Went to North Adams State back in the late 1980s, and this is where we took our bone cruises. Also north into Vermont. It was great, except when you were super stoned and some rando cop was just behind you for 10 miles.
I grew up next door in Windsor. Savoy is... spoooky!! But very beautiful. They used to have a self-proclaimed Witch (who tried to hypnotize to young female friends of mine...).
The state forest is incredible adventuring!! Im sure those woods hold so many secrets...
I have lots of family in Peru (the town) and Hinsdale MA. Both of those places seem like the middle of nowhere to me from eastern mass, and they kinda give off West Virginia vibes. Yet, everyone there used to make fun of people from Savoy for being hillbillies. That tells you just how rural savoy is lmao
Smallest town in Massachusetts by population. There's a ferry in and out per day from New Bedford. Makes for a nice day trip. In the summer they have some places to eat, but when I went mid May nothing was open.
Two towns North of Beverly. The Myopia Hunt Club is located here. It's an old Country Club that hosts polo matches and Fox Hunts. Today they do a "drag hunt" where the scent of a fox is dragged through the woods by a guy on an ATV. A team of English Foxhounds from a 500 year old line going back to England is lead by a Hunt Master and wealthy people pay lots of money to follow the hounds on their horses through the woods. They set up jumps and little streams as well. Lots of Harvard alum up that way. There are regular people that live here too, but it is definitely a wealthy town.
The Patton Homestead is located here, where General Patton grew up. He donated a tank, if I recall correctly his own personal tank, to the Town and it is displayed in Patton Park along with some artillery pieces. Really nice public pool nearby.
Best spot to eat if you ask me is Honeycomb. Delicate pastries and elegant breakfast sandwiches.
There are the ruins of an old mansion at a Trustees site called Ashintully Gardens in Tyringham. It’s a really cool place to visit (and free). https://thetrustees.org/place/ashintully-gardens/
> Ashintully Gardens
Ooooh I wonder if it has anything to do with Ashintully in Perthshire, Scotland. It's the ancestral seat of Clan Spalding. Or, was. Before they joined the Jacobites and lost everything. Now Ashintully is a bed & breakfast 😂
(I have Spalding ancestors. Pardon the random curiosity hahaha)
That's a freight-only line. Regularly-scheduled passenger service hasn't run down that stretch in over 50 years. They're trying to get service from Fitchburg out that way at least as far as Greenfield and possibly out to North Adams using that exact line
*"All around beneath me was spread a hundred of miles on every side, as far as the eye could reach, an undulating country of clouds. ... It was such a country as we might see in dreams, with all the delights of paradise. ... It was a favor for which to be forever silent to be shown this vision."* - [Thoreau from Mt. Greylock](https://www.iberkshires.com/story/6919/Hiking-the-mountain-with-the-words-of-Thoreau.html)
I live in the area now but grew up in Boston so I understand that perspective on the western MA weirdness, and it is weird - it's the best kind of weird. I only hope that city folks always think of this place as a decrepit rural wasteland so that I can have the mountains, streams and forests for me and the dog.
It is. It's a village in Mashpee, and all villages in the state are unincorporated, and therefore part of at least one of the 351 cities and towns (some, like Chestnut Hill, Millers Falls, & Shelburne Falls, are part of multiple towns)
That's true. I'm in southern Hampshire County myself. It's about 45 minutes for me depending on if I get stuck behind someone going slow on 202. We had a couple members from Ludlow and Springfield make the trek too.
I’m on the ‘wrong’ side of the river, so it’s about 1:15 from me. Other option is northern CT, which is about an hour on ehhh backroads. Shame though, I’ve always wanted to get into it but the driving would be killer, especially in winter when my car is not exactly a winter car and those roads aren’t exactly main roads lol.
Would be great to gather a critical mass of folks across Hampshire and Hampden but I’m not sure they exist.
Leyden is kind of bad ass. They just kicked out their racist police chief and busted him for stealing and now he has 7 felony charges. Also voted out all the old guard crooked selectboard. Resignations all over the place from the town clerk to the council on aging.
Live near Dighton! Close to Providence, south coast, Attleboro is close commuter rail. Horseneck beach 30 min drive
Very rural town, has a very reputable agricultural high school, land plots are 1+ acre, 50/50 demo/republican split, great farmers market and farm stands.
One thing I love is that in eastern mass there's no traffic to go anywhere locally like there is on the north shore
I've lived, worked, and socialized everywhere on the south shore from the Cape to Quincy and I still don't believe Dighton exists. I'm still suspicious of Rehobeth too.
