Bear Hole Watershed Field Work

Some of my research in resource management of parks and protected areas is local in West Springfield and the Bear Hole Watershed.  Today I toured some of the northern end with colleagues from the University, trying to field inventory some of the features.

So, the northern end of the watershed has several impounded water bodies.  These may have been dammed to create water power for mills in the area.  From 1871, note the paper mills.

Twenty years later, the Holyoke - Westfield RR is noted on the maps.  There are quarries in the area, and trunk lines are found.

But the real neat stuff shows up in 1831, from this map from the LOC.  Are we looking at Rufus S.Paine's House?

The area is littered with illegal off-road trails, and the community is trying to promote passive recreation in the watershed but not motorized.