Holyoke Heritage State Park

Holyoke Heritage State Park is history-oriented state park located in the city of Holyoke, Massachusetts.[3] The park opened in 1986[4] on the site of the William Skinner Silk Mill which was lost to fire in 1980.[5] The park is managed by the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation.

Holyoke Heritage State Park
Location in Massachusetts
LocationHolyoke, Hampden, Massachusetts, United States
Coordinates42°12′18″N 72°36′26″W[1]
Area7 acres (2.8 ha)[2]
Elevation115 ft (35 m)[1]
Established1986
OperatorMassachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation
WebsiteHolyoke Heritage State Park

Activities and amenities

A visitors center has exhibits about paper manufacturing and Holyoke's industrial and cultural past. The landscaped grounds offer picnicking and views of the city's canals and mill buildings. The Holyoke Merry-Go-Round (PTC #80), the Children's Museum at Holyoke, and the Volleyball Hall of Fame are also located in the park.[3]

The park also features its own rail line, a remnant of the former Holyoke & Westfield Railroad, and one of four tourist railroads in the Commonwealth. From 1988 to 1996 the railroad featured regular scenic tours to points outside of the city,[6] however in 2005 the three Pullman cars were sold to the Berkshire Scenic Railway Museum, which continues to operate them with the state park's livery.[7] Today the Pioneer Valley Railroad provides annual fall foliage passenger rides from the Holyoke Heritage State Park to Westfield, as well as an annual Santa Train.[8][9]

See also

References
  1. "Holyoke Heritage State Park". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey.
  2. "2012 Acreage Listing" (PDF). Department of Conservation and Recreation. April 2012. Retrieved January 17, 2014.
  3. "Holyoke Heritage State Park". MassParks. Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. Retrieved August 20, 2013.
  4. "Annual Report: Fiscal Year 1986". Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  5. "William Skinner Silk Mill". Digital Commonwealth. Retrieved March 2, 2017.
  6. "The highlight of the trip will be the grand-opening celebration of the Holyoke Heritage State Park Railroad...". The Berkshire Eagle. Pittsfield, Mass. June 16, 1988. p. 20.
    • HDR; AECOM; Fitzgerald & Halliday, Inc; HMMH (January 26, 2018). Massachusetts State Rail Plan (PDF) (Report). Massachusetts Department of Transportation. p. 54. The Holyoke Heritage Park used to operate tourist railroad service in the 1980s and 1990s during the summer and fall season, but has not offered regularly scheduled service since 1996. Since that time, Pioneer Valley Railroad has provided service to the Heritage Park during special events such as the annual Polar Express train during the holiday season |archive-url= is malformed: timestamp (help)
  7. "[Owner = Holyoke Heritage State Park]". Roster of Preserved North American Electric Railway Cars. Shore Line Trolley Museum/Branford Electric Railway Association (BERA). Archived from the original on October 25, 2019.
  8. Urban, Cori (October 2, 2018). "Fall foliage train ride from Holyoke to Westfield ready to board". The Republican. Springfield, Mass. Archived from the original on October 2, 2018.
  9. Plaisance, Mike (December 1, 2017). "Santa Claus coming to Holyoke Saturday with parade, lighting of City Hall Christmas tree". The Republican. Springfield, Mass. Archived from the original on December 2, 2017.
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