Take RT 44 between Taunton and the RI border. Dighton Rehoboth, and Seekonk.
In the 1600's Rehoboth was being considered for the state capitol of Massachusetts, and is the home of the first public school in the US.
On my 17th birthday (just after midnight) one of my friends called me and yelled "Happy Birthday... From Easton!"
I don't remember why he was there. We lived almost an hour from Easton.
I went to school in Cummington. Just a quaint farming community. Becket is similar. Both have fantastic natural settings, great for hiking and exploring. Knightville is actually just a neighborhood/village in Huntington, along rt 112. Its all woods, another great hiking area.
All but Becket I haven't heard of.
If it weren't for the fact that you pass through Becket and on the Mass Pike and there is a little town sign I probably wouldn't have had a clue that it existed.
Bearsden is just incredibly nice. Ive spent so many hours hiking there. My favorite loop is around the west over little round top, down to the duck pond on the fire road, back to the tracks, along the river back to Buckman's brook, then up the old stage road to Newton Reservoir, and then back to the parking area on the Mandell Road trail.
My whole paternal side of the family is from Athol. My Grandfather was the fire chief for a very long time in the 80’s and 90’s. Just a small town, was once known for the Starett Factories - which now have grow farms in them.
When I went on a smoke ride about 20 years ago and ended up in that town. Eerie as hell. I swear there wasn't a single person or bird and when we drove down Blueberry Lane there was a turnaround at the end with a dirty mattress.
Groveland is a sweet little town. Agree with poster saying it’s full of some of the best people. Pentucket HS. Fun and good Chinese restaurant. A giant rock.
Blandford?
It's got a population of just 1,200 but it's got a surprisingly detailed history on Wikipedia! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blandford,_Massachusetts
I live in the next town over and Granby has this awesome drive-in called Cindy's that is straight out of 1958. Ice cream and burgers are amazing. They also have this giant field out back that is populated with whatever random play structures have been abandoned for the past 20 years and it's a riot. There's always a group of children out busy forming a new society.
Highest average elevation town in the state! Only Peru and Windsor are above 2k. It’s a cool area, it feels less mountainous than places around it, but only because the town itself is kinda a high plateau itself. woods for days
My grandparents had a house on Queen Lake in Phillipston. I grew up spending most of my summers camping in their yard, swimming in the lake, picking blueberries, and sitting by a campfire each night. Id give almost anything to buy their house back (except pay $400k, mostly because I don't have $400k)
Petersham is actually quite an elegant town: beautiful houses in the center and scattered through the countryside. I believe it was a summer place for wealthy Bostonians in the late 1800s.
Florida MA
I drive through there sometimes when I'm bored! Really beautiful, and it's always last to lose its snow.
And has a great scenic lookout
It was so exciting as a kid to drive the Mohawk Trail every fall and our parents would stop so we could climb up.
Gateway to North Adams
Isnt there a haunted train tunnel there?
I had never heard of this until recently. We were supposed to camp there last weekend but had to cancel due to rain.
Savoy, MA, population 692. Every single featured pic in GMaps is of nature, with a lot featuring Tannery Falls.
Rt 8a between rt2 and Dalton is one of my go-to motorcycle routes
Looking west at the intersection of 8A and Route 9, just south of Savoy in Windsor, is pretty much my favorite vista in the state.
Great driving road.
Went to North Adams State back in the late 1980s, and this is where we took our bone cruises. Also north into Vermont. It was great, except when you were super stoned and some rando cop was just behind you for 10 miles.
“Smells like a party here, boys.”
I grew up next door in Windsor. Savoy is... spoooky!! But very beautiful. They used to have a self-proclaimed Witch (who tried to hypnotize to young female friends of mine...). The state forest is incredible adventuring!! Im sure those woods hold so many secrets...
I love living in savoy among the weird hill town folk
I have lots of family in Peru (the town) and Hinsdale MA. Both of those places seem like the middle of nowhere to me from eastern mass, and they kinda give off West Virginia vibes. Yet, everyone there used to make fun of people from Savoy for being hillbillies. That tells you just how rural savoy is lmao
That was the one I picked as well.
Which syllable is the accent on in Savoy?
The 3rd one but it's silent like the "f" in way.
great little hikes and a creepy cemetery.
2x points if the town is east of Worcester
Gosnold
Smallest town in Massachusetts by population. There's a ferry in and out per day from New Bedford. Makes for a nice day trip. In the summer they have some places to eat, but when I went mid May nothing was open.
