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Show MT. HOLYOKE, THE CELEBRATED MOUNTAIN, FOR THE PUBLIC. Company of Philanthropists Buy the Place and Will Improve It for Free Recreation Ground for New England. . The cast as well as the west Is having hav-ing Its scenic spots preserved to It for tho uso of tho public. Now England Eng-land Is tho latest to come into possession pos-session of a now public park, and ML Holyoke, that scenic gem In tho beautiful beau-tiful Connecticut valley, will bo preserved pre-served for all tlmo for tho enjoyment and blessing of tho public. Tho mountain has been on tho market mar-ket for threo years, and has been sought by commercial Intorcsts that would havo stripped It of its natural attractions, but Just In tho nick of tlmo Bomo public-spirited men of wealth havo stepped In and bought tho ground and dedicated It to public uso. Tho tract thus acquired, whllo not large, being only 240 acres, Includes tho structure known as tho Prospect hooso on tho summit of tho beautiful mountain. This property was ownod formerly by John Dwlght, tho wealthy manufacturer of blcarbonato of soda, and was put on tho market soon nftor his death. It Is tho intention of tho purchasers to add to tho territory as opportunity presents itself, and It is deemed not unlikely that tho entire Ilolyoko rango will bo set asldo eventually as a public reservation. ML Ilolyoko Is 830 foot abovo tho Connecticut and 900 feet abovo Boston Bos-ton harbor. It Is part of a mountain moun-tain rldgo" crowned with trap rock, beginning with West nock, near Now Hnvcn, and oxtondlng northward, Interrupted In-terrupted by occasional valleys, to Dclch'ertown. Just west of tho Connecticut' river tho ridgo curves to tho south, so that tho Holyoke rango, taken as a wholo. assumes tho form of a bjowplpo, of which ML Tom summit represents tho mouth-plcce. Ono of tho striking features of tho scenery spread out beforo tho sightseer sight-seer on ML Ilolyoko is tho Oxbow, or "old bed" of tho Connecticut river, which winds In a graceful curvo for n dlstanco of threo miles In tho broad vnlloy Just abovo tho notch, without advancing in Its southerly progress moro than a hundred rods, For centuries cen-turies this was tho pnly bed of tho rlveri but In tho frcshot of" 1840 tho stream cut across tho narrow neck of land nnd mado a now channel. However, How-ever, tho Oxbow remains a plcturosquo feature of tho landscape In tho decado Immediately preceding tho civil wnr ML Holyoke enjoyod groat famo uud popularity, and tho names of many notable persons aro to bo found on tho Prospect house's old registers. President James Ducbauan went thoro for an outing when ho was occupying tho highest offlco of tho nation; Aloxander von Humboldt, tho explorer, stopped there, nnd Jenny LInd, tho Swedish singer, drovo thcro from Springfield in a baroucha drawn by four horses. Tho famous soprano enthusiastically declared that region to bo tho "paradise of America," and attested her sincerity by passing her honoymoon within view of tho mountain moun-tain after her nyirriago to' Otto Gold-schmldL Gold-schmldL Whether tho mountain will over regain re-gain Its national famo and popularity Summit of ML Holyoke and Prospect Hpuse. remains to bo seen, but It Is likely that, under tho present auspices, Improvements Im-provements 'will bo mado that will mako It moro accessible to tho public. pub-lic. It Is planned, for ono thing, -to build n road sultablo for carriages and automobiles up tho South Hartley aldo of tho mountain, by an tyisy gradtf, to connect with a proposed spur of tho trolley l(no .running from Ilolyoko to 'Amherst. t Other Inn'rovomcfUs aro anticipated, but tho first object will bo to preservo tho natural beauties of tho mountain. It Is ovldont that an Important stop has boon mado In saving It from tho destroying hand of commercialism on tho ono hand, nnd from being usurped for a private estate on tliii other. |
