Deerfield — Natural Features

Extracted from "History of the Connecticut Valley in Massachusetts, Volume II," by Louis H. Everts, 1879.


      The topography of Pocomptuck is peculiar. Along the bank of the Connecticut lies a fertile meadow, about a hundred rods wide, extending nearly the whole length of the town; from this, to the west, rises a range of hills from one to two miles in width, running from Wequamps (Sugar-Loaf) on the south to the Greenfield line, rising about midway, at Pocomptuck Rock, to a height of seven hundred and fifty feet. From the foot of this range a plain or valley spreads westward, from one to two miles in width. Here the "Dedham Grant" was laid out, and here are located the "Old Street," the principal villages, and the famous "Deerfield meadows," a rich alluvial deposit of late geological formation.
      Still to the westward, the surface rises in swelling hills, one above the other, to its western bounds, reaching, at "Arthur's Seat," an elevation of one thousand feet. These were the "Sunsick Hills" of the Indians, the "West Mountains" of to-day, and may be considered the foot-hills of the Hoosack Mountains. These hills are nearly bare of forest, affording the best of grazing land, while a few good farms are scattered in the valleys. The town is well watered. The Connecticut is described elsewhere. The Pocomptuck (Deerfield), rising on the east slope of the Green Mountains in Vermont, coming into this town from the northwest, has channeled for itself a deep rocky bed through the Sunsick Hills, and debouches upon the central valley at Stillwater; then, turning to the northeast, continues a serpentine course across the meadows and through a remarkable gorge at Cheapside, reaching the Connecticut about eight miles from Stillwater. Among the numerous smaller streams the historic Bloody Brook stands first; a few other brooks, which have afforded mill-sites, are Bijah's, Roaring, Parsons', Taylor's, Carter's Land, Sheldon's, Field's Hill, Hoyt's Mill, and Turkey-Bin. Some of the ponds are Broughton's, Beacon's, Pine Hill, Round, and Old River.



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03 Aug 2005