A brief respite from the intense heat allowed me a small window of opportunity to make my way out beyond the Quabbin Reservoir and into sections of northwest Worcester County. Here, in two different towns, I located three new (to me) features and a revisit to a LONG ago site of historic importance.
First stop brought me to Princess Rock, site of a rather interesting story. An Indian maiden jumped off the top of the rock with her Indian brave boyfriend. Death was the escape from being forced to marry a very important chief from the Narragansett tribe. My observation was one could hurt themselves - perhaps badly - but the jump itself is maybe around 15 feet. There is a sloping hillside below, with a number of rocks that had once been part of the ledge.
@ Mine cliff circa 1870
Moving on a bit, was a mining site that has a rich and somewhat enigmatic connection in town. I have seen this described as both a gold dig and copper/copperas dig. Apparently, its earliest origins may date to the late 1700s, as when the area was 'discovered' in the first half of the 1800s, the mine had already been there! I managed to locate it with a little searching, although it had been years since my last time through the area and the forest had really grown up! One goal was to finally obtain an accurate GPS fix and I noticed an old trench along the base of the cliffs. I can only guess it was used for drainage.
Skipping several towns to the south, I located (with a little searching) the sit of an old rattlesnake den. I had been through town about a year earlier, visiting the local town hall, showing a postcard I had of the den. It was pretty well known but at that time I moved on. No rattlesnakes were present on this particular day but a pleasant surprise in finding it to be a neat little cave.
Although my last year's visit to the town hall did not turn up any information on Missionary Rock, l did have a very rough location as to where it lay. While driving along the road, I spotted three people out walking so I addressed my query to them. They did not know, but just as I was getting reading to pull away, one of their neighbors came up behind me in his car. As luck would have it - the rock lay just off the border of his property! I got a full-fledged tour with my guide, pulled out all the appropriate equipment, and eventually left the area as a happy camper filled with new information!
Setting the trusty(?) car GPS for home, I was directed south to the Mass Pike and back west to the Berkshires!