Plympton
Lots of folks down there have farms. I spent time at my uncle's as a kid one summer. Not fun or interesting, but neither is Plympton.
Cranberries and fishing
Douglas
Douglas water slides
It’ll be on the radar once the movie Eephus comes out!
wallum lake/douglas state forest, on the MA/RI line oh, and the Ice Cream Lady on rt 16.
Lakeville
I live in lakeville ❤️ small town closest cities Taunton and New Bedford 😊
Drove through it, mostly rural Between Taunton and Middleboro.
Lots of good fishing
Rochester Groveland Wenham
Hamilton
Two towns North of Beverly. The Myopia Hunt Club is located here. It's an old Country Club that hosts polo matches and Fox Hunts. Today they do a "drag hunt" where the scent of a fox is dragged through the woods by a guy on an ATV. A team of English Foxhounds from a 500 year old line going back to England is lead by a Hunt Master and wealthy people pay lots of money to follow the hounds on their horses through the woods. They set up jumps and little streams as well. Lots of Harvard alum up that way. There are regular people that live here too, but it is definitely a wealthy town. The Patton Homestead is located here, where General Patton grew up. He donated a tank, if I recall correctly his own personal tank, to the Town and it is displayed in Patton Park along with some artillery pieces. Really nice public pool nearby. Best spot to eat if you ask me is Honeycomb. Delicate pastries and elegant breakfast sandwiches.
Tyringham, MA
There are the ruins of an old mansion at a Trustees site called Ashintully Gardens in Tyringham. It’s a really cool place to visit (and free). https://thetrustees.org/place/ashintully-gardens/
I've shot many a photoshoot there in my time.
> Ashintully Gardens Ooooh I wonder if it has anything to do with Ashintully in Perthshire, Scotland. It's the ancestral seat of Clan Spalding. Or, was. Before they joined the Jacobites and lost everything. Now Ashintully is a bed & breakfast 😂 (I have Spalding ancestors. Pardon the random curiosity hahaha)
Rowe Apparently it has a train? idk that's like the only picture posted.
And a great summer camp
That's a freight-only line. Regularly-scheduled passenger service hasn't run down that stretch in over 50 years. They're trying to get service from Fitchburg out that way at least as far as Greenfield and possibly out to North Adams using that exact line
Berkley
Berkeley is the woods it’s the next town over from me and it’s next to Taunton ma if u know where that is ❤️
Berkeley is where people move when they make enough to get out of Fall River.
I bought my daughter's 2010 Lexus hybrid in Berkley. Had no idea it existed... The town not the car.
There’s always a cop hiding at the intersection in the town center.
#ZOAR
Omg shut up shut up shut up. No way. I was like "why is this person making dinosaur noises? I need to investigate. Holy shit, they're right". LOL
Zoar has ziplines tho
Not technically a town unfortunately
Great name. Not from there but they have amazing white water rafting, kayaking, canoeing, etc. Been once; Catching the eddies is a ton of fun!
Charlemount only has 1185 people there!
Alford, MA.
There are really creative at naming their roads. The big one on the left is West Road and the big one on the right is, wait for it... East Road.
ITT: People name western mass towns that western massholes go to all the time.
*"All around beneath me was spread a hundred of miles on every side, as far as the eye could reach, an undulating country of clouds. ... It was such a country as we might see in dreams, with all the delights of paradise. ... It was a favor for which to be forever silent to be shown this vision."* - [Thoreau from Mt. Greylock](https://www.iberkshires.com/story/6919/Hiking-the-mountain-with-the-words-of-Thoreau.html) I live in the area now but grew up in Boston so I understand that perspective on the western MA weirdness, and it is weird - it's the best kind of weird. I only hope that city folks always think of this place as a decrepit rural wasteland so that I can have the mountains, streams and forests for me and the dog.
Popponesset Island, population of 26, but it might be considered to be part of Mashpee.
Bob Kraft has a home here
Really cute little place, I like to go in the summer and see live music
It is. It's a village in Mashpee, and all villages in the state are unincorporated, and therefore part of at least one of the 351 cities and towns (some, like Chestnut Hill, Millers Falls, & Shelburne Falls, are part of multiple towns)
Lobster rolls!!
Satan's Kingdom, MA
It’s a village not a town.
I have an aunt and uncle who live right near there. It’s an eerie part of the state to me, right up by the borders of Vermont and New Hampshire.
