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HOUSATONIC  RIVER WALK
GUIDE DOWNSTREAM

It was a way for people in the neighborhood 
to give days of their labor to one another, 
to give one another shares in their mutual place... 
                                                              -Wendell Berry about the River Walk

Welcome to River Walk, 
a greenway trail along the Housatonic River 
in Great Barrington, Massachusetts.

River Walk is created by community volunteers who live in and around Great Barrington. It is maintained to allow public access to the river and to reclaim its banks for the benefit of wildlife and people. This guide describes the historical and environmental features of the River Walk and explains some of the technical means taken to build and maintain the trail and plant community.

River Walk exists through the generosity and permission of the property owners along the river 
so that the public may enjoy the riverbank habitat. 
As you walk along the trail, 
please remember that you are passing through private property 
and are here as a guest. 

How to use this guide 
River Walk roughly follows the west bank of the Housatonic River between Cottage Street and Bridge Street. The trail’s two completed sections are linked by Dresser avenue and River Street. The upstream section extends from the River Walk bulletin board at 195 Main Street to the William Stanley Overlook. The trail exits at the stairs to St. Peter’s Church parking lot on Dresser avenue. The downstream section of the trail begins adjacent to the Berkshire Corporation parking lot on River Street and ends at Bridge Street. 

There are thirteen points of interest shown on the River Walk maps—the Upstream Map shows sites A through F, and the Downstream Map, shows sites G through M. 

Here we suggest you walk all the way to the bridge at the end of the downstream section of River Walk, turn around, and start your downstream tour at the Bridge Street entrance at location G.

…the Housatonic River should be a clear a limpid stream,
flowing gently through grass, trees, and flowers,
flanked by broad roadways and parks
as the lifestream of the town.
                       -Great Barrington native W.E.B. DuBois, 1961

The downstream section of River Walk has a fascinating history. In the pre-Columbian Northeast, the various tribes who settled in what is now Massachusetts used ancient trails to travel from coastal areas to mountain passes and river valleys. One east-west Native american highway stretched from what is now Westfield in the Connecticut River valley to the Hudson River valley, crossing the Housatonic at a ford said to be in this vicinity. In a river as large as the Housatonic, the shallow water of the ford could have spread over wide sections of what is now the town of Great Barrington. 

The Native americans might have used this open expanse for fishing and trapping. It would have been a good place to rest before traveling the mountain passes, a good place to settle and farm the rich soil, and a good place to meet and trade with people passing through. long before europeans made a town here, Mahicans chose this spot to live where their highway met the river. 

as history progressed, what once might have been a wide, low crossing was constricted artificially to meet the needs of rural industry and town life. Today this downstream section of River Walk passes through a former school complex and a local business. Unlike River Walk’s shady path upstream, this trail travels through a highly developed area of traffic and parking lots. Open space, sun and a busy atmosphere contrast this section of River Walk to the upstream section.

G: BRIDGE STREET ENTRANCE

Bridge Street provides the southern entrance to River Walk’s downstream section, started early in 1997. It is for walking and nature viewing and is wheel chair accessible. It is not intended as a bike path. 

From here you see the Bridge Street bridge and the land downstream where plans for an expanded greenway and bikeway to the Senior Center will be realized in the future. already, the land immediately across Bridge Street has been developed into a town recreation area. 

The stone marker at Bridge Street commemorates an important episode of King Philip’s War by a nearby Mahican ford. In august 1676, Major John Talcott and a group of militiamen from Westfield overtook and killed a fleeing band of Narragansett Indians who had fought the encroachment of european settlers on their traditional lands.
 
Searles Middle School, originally a high school, opened for classes in 1898. William Cullen Bryant elementary School, built in 1888, was named for the poet, journalist and orator who lived in Great Barrington from 1816 to 1825. Both schools closed in 2005. 

In 2003, the Thursday Morning Club sponsored a bench in memory of September 11, 2001. The bench is located near the entrance to the Bridge Street canoe launch. From here, the Housatonic River meanders through oxbows and flats to another canoe access off of Brookside Road, Great Barrington, near Eisner Camp.

