View source for Mount Greylock

{{Use American English|date=January 2025}}
{{Use mdy dates|date=January 2025 |cs1-dates=ll}}
{{stack begin}}
{{Infobox mountain
 | name              = Mount Greylock
 | photo             = 2025-09-09 16 23 18 View southeast towards Mount Greylock from the summit of Berlin Mountain in Berlin, Rensselaer County, New York.jpg
 | photo_caption     = Mt. Greylock seen from [[Berlin Mountain]]
 | photo_size        = 250px
 | location          = [[Berkshire County, Massachusetts]], [[United States]]
 | range             = [[Taconic Mountains]]<ref>Day Hiker's Guide to Vermont 5th ed. (2006). Green Mountain Club: Waterbury Center, Vermont</ref><ref>[[Raymo, Chet]] and [[Raymo, Maureen E.]] (1989). ''Written in Stone: A Geologic History of the Northeastern United States''. Chester, Connecticut: Globe Pequot.</ref><ref>Doll, Charles G. Centennial Geologic Map of Vermont (1961). United States Geological Survey: Washington</ref>
 | elevation_ft      = 3489
 | elevation_ref     = {{NAVD88}}<ref name=ngs>{{cite ngs |pid=MZ1957 |name=Greylock RM 1 Reset}}</ref>
 | prominence_ft     = 2463 
 | prominence_ref    = <ref name=pb>{{cite peakbagger |pid=7065 |name=Mount Greylock, Massachusetts}}</ref>
 | type              = [[thrust fault]]
 | age               = [[Ordovician]], [[Taconic orogeny]]
 | easiest_route     = Cheshire Harbor Trail<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/parks/mtgreylock/suggestedhikes.pdf
|title=Suggested Day Hikes |work=MassParks: Mount Greylock State Reservation |publisher=Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Department of Conservation and Recreation |date=September 2011 |access-date= July 20, 2013}}</ref>
 | listing           = [[List of U.S. states by elevation|U.S. state high point]] 31st<br />[[New England Fifty Finest]] 17th
 | map               = USA Massachusetts
 | map_width         = 250
 | coordinates       = {{coord|42.63726|N|73.16599|W|type:mountain_region:US-MA_scale:100000|format=dms|display=inline,title}}
 | range_coordinates = 
 | coordinates_ref   = <ref name=ngs/>
}}
{{Infobox NRHP
| name         = Mount Greylock Summit Historic District
| nrhp_type    = hd
| nocat        = yes
| image        =
| caption      =
| location     = Jct. of Notch, Rockwell, and Summit Rds., [[Adams, Massachusetts]]
| built        = 1830
| architect    = Maginnis and Walsh; Vance, Joseph MacArthur, et al.
| architecture = Bungalow/Craftsman, Classical Revival
| added        = April 20, 1998
| area         = {{convert|1200|acre}}<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nationalregisterofhistoricplaces.com/MA/Berkshire/districts.html|title=Massachusetts, Berkshire County Historic Districts|work=National Register of Historic Places|publisher=American Dreams Inc.|access-date=January 6, 2011}}</ref>
| refnum       = 98000349<ref name="nris">{{NRISref|2009a}}</ref>
}}
{{stack end}}

'''Mount Greylock''' is the highest point in [[Massachusetts]] at 3,489 feet (1,063 meters). Located in the northwest region of the state, it is part of the [[Taconic Mountains]], a geologically distinct range from the nearby [[Berkshire Mountains|Berkshires]] and [[Green Mountains]]. Expansive views and a small area of sub-alpine forest characterize its upper reaches. A seasonal automobile road crosses the summit area near three structures from the 1930s; these together constitute a small National Historic District. Various hiking paths including the [[Appalachian Trail]]  traverse the area, which is part of the larger [[Mount Greylock State Reservation]].<ref name=dcr/>

