Mount Wachusett is a mountain in

Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

. It straddles towns of

Princeton Princeton University is a private Ivy League research university in Princeton, New Jersey, United States. Founded in 1746 in Elizabeth as the College of New Jersey, Princeton is the fourth-oldest institution of higher education in the Unit ...

and

Westminster Westminster is the main settlement of the City of Westminster in Central London, Central London, England. It extends from the River Thames to Oxford Street and has many famous landmarks, including the Palace of Westminster, Buckingham Palace, ...

, in Worcester County. It is the highest point in Massachusetts east of the

Connecticut River The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges into Long Isl ...

. The mountain is named after a Native American term meaning "near the mountain" or "mountain place". The mountain is a popular

hiking A hike is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century. Long hikes as part of a religious pilgrimage have existed for a much longer time. "Hi ...

and

skiing Skiing is the use of skis to glide on snow for basic transport, a recreational activity, or a competitive winter sport. Many types of competitive skiing events are recognized by the International Olympic Committee (IOC), and the International S ...

destination (see ' Wachusett Mountain Ski Area"). An automobile road, open spring to fall, ascends to the summit. Views from the top of Mount Wachusett include

Mount Monadnock Mount Monadnock, or Grand Monadnock, is a mountain in the town of Jaffrey, New Hampshire. It is the most prominent mountain peak in southern New Hampshire and is the highest point in Cheshire County, New Hampshire, Cheshire County. It lies sou ...

to the north,

Mount Greylock Mount Greylock is the highest point in Massachusetts at 3,489 feet (1,063 meters). Located in the northwest region of the state, it is part of the Taconic Mountains, a geologically distinct range from the nearby Berkshire Mountains, Berkshire ...

to the west, southern

Vermont Vermont () is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, New Hampshire to the east, New York (state), New York to the west, and the Provinces and territories of Ca ...

to the northwest, and

Boston Boston is the capital and most populous city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Massachusetts in the United States. The city serves as the cultural and Financial centre, financial center of New England, a region of the Northeas ...

to the east. The mountain is traversed by the Midstate Trail. It is also home to the Wachusett Mountain State Reservation. A band of

old growth forest An old-growth forest or primary forest is a forest that has developed over a long period of time without disturbance. Due to this, old-growth forests exhibit unique ecological features. The Food and Agriculture Organization of the United Natio ...

along rock ledges below the summit supports trees from 150 to 370 years old. Covering , it is the largest known

east of the

in Massachusetts.

Geography

Mount Wachusett is a (formerly)

glaciated A glacier (; or ) is a persistent body of dense ice, a form of rock, that is constantly moving downhill under its own weight. A glacier forms where the accumulation of snow exceeds its ablation over many years, often centuries. It acquires d ...

monadnock An inselberg or monadnock ( ) is an isolated rock hill, knob, ridge, or small mountain that rises abruptly from a gently sloping or virtually level surrounding plain. In Southern Africa, a similar formation of granite is known as a koppie, an ...

: a single mountain on a relatively flat landscape. Glacial activity that shaped the mountain can be seen at Balance Rock on the northeast side of the mountain: two large boulders were stacked one on top of each other by moving glaciers thousands of years ago. Mount Wachusett is bordered to the south by Little Wachusett Mountain and Brown Hill, to the north by Church Rock, to the east by Pine Hill, and to the northeast by the Crow Hills. The nearest mountain of comparable size is Mount Watatic, 1,832 feet (558 m), to the north on the

New Hampshire New Hampshire ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders Massachusetts to the south, Vermont to the west, Maine and the Gulf of Maine to the east, and the Canadian province of Quebec t ...

border in Ashburnham, Massachusetts. The west side of Mount Wachusett drains into the east branch of the Ware River, thence into the

Chicopee River The Chicopee River is an U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map, accessed April 1, 2011 tributary of the Connecticut River in the Pioneer Valley, Massachusetts, known for fast-moving wat ...

, the

, and

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a sound (geography), marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York (state), New York to the south. From west to east, ...

. The south side drains into the Quinapoxet River, the

Nashua River The Nashua River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed October 3, 2011 is a tributary of the Merrimack River in Massachusetts and New Hampshire in the United States. It ...