CLICK HERE FOR HIGHER RESOLUTION MAPS

H: NATURE TRAIL AND CANOE ACCESS

In 1989, seventy Searles eighth-grade students cleaned up the riverbank next to their school, hauling out twenty tons of trash to make possible a nature trail and canoe access to the river. as they made the riverbank more attractive and accessible, they learned about the dynamics of the river. as you walk along the River Walk, watch the river level change—rising in early spring and dropping in late summer. Sometime in the future, as it has done in the past, the river will rise again to flood the trail, the parking lots and even River Street, which is lower than River Walk. That is the nature of rivers. 

The area surrounding River Walk was once a floodplain capturing nutrient rich sediment carried by the river. It had many layers of vegetation such as trees, shrubs and dead leaves to hold rain and to slow its release onto the ground. Its permeable soils absorbed and cleaned the floodwaters. This pristine floodplain played a crucial role in sustaining the purity of our water, with its shaded streams, wide shallow banks, wetlands that hosted a great diversity of life, and a community of plants specially adapted to periodic flooding. Floodplains keep water fresh and clean and prevent erosion. 

Development has altered this area for the worse. The riverbed itself has been artificially narrowed, yielding steep and erosion-prone riverbanks. Instead of a rich floodplain of diverse plants, there is turf grass and hard pavement, which cannot filter runoff nor hold floodwater from storms. 

All the rain that falls in the entire Housatonic watershed ends up in the river unless it first evaporates or is used by a plant or animal. If the rain falls on an absorbent surface, it slowly sinks into the ground, where it is filtered of impurities and joins the saturated underground layer called the water table. The visible surface of the water table is the water level in the riverbed. If a large amount of water is absorbed into the ground, the water table rises. In this way rivers can fill up even without water flowing into them from the surface of the land.

When there is too much rain to be absorbed by the ground and vegetation, or when the water falls on an impermeable roof or a parking lot, it rushes to the lowest spot. It races down gutters, along streets and into drains, where it is channeled and picks up speed and power. When it ultimately reaches the river, it splashes down, carrying anything picked up along the way. It can carry eroded particles of soil and stone. It can carry cigarette butts and Styrofoam coffee cups. It can carry pesticides, herbicides and toxins from lawns, fields and roads. This material carried into the river by runoff is called nonpoint source pollution and is difficult to control or mitigate.  

River Walk uses a number of techniques to prevent nonpoint source pollution from entering the river. Storm drains are fitted with drop inlets to trap toxin-laden sediment. a rain garden (Site I) slows the velocity of street runoff and allows the dense plantings to absorb and cleanse the water before releasing it to the water table. In time, native plantings along the river will produce a continuous layered cover over the river and its banks, preventing soil erosion and lowering water temperature.

I:  W. E. B. Du BOIS RIVER GARDEN

The park ahead of you was once a rubbish dump concealed by a snarl of invasive multiflora rose, oriental bittersweet and buckthorn. volunteers transformed it into a park that serves as an entrance to River Walk. Here the town connects to the river as you come down Church Street and enter this little haven. Sit for a while on the stone bench, dedicated in July 2006 to the memory of Monica Fadding, River Walk’s horticulturist and restoration consultant. 

From the bench you can see a raised garden made of stones that represent the mixed geologic origins of what is now the upper Housatonic watershed. [See Memory Garden]  Gneiss, quartzite, schist, limestone and dolomite form the geologic basis of Berkshire County. The plants that grow in this garden are typical woodland plants of the region. They are the first yield of our Native Natives program, producing plants whose genetic provenance is here in western Massachusetts. This garden now produces seed and plants that are transplanted to other areas of River Walk.

On the south side of the park, a raised berm is planted with sumac and a variety of native understory plants. These beautiful native plants are typical of the old field phase of ecological succession. ecological succession describes the process by which a piece of land slowly evolves from meadow to old field to young woodland to mature woodland to old growth forest.

Efforts to ease the negative effects of flooding and heavy runoff can be seen along the River Walk. Storm drains fitted with drop inlets trap oil and sediment from storm runoff gathered from streets, rooftops and parking lots. The drains are cleaned out by the town as needed. The trail surface is water permeable, yet is hard enough for heavy use.