The peak is mentioned <ref>{{Cite web |title=Ilvermorny on Greylock |url=https://today.williams.edu/stories/ilvermorny-on-greylock/ |access-date=January 11, 2024 |author=Shannon O’Brien |website=Today |publisher=Williams College, MA |language=en-US}}</ref><ref>{{Cite news |last=Wetherell |first=W. D. |date=June 7, 1998 |title=Where Melville Paid Homage to a Mountain |url=https://www.nytimes.com/1998/06/07/travel/where-melville-paid-homage-to-a-mountain.html |access-date=January 11, 2024 |work=The New York Times |language=en-US |issn=0362-4331}}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |date=November 17, 2016 |title=How Western Massachusetts' Mount Greylock Became Inspiration For Literary Legends |url=https://www.wbur.org/news/2016/11/17/mount-greylock-literary-history |access-date=January 11, 2024 |website=www.wbur.org |language=en}}</ref> in the work of [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]], [[Herman Melville]], and [[Henry David Thoreau]].

==Geography==

[[File:Mount Greylock Massive.JPG|thumb|upright=1.5|left|A view of the Mount Greylock Range from [[South Williamstown, Massachusetts|South Williamstown]] (from the west). The Hopper, a two-pronged hollow, is centered below the summit.]]

Mount Greylock is part of an {{convert|11|mi|km|adj=mid|-long}}  massif called the "Greylock Range" near the [[Hoosic River]], which hooks around the mountain on its eastern and northern footings. Various summits include  [[Saddle Ball Mountain]], along with [[Mount Fitch (Massachusetts)|Mount Fitch]] and others.

Standing about 2,000 feet (610 meters) above the local Hoosic Valley, Mount Greylock's summit is in [[Adams, Massachusetts]]. Other parts of the range extend into five neighboring towns. Sight lines of up to {{convert|72|miles|km|abbr=on}} are possible from Greylock.<ref name="Raymo">{{cite book|last1=Raymo|first1=Chet|last2=Raymo|first2=Maureen E.|year=1989|title=Written in Stone: A Geologic History of the Northeastern United States|location=Chester, Connecticut|publisher=Globe Pequot|isbn=978-0871063205}}</ref><ref name="AMC">{{cite book|title=Massachusetts Trail Guide|year=2004|location=Boston|publisher=[[Appalachian Mountain Club]]}}</ref>

The Greylock massif is part of the [[Taconic Mountains]], a geologically distinct range from the nearby [[Berkshire Mountains|Berkshires]] and [[Green Mountains]] separated here by the Hoosic Valley.<ref>{{cite journal|title=The Taconic Controversy: What Forces Make a Range?|journal=Appalachia|volume=73|number=1|page=Article 5}}</ref>

The massif is mostly within the [[Hudson River]] watershed via the Hoosic River, although a small part near Lanesborough is within the [[Housatonic River]] watershed.<ref name="De">{{cite map|publisher=DeLorme|title=DeLorme Topo 6.0 |year=2004}}</ref><ref>[https://www.nohrsc.noaa.gov/interactive/html/map.html?ql=station&zoom=&loc=42.527+N%2C+73.124+W&var=ssm_swe&dy=2023&dm=7&dd=9&dh=3&snap=1&o1=1&lbl=a&o21=1&o12=1&o13=1&mode=pan&extents=us&min_x=-73.941666666669&min_y=42.508333333329&max_x=-72.800000000002&max_y=43.149999999996&coord_x=++-73.124&coord_y=+++42.527&zbox_n=42.77141666666247&zbox_s=42.51332407406974&zbox_e=-73.07471354166874&zbox_w=-73.39723437500217&metric=0&bgvar=dem&shdvar=shading&width=800&height=450&nw=800&nh=450&h_o=0&font=0&js=1&uc=0 "NOAA interactive map"]</ref>

The eastern slopes of Greylock are noted for the Thunderbolt ski trail (see below), landslide scars above the city of Adams and "Greylock Glen," a state-sponsored development plan. The western slopes include "The Hopper," a twin-pronged valley caused by erosion. <ref>https://www.nysga-online.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/06/NYSGA-2018-C4-Mount-Greylock-as-a-Cosmogenic-Nuclide-Dipstick-to-Determine-the-Timing-and-Rate-of-Southeastern-Laurentide-Ice-Sheet-Thinning.pdf {{Bare URL PDF|date=August 2024}}</ref> The mountain's north and southern reaches are noted for the presence of an auto road as well as hiking trails.

