Discover 11 hidden attractions, cool sights, and unusual things to do in Adams (United States). Don't miss out on these must-see attractions: Mount Greylock, Quaker Meetinghouse, and Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum. Also, be sure to include St. Stanislaus Kostka Church in your itinerary.
Below, you can find the list of the most amazing places you should visit in Adams (Massachusetts).
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Mount Greylock
Mountain in Massachusetts. Mount Greylock is a 3,489-foot mountain located in the northwest corner of Massachusetts and is the highest point in the state. Its summit is in the western part of the town of Adams in Berkshire County. Technically, Mount Greylock is geologically part of the Taconic Mountains, which are not associated with the abutting Berkshire Mountains to the east. The mountain is known for its expansive views encompassing five states and the only taiga-boreal forest in the state. A seasonal automobile road climbs to the summit, topped by a 93-foot-high lighthouse-like Massachusetts Veterans War Memorial Tower. A network of hiking trails traverses the mountain, including the Appalachian Trail. Mount Greylock State Reservation was created in 1898 as Massachusetts' first public land for the purpose of forest preservation.[1]
Address: Thunderbolt Ski Trail, 01220 Adams
Quaker Meetinghouse
Church in Adams, Massachusetts. The East Hoosac Quaker Meetinghouse is an historic Quaker meeting house in Adams, Berkshire County, Massachusetts. The meetinghouse's construction dates to the early 1780s. It now occupies a prominent position within the Maple Street Cemetery, the first burial ground in Adams. Unmarked graves of Adams' early Quaker settlers lie near the meetinghouse, an area now marked by a plaque. The meetinghouse was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1976.[2]
Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum
Museum in Adams, Massachusetts. The Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum is a historic house museum at 67 East Road in Adams, Massachusetts. It is notable as the birthplace of suffragist Susan B. Anthony in 1820 and for its association with early educators and industrialists in Adams. The property was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1985.
The house is now a learning center and museum dedicated to showcasing Susan B. Anthony's early years. One room is dedicated to Anthony's later activist life.[3]
Address: 67 East Rd, 01220-9728 Adams
St. Stanislaus Kostka Church
St. Stanislaus Kostka Church is a mission church designated for Polish immigrants in Adams, Massachusetts, United States.
Founded in December 1902, it is one of the Polish-American Roman Catholic parishes in New England in the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts. On January 1, 2009, was temporarily closed by decision of the Bishop Timothy A. McDonnell of the Diocese of Springfield in Massachusetts. After 1,150 days of parishioners sitting in vigil, it was announced on February 18, 2012, that St. Stan's would reopen on Palm Sunday (April 1) 2012. The church offers Sunday Mass, all Holy Days of Obligation, weddings, funerals, and baptisms. St. Stan's now serves as a mission church of St. John Paul II Parish in Adams.[4]
Address: 25 Hoosac St, 01220 Adams
Maple Street Cemetery
Cemetery in Adams, Massachusetts. Maple Street Cemetery is a historic cemetery on Maple Street in Adams, Massachusetts. Established about 1760, it is the town's oldest cemetery, serving as a burying ground for its early Quaker settlers, as well as for some of its prominent 19th-century citizens. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 2004.[5]
Ashuwillticook Rail Trail
Park in Lanesborough, Massachusetts. The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail is a rail trail built on a former railroad corridor that runs parallel to Route 8 through the towns of Cheshire, Lanesborough and Adams, Massachusetts and is used for biking, walking, roller-blading, and jogging. The trail is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation. Its first two phases opened in 2001 and 2004, with a 1.2-mile northerly extension added in 2017. A 1.5 miles extension is being built South from the old Berkshire Mall to Crane Ave. It is expected to open in the spring of 2022.
The southern end of the trail begins at the entrance to the old Berkshire Mall, off of Route 8 in Lanesborough, and travels 12.2 miles (19.6 km) north to the center of Adams.
The Ashuwillticook Rail Trail passes through the Hoosac River Valley, between Mount Greylock and the Hoosac Mountains. Cheshire Reservoir, the Hoosic River, and associated wetland communities flank much of the trail. The word Ashuwillticook (ash-oo-will-ti-cook) is from the American Indian name for the south branch of the Hoosic River and literally means “at the in-between pleasant river,” or in common tongue, “the pleasant river in between the hills.”[6]
Berkshire Mill No. 1
The Berkshire Mill No. 1 is a historic mill complex on Hoosac Street in the center of Adams, Massachusetts. Built in 1895 by the locally prominent Plunkett family, it is an important surviving reminder of the town's industrial textile past. Now converted into mixed residential and commercial use, it was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[7]
P. J. Barrett Block
Building in Adams, Massachusetts. The P.J. Barrett Block is a historic block in Adams, Massachusetts. It is one of the four brick buildings on Park Street along with the Jones Block, Armory Block, and the Mausert Block, opposite the Town Hall. The block was built in roughly 1880, during a period of rapid industrial expansion in Adams. The original uses of the building were to provide retail shops on the ground floor and apartment-style housing above, a common feature of buildings of the period. It has a somewhat utilitarian appearance, which may be reflective of the relative haste in which it was designed and built. The building has a brick face, and the windows on the upper floors have curved pediments. The building was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.
In 1984, after a period of abandonment, the building was rehabilitated by Dawson Associates into two commercial spaces and eight apartments of affordable housing. Financing was a blended form from an area bank, the (then) Massachusetts Government Land Bank under a pilot program to encourage changes in local tax abatement procedures to incentivize the redevelopment of abandoned properties, and the Town of Adams. Dawson Associates consisted of Mr. Donald Ruffer a prominent area Realtor, Mr. Richard Moscatelli, Executive Director of Housing Now, and Carter Terenzini, the City of Pittsfield's first Commissioner of Community and Economic Development and subsequently a Principal of RCT Associates. All were from Pittsfield, MA.
In June 2016, a fire on a stove in a third floor apartment, displaced four families and resulted in damage to the upper floors and attic.[8]
Mausert Block
Commercial building in Adams, Massachusetts. The Mausert Block is a historic commercial building at 19—25 Park Street in Adams, Massachusetts. Built in 1900-01, it is a prominent local example of Romanesque Revival architecture. It is one of the four brick buildings on Park Street along with the P. J. Barrett Block, Jones Block, and Armory Block, and was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1982.[9]
Jones Block
Commercial building in Adams, Massachusetts. Jones Block may mean:
- Jones Block (Adams, Massachusetts)
- Jones Block (Los Angeles)
Armory Block
Building in Adams, Massachusetts. The Armory Block is a historic commercial building at 39-45 Park Street in Adams, Massachusetts. Built in 1894-95, it is a fine example of Renaissance Revival architecture, and one of the town's most architecturally sophisticated commercial buildings. It served as the local National Guard armory until 1914, and now houses commercial businesses. It was listed on the National Historic Register in 1982.[11]
Address: 37 Park St Apt 1, 01220 Adams