And we have created a rain garden between the street and the river. The rain garden is a low swale or catch basin of land where runoff velocity is slowed, where indigenous wetland plants filter and cleanse the water, and where the water can soak slowly into the soil. If there is excessive water, it flows into an overflow drain where suspended sediments are trapped. The rain garden produces seeds used to vegetate other areas along the River Walk. [See Rain Garden]

The Housatonic River plays a special role in our local and national history. This park entrance to River Walk is located at the corner of River and Church Streets, a mere two hundred feet from where the great civil rights leader W. E. B. Du Bois was born in 1868. Du Bois wrote that he was “born by a golden river” and advocated that we “rescue the Housatonic” and create “the park it might have been.” 

Great Barrington is “turning its back to the river,” he warned in a talk about the Housatonic River for the annual meeting of the alumni of Great Barrington and Searles High Schools in July 1930. again in 1961, he wrote to Searles alumni association president George P. Fitzpatrick and admonished the town for failing to clean and restore the river to “a clear and limpid stream, flowing gently through grass, trees, and flowers, flanked by broad roadways and parks as the life stream of the town.” 

On September 28, 2002, with his son David Graham Du Bois in attendance, the W. E. B. Du Bois River Garden park was dedicated in recognition of Dr. Du Bois’s lifelong passion for the cause of environmental justice and rivers everywhere. The park is a site on the Upper Housatonic valley African American Heritage Trail. 

For more information about W.E.B. Du Bois in Great Barrington, read Fifty Sites in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Associated with the Civil Rights Activist W. E. B. Du Bois by Bernard Drew.

[See a complete list of River Walk's "Native Native" plants.]

J: COMPOST TEA

Most native plants in North American forests have a complex symbiotic relationship with bacteria and fungi that inhabit the soil of healthy forests. This is lacking at River Walk where most of the “soil” is a compilation of debris, fill and just plain junk that disables these relationships. 

Under the leadership of Heather Cupo, aerobically brewed compost tea is used on various areas of the River Walk to improve and diversify the life in the soil. The tea is a coldwater extract of compost; essentially a microorganism farm where bacteria and fungi are grown before dispersing onto a crop or soil. It is made from fully finished compost containing a specified number, type and proportion of desirable microorganisms and fungi. The non-toxic tea is tested to assess the quality and quantity of its microorganisms, then applied to the soil to assist plant growth.

Compost tea expert Dr. Elaine Ingham (Oregon State University and Soil Foodweb Inc.) has shown that the organisms extracted through this process suppress disease and produce plant-accessible nutrients. Her studies suggest that aerobic compost tea can increase the biodiversity of soils and improve root number and length. Compost tea reduces the need for fertilizers, irrigation and fungicides in such agricultural crops as apples, potatoes, grapes and turf grass. 

Here on the River Walk, a study was developed and begun in 2006 under the direction of biologist Suzanne Fowle and environmental scientist Dr. Don Roeder (Bard College at Simon’s Rock). The study will be completed in 2009, and progress reports are regularly posted on the River Walk website. The study is designed to monitor the growth and success of four species of native plants: woodland sunflower (Helianthus decapetalus); agrimony (Agrimonia gryposepala); spicebush (Lindera benzoin); and maple-leaved viburnum (Viburnum acerifolium). We have planted these four species in each of 22 experimental plots at five sites along the River Walk. We measure their growth in several ways, such as stem length, leaf production, seed production, numbers of new stems, and biomass. Twice during each growing season, you may see our scientists and interns hunkered down in the plants, focused as they count and record every leaf and flower. 

Half of our experimental plots are receiving compost tea treatments, so we can observe and record the effects of the tea. By comparing plants that have received tea treatments to the control plants, we hope to find out whether the tea effects plant growth or success and whether its effects are the same on all four species. Our science crew also collects every weed from the plots, not just to eliminate them from the plots, but to weigh them and compare control weights to tea treated weights. 