===Climate===
{{Weather box
|location = Mount Greylock 42.6355 N, 73.1653 W, Elevation: {{cvt|3127|ft}} (1991–2020 normals)
|single line = y

|Jan high F = 26.2
|Feb high F = 28.4
|Mar high F = 35.6
|Apr high F = 48.3
|May high F = 59.9
|Jun high F = 68.0
|Jul high F = 72.4
|Aug high F = 71.0
|Sep high F = 65.2
|Oct high F = 53.2
|Nov high F = 40.8
|Dec high F = 31.3

|Jan mean F = 17.9
|Feb mean F = 19.3
|Mar mean F = 26.5
|Apr mean F = 38.2
|May mean F = 49.5
|Jun mean F = 58.1
|Jul mean F = 62.3
|Aug mean F = 61.0
|Sep mean F = 55.2
|Oct mean F = 44.1
|Nov mean F = 32.9
|Dec mean F = 23.8

|Jan low F = 9.5
|Feb low F = 10.3
|Mar low F = 17.4
|Apr low F = 28.0
|May low F = 39.1
|Jun low F = 48.1
|Jul low F = 52.3
|Aug low F = 50.9
|Sep low F = 45.2
|Oct low F = 34.9
|Nov low F = 24.9
|Dec low F = 16.4

|precipitation colour = green
|Jan precipitation inch = 4.22
|Feb precipitation inch = 3.67
|Mar precipitation inch = 4.30
|Apr precipitation inch = 4.86
|May precipitation inch = 5.10
|Jun precipitation inch = 5.76
|Jul precipitation inch = 5.56
|Aug precipitation inch = 5.39
|Sep precipitation inch = 6.10
|Oct precipitation inch = 5.71
|Nov precipitation inch = 4.58
|Dec precipitation inch = 5.23

|source=PRISM Climate Group<ref>{{cite web
|url= http://prism.oregonstate.edu/explorer/
|title= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University
|publisher= PRISM Climate Group, Oregon State University
|access-date= October 24, 2023
|quote= To find the table data on the PRISM website, start by clicking ''Coordinates'' (under ''Location''); copy ''Latitude'' and ''Longitude figures'' from top of table; click ''Zoom to location''; click ''Precipitation, Minimum temp, Mean temp, Maximum temp''; click ''30-year normals, 1991-2020''; click ''800m''; click ''Retrieve Time Series'' button.}}</ref>
}}

==Forests and birds==
[[File:Picea rubens UGA.jpg|thumb|[[Red spruce]] on Mount Greylock]]
[[File:New England Aster on Mount Greylock.jpg|thumb|upright=1.25|[[Symphyotrichum novae-angliae|New England aster]] on Mount Greylock]]

[[Northern hardwood forest]] characterize lower and mid-elevations, while upper slopes are covered with [[balsam fir]] and [[red spruce]] as well as American mountain ash.  About {{convert|555|acre|ha|abbr=off}} of [[old growth]] forest have been inventoried within the Greylock Range, including tree specimens up to 350 years old. On the western slope was a {{convert|120|ft|m|adj=mid|-tall}} red spruce.<ref name="dcr3">{{cite web|url=http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/massparks/region-west/mount-greylock-state-reservation-nature-and-science.html |title=Nature and Science |work=MassParks: Mount Greylock State Reservation |publisher=Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Department of Conservation and Recreation |access-date=July 20, 2013}}</ref><ref name="OldGrowthEastUS">{{cite web|url=http://www.primalnature.org/ogeast/survey.html |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20110525035919/http://www.primalnature.org/ogeast/survey.html|archive-date=May 25, 2011|title=Old Growth in the East: A Survey |access-date=December 31, 2008 |author=Mary Byrd Davis |date=January 23, 2008 |url-status=dead}}</ref>

