To the Top

The other day we decided to go out for lunch – or actually up.

          We stopped for sandwiches and then aimed the car to the top of Mount Holyoke, part of the Skinner State Park, which spreads over the towns of Hadley and South Hadley here in Massachusetts.  You can hike up to it, over trails or by way of the road that winds to the top, 443 feet up. My Guy and I did once manage to go by foot, but this time we motored up – just out of consideration for the dog, of course.

          We had a chilly lunch until we saw the light -literally – and moved into the sun.

          Besides the great views is the Prospect House, a hotel built in 1851.

The first tramway in New England was built here, first to transport supplies for the hotel and then the guests themselves. In those days, when even a train ride was novel, the idea of a mechanical conveyance to get you up the side of a mountain was a very big deal indeed. 

However, the original owner must have had plenty of vision but not as much business acumen because at one point he sold off hotel furniture to pay back debts. The hotel changed hands in 1869 and at one point stretched to 44 guest rooms and a  200 seat dining room.

          In 1908 it changed hands again, bought by a local industrialist, J.A. Skinner. After a drop in popularity and a 1938 hurricane, parts were torn down. Skinner ultimately gave it to the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, asking only that the park, now with 40 miles of hiking trails, be named after him. Happily, the building was restored a few years ago.