Our results will help prioritize future plantings and direct future compost tea applications along River Walk. To our knowledge, River Walk is the only site in Massachusetts that is testing compost tea in steep riparian conditions.

[See more on monitoring study.]

K: ECOLOGICAL RESTORATION

You are standing on land belonging to Berkshire Corporation, whose employees have enthusiastically encouraged and helped the expansion of River Walk. Before this trail segment was built, the land between this building and the river was covered in Japanese knotweed, an aggressive and invasive polygonum that crowds out all other plant life. volunteers dug and sifted the soil for knotweed roots, picked and re-picked new sprouts, and replanted with native species to shade out and overtake the tenacious knotweed. Since that time we have kept the knotweed at bay through regular cutting of recurrent stems, without digging out roots, which exposes the bank to erosion, and without the use of herbicides. 

You will notice that some banks along the river are steep and unstable, eroded by the action of the river into almost vertical walls. a stable riverbank is sloped so that materials falling on the bank remain in place without sliding. This ideal angle, which varies for different materials, is known as the Angle of Repose. 

Urban environments do not offer the space for riverbanks to move naturally through the processes of erosion and deposition. Constraining a river leads to increased erosion and the need for armouring and periodic stabilization efforts. an example is right in front of you. In 2008, a bank stabilization project using a combination of engineered and vegetative techniques was begun on this small segment of downstream riverbank. large boulders were used to armour the lower riverbank and protect it from erosion. Dense plantings of stoloniferous native plants, known for their rapid root growth and ability to quickly grow many stems, were used to protect the upper bank. The technique of using living organisms to achieve structural ends is known as bioengineering. Close monitoring and ongoing maintenance are required during the development of the vegetative component. 

When using bioengineering techniques to help stabilize a bank section, we cut stems along the River Walk from existing stoloniferous plants such as willows and shrubby dogwoods. The stems can be used as live stakes that penetrate the bank, or bundled into fascines whose live stems will root in place and hold the soil. Once established, the branches and leaves protect the soil from erosion by wind and rain, while trapping organic matter to develop soil in the future. They also provide onsite sources for future cuttings. Sometimes stems are cut by beaver that travel the river in early spring, seeking new home sites and food sources. No matter who does the cutting, it often encourages root production in the parent plant, further stabilizing the riverbank. 

In winter 2000, a tragic accident on the Housatonic deeply moved the community and had a great impact on River Walk. On January 25, five-year-old Shirley Palmer lost her life after falling into the icy river by the bridge at Cottage Street, several hundred feet upstream of River Walk. To permit heavy search equipment access to the river, more than 100 cubic yards of soil were excavated and mature trees were felled at this site. To repair the riverbank, it was necessary to change its profile significantly, leaving a diminished angle of slope, increasing flood storage capacity and mitigating further erosion. Stone retaining walls were constructed at the top of the new slope to stabilize the trailbed. 

The disturbance of established native vegetation and mature trees exposed the site to erosion and sun, inviting the return of aggressive non-native plants such as knotweed, bittersweet, multiflora rose and garlic mustard. The following summer, River Walk crews planted a dense cover of more than 800 native plants, shrubs and trees that were specially selected to combat erosion by quickly spreading roots and branches. Over twenty new species of riparian plants, including swamp white oak, pin oak, elderberry, witch-hazel, alder, dogwood and viburnum, now enhance the biodiversity of the area. .

L: FLOODPLAIN TREES AND RIVER OVERLOOK

A variety of native floodplain trees have been planted along the path to provide cooling cover that is essential for a healthy river. The soils along an urban street and in a floodplain are similar in many ways; the soil is usually compacted and is alternately saturated or dry. This is true on this stretch of the River Walk where the soils are made of debris accumulated and compacted by the town over the last few hundred years. Trees adapted to life in the floodplain are often well suited as street trees. 

This stretch of River Walk was once part of the yearly flood plain, but now floods perhaps once every 500 years. One way to envision this area before it was filled is to stand on the River Walk so that you can see the water’s surface. Imagine a soil level no more than a few feet above the water level stretching from the river to the far side of River Street. This low land or floodplain would have extended from the corner of River Street and Dresser Avenue to beyond the Bridge Street bridge. 