There are purported records of 132 bird species on the mountain. These include the [[blackpoll warbler]] and [[Bicknell's thrush]] which breed exclusively in boreal forest, with limited opportunities elsewhere in Massachusetts.<ref name="ebird">{{Cite web|url=http://ebird.org/ebird/GuideMe?step=saveChoices&getLocations=hotspots&parentState=US-MA&bMonth=01&bYear=1900&eMonth=12&eYear=2012&reportType=location&hotspots=L207392&continue.x=46&continue.y=10|title=Explore Data|last=ebird|website=ebird.org|access-date=October 20, 2017}}</ref>

==Geology==
Mount Greylock is part of the much larger Taconic [[Allochthon]],  a structure that migrated to its present position from 25 miles to the east.<ref>Potter, D. B. (December 1, 1968) "Time and space relationships of the Taconic allochthon and autochthon [book review]" [https://www.ajsonline.org/content/266/10/995]</ref> The rocks moved via [[thrust fault]]ing, a tectonic process by which older rock is thrust over and above younger rock.<ref>The Taconic Controversy: What Forces Make a Range? Appalachia: Vol. 73: No. 1 Article 5 [https://digitalcommons.dartmouth.edu/do/search/?q=author_lname%3A%22Seward%22%20author_fname%3A%22John%22&start=0&context=9951493&facet=]</ref>

More narrowly, the local massif is mostly "Greylock Schist," a term  used by geologists starting in 1891 and much more recently, although the age of these rocks had been uncertain into the 1960s.<ref>see page 41-42 of ""Taconic Stratigraphic Names: Definitions and Synonymies" by E-an Zen, 1964 U Geological Survey Bulletin 1174 [https://pubs.usgs.gov/bul/1174/report.pdf]</ref> This [[Ordovician]] schist is about 1,000 to 2,000 feet thick on Greylock and "consists of [[muscovite]] (sericite), [[chlorite]], and [[quartz]] [[schist]]." It lies above a formation called "Bellows Pipe Limestone."<ref>[https://ngmdb.usgs.gov/Geolex/UnitRefs/GreylockRefs_1897.html "National Geologic Map Database: Unit Greylock]</ref> This younger, underlying layer has been quarried on the lower  slopes of the mountain.

Successive episodes of ice-age glaciation rounded the mountain, leaving [[glacial erratics]] such as "Balanced Rock" on Greylock in Lanesborough.<ref>{{Cite web|url=http://www.stateparks.com/balance_rock_state_park_in_massachusetts.html|title=Balance Rock State Park, a Massachusetts park located near North Adams, Pittsfield and Troy|last=Walker|first=T|website=www.stateparks.com|access-date=October 20, 2017}}</ref><ref name="Raymo" /><ref name="bio">{{cite web|url=http://drm.williams.edu/nhb/|title=Natural History of the Berkshires|publisher=[[Williams College]]|access-date=March 9, 2008|archive-date=July 23, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080723214409/http://drm.williams.edu/nhb/|url-status=dead}}</ref>
The [[Laurentide Ice Sheet]] had covered the region up to a depth of one kilometer (or 3,281 feet). In melting, it formed Lake Bascom in the upper Hoosic Valley.<ref>"Lake Bascom and the deglaciation of northwestern Massachusetts" Bierman, et al., 1986 [https://www.uvm.edu/cosmolab/papers/Bierman_1986_489.pdf]</ref>
The remains of lake beaches are evident at several places on the lowest slopes of Greylock.