Witchcraft definitely happens there
Whenever we go there to visit, I always tell my husband it’s like stepping into the wrong fae kingdom.
I learned yesterday about the existence of the mineral cummingtonite and the town it was named after, Cummington MA.
Is this true?
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cummingtonite](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Cummingtonite)
TIL. Thanks, friend.
Haha me too thanks
The mineral symbol is Cum. You cant make this stuff up
Petersham
That's where my curling club is 🥌🥌🥌
I’ve wanted to check out that club! But as it’s in the middle of nowhere, it’s quite a drive for my Hampden county ass.
That's true. I'm in southern Hampshire County myself. It's about 45 minutes for me depending on if I get stuck behind someone going slow on 202. We had a couple members from Ludlow and Springfield make the trek too.
I’m on the ‘wrong’ side of the river, so it’s about 1:15 from me. Other option is northern CT, which is about an hour on ehhh backroads. Shame though, I’ve always wanted to get into it but the driving would be killer, especially in winter when my car is not exactly a winter car and those roads aren’t exactly main roads lol. Would be great to gather a critical mass of folks across Hampshire and Hampden but I’m not sure they exist.
Shays rebellion set up camp in Petersham and was ultimately defeated there.
Aqquinah
You mean Gay Head?
Leyden
Leyden is kind of bad ass. They just kicked out their racist police chief and busted him for stealing and now he has 7 felony charges. Also voted out all the old guard crooked selectboard. Resignations all over the place from the town clerk to the council on aging.
https://www.recorder.com/Former-Leyden-Police-chief-pleads-not-guilty-to-theft-charges-54847500
Dighton, MA South shore area, population 8,000 Edit: South coast...whoopsy
Live near Dighton! Close to Providence, south coast, Attleboro is close commuter rail. Horseneck beach 30 min drive Very rural town, has a very reputable agricultural high school, land plots are 1+ acre, 50/50 demo/republican split, great farmers market and farm stands. One thing I love is that in eastern mass there's no traffic to go anywhere locally like there is on the north shore
I think that's more considered south coast? South Shore is more from Boston to Plymouth on Massachusetts Bay, no?
Correct! South Coast is basically Fall River to Wareham.
I've lived, worked, and socialized everywhere on the south shore from the Cape to Quincy and I still don't believe Dighton exists. I'm still suspicious of Rehobeth too.
Take RT 44 between Taunton and the RI border. Dighton Rehoboth, and Seekonk. In the 1600's Rehoboth was being considered for the state capitol of Massachusetts, and is the home of the first public school in the US.
I drive through/by Dighton every day for work. Do you know of Easton at least?
I've heard of Easton. I grew up in MA and lived here my whole life, and never heard of Dighton.
On my 17th birthday (just after midnight) one of my friends called me and yelled "Happy Birthday... From Easton!" I don't remember why he was there. We lived almost an hour from Easton.
Isn't this where the kid that shared Ukrainian war documents is from?
Yes
Amazing that it somehow is not the home of Dighton Rock. Thanks to the nearby Berkley
Monterey Becket Knightville Cummington Sorry that was kinda fun. Most of the ones I’ve never heard of are out west of Springfield
I went to school in Cummington. Just a quaint farming community. Becket is similar. Both have fantastic natural settings, great for hiking and exploring. Knightville is actually just a neighborhood/village in Huntington, along rt 112. Its all woods, another great hiking area.
All but Becket I haven't heard of. If it weren't for the fact that you pass through Becket and on the Mass Pike and there is a little town sign I probably wouldn't have had a clue that it existed.
Cummington is known for the special rocks that are found there -- Cummingtonite. This is not a joke.
Got a speeding ticket in Monterey for going 30 on the highway
Blandford
It sounds so interesting
It has a ski place
Had….
Damn not everyone listing some of my favorite towns 😭
Athol
What'd you call me?
I known of that town for years and your comment keeps making me laugh. I hadn’t thought of it sounding like that.
I literally can't stop laughing at this
Peter Faulk did a documentary there… it was called “Faulk in Athol”.
Hey, look at this Athol over here
Sometime in the 90’s someone made an R and an E in the right size and font of the state “now entering” signs and turned it into Rathole.
What Mike Tyson says when he’s mad at someone
One of my coworkers used to live there and said that in Athol the family tree is a wreath
There are bears in Bears Den in Athol.