Some tree species have shown themselves to adapt well to the rigorous conditions along this River Walk section. American sycamores have beautifully mottled bark and large leaves and can grow to 100 feet tall. American lindens, or basswood, can be found growing up and down the Housatonic in great numbers. They have large heart-shaped leaves, very soft wood and a beautiful perfume when blooming. Red maples are ubiquitous in New England. They are an indicator of wetlands, but will grow elsewhere as well. In late winter and spring, their buds and flowers are scarlet; in autumn, their leaf color is astonishing. 

One hackberry tree was planted along the path by the Sarah Deming Chapter of the Children of the American Revolution in remembrance of children who have lost their lives to the river. 

You may notice other bottomland trees that grow here, including a huge cottonwood by the elevated walkway and silver maples that lean over the river. In their shade grow slippery elms and box elder, a scrub maple unfairly maligned for its prolific clusters of seeds. a large butternut tree adorns the W.E.B. Du Bois River Garden. 

Here, at a section of stabilized riverbank, we have built a river overlook. This is a good spot for watching the river and wildlife. River Walk volunteers have spotted beaver, muskrats, skunks, raccoons, deer, great blue herons, cedar waxwings, chickadees, eagles, osprey and kingfishers. They have found helgramites (dobson fly larvae) and snapping turtle eggs. The list will lengthen as we invite the river back into our lives. 

A split-rail fence has been installed along the riverbank. The areas on either side are managed very differently. On the river side of the fence, where steep banks meet the water’s edge, we only weed invasive exotics. On the path side, volunteers cultivate a public garden of native plants. Decorative vines grow on the fence. Blocks of flowering plants and a row of specimen trees follow the trail. 

M: EXIT TO RIVER WALK UPSTREAM

This older house is part of the Berkshire Corporation facility. You can see that the river starts to make a bend here. To rejoin the upstream section of River Walk, turn right onto River Street and follow it around the bend where it becomes Dresser avenue. Turn right into the St. Peter’s Church parking lot. In the back right-hand corner you will find steps to the upstream section of River Walk. [Go to River Walk Guide Upstream]

If you are just starting your tour of River Walk here at site M, we suggest that you walk all the way downstream to the bridge, turn around, and begin your tour at site G at the Bridge Street entrance. 

THE HOUSATONIC RIVER

The Housatonic River flows 150 miles from four sources in western Massachusetts, passing through the Berkshires and western Connecticut before it empties into long Island Sound. The watershed, or land area that drains into the river, encompasses 1,948 square miles and includes hundreds of rivers and streams.

TO LEARN MORE AND GET INVOLVED

River Walk is a project of the Great Barrington land Conservancy. The Conservancy manages leases and easements granting public access to the trail, on behalf of the local community. 

In addition to its volunteers, River Walk benefits from the efforts of interns who assist with all aspects of development and maintenance. They learn about riverine ecology and the practicalities of maintaining a public space, while earning credit in their field of study. 

River Walk provides a space for on-site education and offers lectures, tours and other educational programs about native plants, riparian ecology and local history. 

For more information about volunteer workdays, internships, educational programs or tours, 
please contact Rachel Fletcher, at 413.528.3391 
or river@gbriverwalk.org 
Or visit our website at www.gbriverwalk.org  

VOLUNTEERS AND PERSONNEL

River Walk is a community project directed by Rachel Fletcher and created by approximately 2100 volunteers. .

The River Walk trail is designed by Peter Jensen of Peter S. Jensen & associates. The landscape restoration is directed by Monica Fadding of Marconica, Inc. and Heather Cupo of Plant Euphoria. 

Volunteers with more than 100 hours in the field include Gail Berneike, Don Bernier, Glen Chamberlin, Peter Ghani Champoux, Ann Condon, Heather Cupo, Dana Cummings, Bernard Drew, Monica Schultz Fadding, Rachel Fletcher, Erik Jensen, Peter Jensen, Alden Johnson, Bernard Kirchner, John Mallory, Tony Manzon, Will Marsh, Bob Mills, Judd Reiss and Comstock Small.
 