Geologists used [[Surface exposure dating|Surface Exposure Dating]] in 2018  to measure the rate of Pleistocene de-glaciation of the region. This method offered data in support of a more rapid melting rate in New England compared with earlier estimates.<ref name="Halsted, C.T. 2018">{{cite conference|last1=Halsted|first1=CT|last2=Shakun|first2=JD|last3=Davis|first3=PT|last4=Bierman|first4=PR|last5=Corbett|first5=LB|last6=Koester|first6=AJ|chapter=Mount Greylock as a cosmogenic nuclide dipstick to determine the timing and rate of southeastern Laurentide Ice Sheet thinning|editor1-last=Grove|editor1-first=Tim|editor2-last=Mango|editor2-first=Helen|title=Guidebook for field trips in New York and Vermont|conference=New England Intercollegiate Geological Conference, 110th Annual Meeting and New York State Geological Association, 90th Annual Meeting|date=October 12–14, 2018|location=Lake George, New York}}</ref>

==Name==
"Mount Greylock" as the mountain's present name "probably originated with [[Williams College]] Professor Albert Hopkins" (1807–1872) or another local professor of the same era, according to one 1988 source.<ref>see chapter one, "Most Excellent Majesty: A History of Mount Greylock," Berkshire County Land Trust and Conservation Fund, 1988. [https://archive.org/details/mostexcellentmaj0000burn/page/n13/mode/2up?q=extent&view=theater]</ref> The peak's namesake, [[Gray Lock]]<ref name="B"/>(c. 1670–1750) was an [[Abenaki]] tribal figure from near Westfield, Massachusetts,  known for raiding English outposts near the [[Connecticut River]]<ref>{{cite book|title=The Western Abenakis of Vermont, 1600-1800: War, Migration, and the survival of an Indian people|url=https://archive.org/details/westernabenakiso0000call|url-access=registration|first=Colin G.|last=Calloway|publisher=University of Oklahoma Press|year=1990|isbn=9780806122748}}</ref> and not historically associated with the mountain.

The 18th century English may have called the peak "Grand Hoosuc," although [[Timothy Dwight IV]] referred to it as "Saddle Mountain" in his travel memoir concerning the late 18th century.<ref>"Travels in New York and New England" Timothy Dwight 1821"</ref>

In the early 19th century it was called "Saddleback Mountain" because of its appearance seen from the south.<ref name="B">{{cite web|url=http://www.berkshireweb.com/mohawktrail/mtgreylock.html|title=Mount Greylock State Reservation|publisher=The BerkshireWeb|access-date=March 6, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150104012813/http://www.berkshireweb.com/mohawktrail/mtgreylock.html|archive-date=January 4, 2015}}</ref>
According to a 1838 journal entry (posthumously published 1868), [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]] overheard a local resident calling it  "Graylock." Hawthorne added that Saddleback "is a more usual name for it." Yet elsewhere Hawthorne simply called it Graylock, attributing this name to the mountain's frequent appearance in winter frost.<ref>[https://www.gutenberg.org/files/8088/8088-h/8088-h.htm see July 27 entry, "American Notebooks, Vol I" Hawthorne]</ref>

Nonetheless, as of 1841, [[Edward Hitchcock]]'s authoritative "Final Report" on state geology called the entire massif "Saddle Mountain" and "the highest point of the summit" according to Hitchcock was called "Graylock." .<ref>page 247, "Final Report on the Geology of Massachusetts>" 1841 Edward Hitchcock [https://archive.org/details/60741140R.nlm.nih.gov/page/n247/mode/2up?q=Graylock]</ref>

==Historic District==
Three structures contribute to the 1930s "Mount Greylock Summit Historic District," which is part of the [[National Register of Historic Places]] as of 1998.<ref name=nris/> These are the Bascom Lodge and the Thunderbolt Ski Shelter,  both designed by Pittsfield architect, [[Joseph McArthur Vance]], and the War Memorial Tower designed by Boston-based [[Maginnis & Walsh]].  Together, their  cultural significance as period architecture was cited in the register