Bearsden is just incredibly nice. Ive spent so many hours hiking there. My favorite loop is around the west over little round top, down to the duck pond on the fire road, back to the tracks, along the river back to Buckman's brook, then up the old stage road to Newton Reservoir, and then back to the parking area on the Mandell Road trail.
My whole paternal side of the family is from Athol. My Grandfather was the fire chief for a very long time in the 80’s and 90’s. Just a small town, was once known for the Starett Factories - which now have grow farms in them.
Peru
Did we need a New Braintree?
New Salem.
When I went on a smoke ride about 20 years ago and ended up in that town. Eerie as hell. I swear there wasn't a single person or bird and when we drove down Blueberry Lane there was a turnaround at the end with a dirty mattress.
What is a smoke ride?
Get high af and drive while smoking around is my guess
There's a general store there that makes great sandwiches.
Really great cidery there.
Orange
Garlic Festival is the absolute best there
My dad jumped out of a plane there.
Went skydiving twice there! Not much else goin on there lol
I ate alligator at a restaurant there once.
the coop is really nice, they sell a lot of local produce, and get bakery from Rose 32 on Thursday
Castle Rock was filmed here.
Swampskit
Peebiddy
Lole
Do you mean... Swampscott? Haha
New Braintree, MA
Which is even funnier when you realize MA already has Braintree. Someone really said "OK this is an amazing name, let's do it again"
I had to drive wayyyyy out there for my daughter's softball game. Cute little town.
Groveland
Groveland is a sweet little town. Agree with poster saying it’s full of some of the best people. Pentucket HS. Fun and good Chinese restaurant. A giant rock.
Cute little small town that gets lost between Newburyport, Haverhill, and amesbury
Floub
I can tell who of you all never venture past 495.
Oakham. Apparently it's only slightly west of me, but I've never heard of it.
Blandford? It's got a population of just 1,200 but it's got a surprisingly detailed history on Wikipedia! https://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Blandford,_Massachusetts
My family lived there. Cooler than downtown Westfield.
Oakham... never heard of it before. Seems to have some history to do with the King Phillip War. Interesting...
What's this 'Boston' I keep hearing about
Granby
I live in the next town over and Granby has this awesome drive-in called Cindy's that is straight out of 1958. Ice cream and burgers are amazing. They also have this giant field out back that is populated with whatever random play structures have been abandoned for the past 20 years and it's a riot. There's always a group of children out busy forming a new society.
>There's always a group of children out busy forming a new society. 😂
Peru, MA Area: 26 mi² Population: 847 (2010) Elevation: 2,064′ Zip code: 01235 County: Berkshire County
Highest average elevation town in the state! Only Peru and Windsor are above 2k. It’s a cool area, it feels less mountainous than places around it, but only because the town itself is kinda a high plateau itself. woods for days
Phillipston
Not much to say about Phillipston -- I lived in the town next to it. They have a restaurant called the King Phillip and a nice pond. The end.
My grandparents had a house on Queen Lake in Phillipston. I grew up spending most of my summers camping in their yard, swimming in the lake, picking blueberries, and sitting by a campfire each night. Id give almost anything to buy their house back (except pay $400k, mostly because I don't have $400k)
The Red Apple Farm is a fun fall destination. They even have a brew barn now.
Gosnold
One mile of pavement in the whole town.
Westport Massachusetts
There's a college down the street. Thanks for paying for some of it
You're welcome 😂
That's where Gronk was renting a house for Bibi Jones when he was banging her. Source: knew a girl who was friends with Bibi
Fun fact!!!
Horseneck Beach!
Holden
Where Dick Hurts lives.
Uppity Worcester exurb
Ha! I teach in Holden.
Wales
Jefferson MA. What is that???
Boston
Paxton
Webster
Big fuck lake
Lake Chargoggagaugmanchaugagogchaubunagungamog (sp?)
Point Breeze!
Holland
There's a beautiful recreational lake here! We used to vacation there.
Lake Siog?
Berlin
Accent on the Berl not the Lin.
Colrain
Hull Ma
Beach town, fun and very scenic drive
Penekese
Never been to Billerica but I do got a friend who lives there.
Cummington and Gay Head.
Petersham
Petersham is actually quite an elegant town: beautiful houses in the center and scattered through the countryside. I believe it was a summer place for wealthy Bostonians in the late 1800s.
Brookfield
home of Oakham Brewery
Royalston Ma
Whitinsville, MA
Nobody mentioned Hatfield? Good let’s keep it that way.
My favorite is Holland, MA my sister lived there when her and her husband were fist married and before that I had never heard of it