Student volunteers with more than 50 hours in the field include Andrew Baxter, Jessie Drew, Willa Johnson, Ben Kalish, Hannah Kirchner, Ben Passmore, Andy Ritter, and Aaron Seymour. 

Interns as of 2008 include: Ryan Caruso, Jennifer Goodwillie, Dan Hassett, Hilary kirchner, Penelope lord, Zachary Mino, Phyu Hninn Nyein, Kristen Sanzone, William Powell Strayer, Peter Tiso, and Jenna Turner.

Inventory of trash removed by River Walk volunteers between 1988 and 2007:

259 - tons of rubble/garbage
11 - tons of metal
84 - tons of wood waste and fire wood
3 - tons of compost

GRAND TOTAL: 357 total tons

ORIGINAL PROPERTY OWNERS ALONG THE RIVER WALK

The Community land Trust in the Southern Berkshires, presently Peter Hill, Pink Cloud 
Melvin J. katsh, presently Rite Aid Pharmacy 
Roman Catholic Bishop of Springfield (St. Peters Parish) 
Lucien and Steven Aigner, presently James and Gina Bashour 
Nion Robert Thieriot and Roger C. Tryon, presently Josh Minges 
Dale Culleton 
Berkshire Corporation 
Town of Great Barrington 

A FEW NOTES ABOUT TRAIL ETIQUETTE

Please remember that you are passing through private property 
and are here as a guest. 

Please remember that it is unsafe to use the trail during icy conditions 
and therefore the trail is closed during the winter months. 

Please curb your dog. Waste bags are provided on both trail sections. 
Our volunteers appreciate their use. 

Please remember that the path is constructed for walking and nature viewing only. 
No bicycles. 

Please use the proper entrances and exits. 
Stay on the delineated trail where it is safe to travel. 

Riverbank slopes are sensitive to erosion. 
Please do not climb on the bank. 

Please respect the desire of others for a smoke-free environment. 
Cigarette butts are not biodegradable. 

Please help us to keep River Walk clean. 
Carry out what you carried in. 

Please consider picking up any litter you see along the trail. 

Please leave the flowers for all to enjoy. 

CONTRIBUTIONS 

River Walk is a project of the Great Barrington Land Conservancy. Conservation leases and easements granting public access to the trail are managed by the Conservancy on behalf of the local community.

Donations are tax-deductible and may be sent to:
Housatonic River Walk
P. O. Box 1018
Gt. Barrington, MA 01230 USA

For further information about River Walk,
please contact Rachel Fletcher,
413-528-3391, or river@gbriverwalk.org.

PUBLICATIONS

Drew, Bernard a. 1995. River Walk: History Underfoot. 
______. 2002. Fifty Sites in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Associated with the Civil Rights Activist W. E. B. Du Bois. 
______. 2006. Fifty Sites in Great Barrington, Massachusetts, Associated with William Stanley, Jr. and the Emergence of the Modern Electrical Age. 
Levinson, David, ed. 2006. African American Heritage in the Upper Housatonic Valley. 
Smith, Howard. 2000. “Great Barrington (and Simsbury, Connecticut) in king Philip’s War.” Pamphlet. 
Sorrie, Bruce and Paul Somers. 1999. Vascular Plants of Massachusetts: A Checklist. 
Weatherbee, Pamela. 1996. Flora of Berkshire County Massachusetts.

[Go to River Walk Upstream]

[Return to River Walk Home Page]
Contributors to the River Walk Guide include Heather Cupo, Monica Fadding, Rachel Fletcher, Suzanne Fowle and Comstock Small. 
Excerpts by Wendell Berry reprinted with permission from U.S. Catholic magazine, Claretian Publications, www.uscatholic.org, 800-328-6515. 
Excerpts by W. E. B. Du Bois, 1920, Darkwater; 1930, “The Housatonic River Speech,” Berkshire Courier; 1960, to Ronald Linder, Berkshire Courier; 1961, reprinted with permission of the family of the late George P. Fitzpatrick. 
© 2008 Great Barrington land Conservancy