=== Bascom Lodge === 
[[File:Bascom Lodge atop Mount Greylock.JPG|thumb|Bascom Lodge and Saddle Ball Mountain looking southwest from the War Memorial Tower]]
Bascom Lodge was built between 1932 and 1938 using native materials of Greylock [[schist]] and [[red spruce]]<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.bascomlodge.net|title=Bascom Lodge}}</ref> and characterized by the rustic design of period park structures. The Greylock Commission sought a more substantial shelter to replace an earlier summit house (built c.1902; destroyed by fire in 1929). The initial west wing was constructed in 1932 by Jules Emil Deloye Jr. The main-central and east wings were completed later 1935–38 by the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]], supervised by Deloye. The lodge was named in honor of [[John Bascom]], a Greylock Reservation Commissioner and local professor (d. 1911).<ref>{{cite web|url=https://www.waymarking.com/gallery/image.aspx?f=1&guid=27cb7d74-78db-4b1d-a17f-6a7ddbe57fef&gid=3|title=Sign about the CCC on Bascom Lodge|website=waymarking.com|access-date=June 9, 2023}}</ref>

For the winter of 1937–38, the Greylock Commission hired Harrison L. Lasuer to spend the season living in the lodge "to act as host to skiers and other Winter enthusiasts who scale the mountain.".<ref>"Will Winter on Greylock in Mountain 'Penthouse' " November 13, 1937, New York Times, Page 41,</ref> The building was equipped for that winter with "steam heat, electricity and a telephone," according to a New York City newspaper. A ski race later that season attracted 7,000 spectators, mainly near the base of the mountain (see ref. below).

Today (2025) Bascom Lodge is run (in warmer months only) by a service company under a concession-type lease from the state.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/conservation/cultural-resources/historic-curatorship-program.html|title=Historic Curatorship Program|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20130703063737/http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/conservation/cultural-resources/historic-curatorship-program.html|archive-date=July 3, 2013|url-status=dead|work=Energy and Environmental Affairs|publisher=Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation}}</ref> Among other earlier arrangements, the Appalachian Mountain Club managed the lodge for 16 summers ending in 2000.<ref>"Appalachian Mountain Club will no longer manage Bascom Lodge
12:00AM / Wednesday, December 20, 2000"iBerkshires.com [https://www.iberkshires.com/story/459/Appalachian-Mountain-Club-will-no-longer-manage-Bascom-Lodge.html]</ref>

=== Thunderbolt Ski Shelter, Trail and Race Series ===
[[File:Thunderbolt Skiers.jpg|thumb|upright|Snowboarders ascending near the Needles Eye on the Thunderbolt, January 2015]]

The Thunderbolt Ski Shelter, also designed by Joseph McArthur Vance, was built in 1940 by the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] (CCC) as a warming hut for skiers using the [[Thunderbolt Trail]].<ref>Greylock State Reservation Commission Report for 1940</ref>

Like the nearby lodge, the shelter is rustic in design and built of local stone and wood beams; the interior has four wooden benches built into a large four-hearth fireplace in the center. It is several hundred feet north of the summit tower.

Although Bascomb Lodge reportedly employed a resident winter innkeeper in 1938 (see above citation), the 1940 introduction of this nearby shelter may have made a seasonal shut-down of the lodge less inconvenient during large-scale ski events of the era.

