Hawley — Natural Features

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


      The surface of Hawley is elevated, and very much broken, in the west and the north, by high hills. In the southeast the land is comparatively level, and here are some fine farms. West of the centre is a hill containing a rich deposit of iron ore, which was mined to supply a furnace near by about 1800, and which gave the name of "Forge Hill" to this locality.
      The streams of the town drain north and east. The principal one is Chickley's River, rising on the mountains in Berkshire, and flowing east until it has taken the waters of King's Brook, from the south, when it bears a northerly course to the Deerfield River, in Charlemont. Clesson's Brook rises in the town south of the centre and flows into the town of Buckland. In the northern part is Bozrah Brook, a small stream flowing into the Deerfield River. It received its name from Bozrah, Conn. The other streams were named after the early land-owners. They all afford limited water-power. In the southwestern part of the town is Moody Spring, which possesses strong medicinal properties, and is said to be a certain specific for salt-rheum and other cutaneous diseases. Its location among the hills has prevented it from being much patronized. The soil of the tillable parts of the town is generally fertile, and agriculture at present constitutes the leading pursuit.



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22 Jun 2005