Tag Archives: Westfield River

Jun 19 2019

Haunted Robinson State Park?

Feeding Hills is a section of Agawam MA that plays home to Robinson State Park.   It’s a quiet place that hosts both summer and winter activities on roughly 900 acres that hug the Westfield River on the north.  There are hiking trails, a pond and picnic area for family recreation, and miles of trails to hike, bike, walk, sightsee, and just take in nature’s beauty.  Robinson State Park also offers no place to go that you won’t feel alone.

For me, many years ago, it was a great place to take a textbook and homework to study in quiet. The problem was that it never seemed to be quiet – or calm.  There were noises, not like those made by other people in the park, but soft rustlings.  Sometimes one could hear whispers. Nothing intelligible, just loud enough to be disconcerting as there weren’t enough people around to make them.

Staying focused on study was sometimes difficult.  It seemed as though something or someone was watching you.  You know, the old ‘hair on the back of your neck standing up’ and all.  It felt like eyes were staring right through you.  Did whatever it was have something to say?  Did they – or it – not want you there?  Was it just to get your attention?

Perhaps it could have been any of those things.  At times, one could catch a glimpse of something moving through the trees.  Nothing definitive, only a fast black shadow rushing between the growths of the forest.  For those of you who aren’t big into seeing black shadows, there’s something else for you, too.  On occasions, a white wispy figure could be watched flitting in and out around the water’s edge.

Years ago there was a rumor that a woman was found dead along the side of one of the roads in the park…her body just left for someone to find.  Did this really happen?  I don’t know, but there is something restless in this area.  It seems like it wants to let you know it’s there without being too obvious.  Just enough to heighten your senses, put you a little on edge, and perhaps remind you that your end may just be your new beginning.

–   ashanta

May 22 2018

A Haunted Historical Site – Keystone Arches

One of the things I love about the area I live in is that there are more than a few haunted locations in the Chester, Middlefield, and Becket areas of MA. One of the places that come to mind most people have probably never heard about – even though it has an important place in American history.

The story begins in the mid-19th century. Boston could no longer compete with New York in the transportation industry because of the Erie Canal, which had opened in 1825. New York offered traders and manufacturers access to the expanding Western frontier by way of the Great Lakes. To remain relevant, Boston had to overcome the main obstacle between itself and the young nation’s interior, the Berkshires. The mountains blocked any reasonable chance for a rival canal.

Railroad technology was still young, but the promise was evident. So for dreamers, planners, and engineers, the challenge boiled down to one question: through the mountains or over them?  Investors conceived another route that would utilize the natural gorge cut by the Westfield River on the eastern slope of the Berkshires and the path of the Housatonic River on the west. Investors decided to go over them and build a railroad access.  A series of 10 bridges had to be erected in the rough terrain to create a suitably straight route along the Westfield River. The project was agreed on and started in 1839. It was completed in 1841.

What happens next is what, I believe, leads to the activity some people experience now if they visit the Arches. To accomplish this massive project, the railroad had to employ large numbers, (up to 3000), of laborers.  These men were mostly Irish immigrants who were sought as they were very poor and willing to do the hardest, most dangerous labor, for very little pay. Research tells me those brave men were paid approximately $10 to $15 a month for work no one else wanted or dared do.

Living conditions for these workers were bad as they lived in quickly erected shanty towns also known as squatter areas. Their shelters were constructed of any scrap materials they could gather. Often times during construction workers died either accidentally or due to illness. These deaths were never reported.

Many times while hiking to view these lost stone arches, I have personally experienced what sounded like hammering, and shoveling, and I’ve heard voices mumbling.  Could these men still be working and living in those terrible conditions hoping to leave soon?

–  Bran.