ upland fishing and hunting territory, since they had access via the Deerfield River. The identified native trails in Colrain lead towards Deerfield where the Pocumtucks were centered. The likelihood for evidence of native sites surviving within the North River floodplain is good. ______________________________________________________________________________________ Route 112 Scenic Byway Corridor Management Plan — Page 5‐3 Archaeological and Historic Resources – Franklin County Colrain was on a secondary transportation corridor for native populations moving from the Deerfield Valley to the Green Mountain uplands. An important connecting trail to the Pocumtuck (Shelburne Falls) along the North River likely followed the east bank as the axis of Call Road to a presumed

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