Trying to find locations was more difficult than I had originally thought it to be. When meeting with the local reference librarian, we had to have locations already in mind in hopes that there would be something in the archives (referred to as the “vault”) on those locations. Most sites we found were located in a pamphlet for the Natural Bridge State Park, which was the one site that the reference librarian was certain there would be information on in the vault. Some locations that we found after taking a look at the tourist pamphlet were: the Hoosic River and the Hoosac Tunnel.

Hoosic River (Hoosic having many different spellings from the Algonquin name originally given to it) was not something that we focused on at the time of our meeting but does have several possibilities to explore for this project. The Hoosic River Revival in North Adams wishes to re-establish the river into our community after having fifteen foot high walls built around it as a way of flood prevention. While I am almost certain that there have been no recent developments regarding the revitalization project for the Hoosic River it would be interesting to get accounts from those who started this project about the river and learn about what the river once offered the community compared to the situation it is currently in by being hidden behind these man-made barriers. However, we could hit a lot of roadblocks with Hoosic River as there seems to be little information beyond environmental writings.

The Hoosac Tunnel is a well known railroad tunnel with an immense amount of history attached to it. With this location we have the possibility to discuss not only the land that it passes through but the railroad industry, local history, and the technology and machinery that was used to bore through to create the tunnel. Without having deeper research to look into as of right now, it’s difficult to see just how much we can delve into but regarding the immense amount of history behind this location I imagine there being plenty in the archives. 

One of the first locations that came to mind for this project was Mount Greylock. This location is promising when considering the proximity to campus, as well as the recent discussions and attitudes towards the location because of its mention by J.K. Rowling. This area provides several different activities for visitors from hiking, to camping, to hunting, and to snowmobiling. Despite being such a well-known location that is associated with our area, it does not seem like there would be a lot to discuss or look at with Mount Greylock as our focus.

Natural Bridge State Park was the one location that we were able to find some information on from the vault with the help of the reference librarian. Though most of the information we were given were newspaper clippings of advertisements or information about a change in hours, this location has a lot of possibility as a focus for this project. This piece of land has a sixty foot gorge as a result from glacial erosion as well as a natural white marble arch. Another bonus is the piece of literature that Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote about the location back in 1838. It would be interesting to compile what Hawthorne wrote about Natural Bridge, as well as other visitors’ experiences, along with our own to track how this location has, or has not, changed in regards to not only the landscape but also what the location means to community members.

I feel that the best locations for this project would be the Natural Bridge State Park and the Hoosac Tunnel. With both locations we can delve into other aspects along environmental factors both past and present.