, thence the

Merrimack River The Merrimack River (or Merrimac River, an occasional earlier spelling) is a river in the northeastern United States. It rises at the confluence of the Pemigewasset and Winnipesaukee rivers in Franklin, New Hampshire, flows southward into M ...

and the

Atlantic Ocean The Atlantic Ocean is the second largest of the world's five borders of the oceans, oceanic divisions, with an area of about . It covers approximately 17% of Earth#Surface, Earth's surface and about 24% of its water surface area. During the ...

. The east side drains into the Stillwater River, thence the Nashua River. The north side drains into the Nashua River through a series of small reservoirs.

Ski area and recreation

Mount Wachusett is home to a 25-trail ski area serviced by 3 high-speed quads, 1 fixed-grip triple and 3 carpet lifts. It features approximately of vertical, a base lodge, 100% snowmaking and night skiing on 18 trails. The mountain also maintains a terrain park and a jump called the Main Event. Due to its location, it is a popular skiing destination for residents of nearby Worcester and Boston. The ski area is located within the boundaries of the Wachusett Mountain State Reservation on a lease parcel on the northern slopes of the mountain. There is an annual 6.2 mile (10 km) road race each May sponsored by the Central Mass Striders. Stands of old-growth hardwood forest on Mount Wachusett became the object of a 2003 court ruling in favor of the

Commonwealth of Massachusetts Massachusetts ( ; ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is a U.S. state, state in the New England region of the Northeastern United States. It borders the Atlantic Ocean and the Gulf of Maine to its east, Connecticut and Rhode ...

in joint contract with the ski area regarding plans for a ski slope expansion into an environmental buffer zone around the old growth stand. The old growth forest contains trees over 350 years old; the buffer zone contained mature trees about half that age. The

Sierra Club The Sierra Club is an American environmental organization with chapters in all 50 U.S. states, Washington, D.C., Washington D.C., and Puerto Rico. The club was founded in 1892, in San Francisco, by preservationist John Muir. A product of the Pro ...

and other conservation organizations criticized the ruling and two members of

Earth First! Earth First! is a radical environmentalism, radical Environmental movement, environmental advocacy group that originated in the Southwestern United States. It was founded in 1980 by Dave Foreman, Mike Roselle, Howie Wolke, Bart Koehler, and Ron K ...

staged a

sit-in A sit-in or sit-down is a form of direct action that involves one or more people occupying an area for a protest, often to promote political, social, or economic change. The protestors gather conspicuously in a space or building, refusing to mo ...

protest by climbing into the crowns of several of the trees in the area slated to be clear cut. As of 2007 wording on the website of the Wachusett Mountain Ski Area included strong language prohibiting skiers and snow boarders from entering the old growth area: "Anyone found entering old growth areas will have their lift ticket revoked. Subsequent offenses will be subject to fines."

History

Before European colonialism, Wachusett was the home of the

Nipmuc The Nipmuc or Nipmuck people are an Indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands, who historically spoke an Eastern Algonquian languages, Eastern Algonquian language, probably the Loup language. Their historic territory Nippenet, meaning 'the f ...

tribe. The tribe has been confined to a four-and-a-half acre reservation outside Grafton, Massachusetts, which began as a

praying town Praying towns were settlements established by English colonial governments in New England from 1646 to 1675 in an effort to convert local Native Americans to Christianity. The Native people who moved into the towns were known as Praying Indi ...

in 1654. The general feeling towards the ski resort among Nipmucs is that it is an injustice. Some hope to someday use the mountain as a proper Nipmuc cultural center. During

King Philip's War King Philip's War (sometimes called the First Indian War, Metacom's War, Metacomet's War, Pometacomet's Rebellion, or Metacom's Rebellion) was an armed conflict in 1675–1678 between a group of indigenous peoples of the Northeastern Woodland ...

in 1676, Native Americans brought their captive,

Mary Rowlandson Mary Rowlandson, née White, later Mary Talcott (c. 1637January 5, 1711), was a colonial American woman who was captured by Indigenous peoples of the Americas, Native Americans in 1676 during King Philip's War and held for 11 weeks before being ...

, to Wachusett to release her to the colonists at Redemption Rock.

References

External links

Massachusetts DCR Wachusett Mountain State Reservation page

Wachusett Brewing Company

The view from Mount Wachusett

Princeton history of the Mountain

People of the Wachusett: Greater New England in History and Memory, 1630-1860
{{Authority control Wachusett, Mount Mountains of Worcester County, Massachusetts Princeton, Massachusetts Westminster, Massachusetts Old-growth forests

Geography

Ski area and recreation

History

See also

References

External links