This  trail was designed with help from numerous ski groups and cut by the CCC in 1934. Major competitive ski races were held on here almost annually from 1935 until 1948.<ref name="thunderbolt"/> Among the largest was a 1938 event attended by 7,000 spectators, who watched Fritz Dehmel of Nazi Germany set a course record of 2 minutes and 25 seconds.<ref>"Tony Matt Annexes Mount Greylock Event" January 28, 1940, New York Times page 21</ref><ref>"Dehmel Annexes Eastern Ski Race" February 7, 1938, NYT page 18</ref> Famed U.S. skier [[Dick Durrance]] placed fifth in this race, which pre-dated the Thunderbolt shelter. Dehmel's record for the 1.4-mile course held until 1948. The trail is similar in steepness to the longer Sherburne Trail of [[Pinkham Notch, New Hampshire]].<ref>"Power Project" Thunderbolt Ski Trail" a slightly weak but useful source</ref>

The Thunderbolt ski race was revived in 2010 and in certain subsequent years,<ref>{{Cite web|last=Mahar|first=Blair|title=A History of the Thunderbolt Ski Trail|url=http://www.thunderboltskirun.com/history.html|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150208044229/http://www.thunderboltskirun.com/history.html|archive-date=February 8, 2015|access-date=October 20, 2017|publisher=www.thunderboltskirun.com}}</ref> but a lack of snow disrupted or relocated some of the events to commercial ski areas with artificial snow. In 2018, the race group said it would switch to "less frequent intervals" for the event, instead of annually.<ref>{{Cite web|date=February 14, 2018|title=The Ski Race America Nearly Lost|url=https://skiracing.com/the-ski-race-america-nearly-lost1/|website=SkiRacing}}</ref> 
<ref>"Legendary Thunderbolt trail is the site of a rando race" New England Ski Journal, Brion O'Connor, February 19, 2022 [https://www.skijournal.com/thunderbolt-ski-trail-rando-race/]</ref> Separately, a 1990s landslide area on the eastern face of Greylock that is unrelated to the Thunderbolt trail was reportedly skied in 2005 <ref>"A first ski descent of Mt. Greylock's massive rockslide" Mountainzone, Nick Weinberg, January 30, 2005 [https://www.mountainzone.com/2005/ski_greylock/index.html]</ref>

=== Veterans War Memorial Tower ===
[[File:Mount Greylock war memorial.jpg|upright|thumb|Veterans War Memorial Tower]]
The Veterans War Memorial Tower was approved by the state [[Massachusetts state legislature|legislature]] in 1930, supported by local lawmakers and Governor [[Frank G. Allen]]. It was completed two years later at a cost of $200,000 by contractors J.G. Roy & Son of Springfield.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://archives.lib.state.ma.us/actsResolves/1933/1933acts0336.pdf |title=Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Court of Massachusetts 1933 |chapter=Chapter 336 |publisher=The State Library of Massachusetts |access-date=July 20, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|last1=Harris|first1=Pat|first2=David|last2=Lyon|year=2006|url=https://books.google.com/books?id=y6_RiAL3Lg8C&q=%22Veterans+War+Memorial+Tower%22+%2B+lighthouse&pg=PA68|title=You Know You're in Massachusetts When..|publisher=Globe Pequot|location=New York|isbn=9780762741328}}</ref>  An estimated 1,500 people attended the 1933 dedication by Governor [[Joseph B. Ely]], an event broadcast nationally over [[NBC]] radio.<ref>{{cite news|title=Mount Greylock Memorial is Dedicated Today|newspaper=North Adams Transcript|date=June 30, 1933}}</ref>

The  {{convert|93|ft|m|0|adj=mid|-tall}} shaft with eight observation windows, was designed to display classic austerity. It includes [[Art Deco]] details, some by John Bizzozero of Quincy, whose work also appears on the Vermont Capitol building. Inside at ground level is a domed chamber intended to store tablets and war relics.<ref>{{cite book|author=Massachusetts Department of Environmental Management|title=Mount Greylock Summit National Register Nomination|chapter=Section 7|date=September 4, 1997}}</ref>

Although area legislators and residents wanted local stone, the tower's granite facing was obtained in [[Quincy, Massachusetts|Quincy]]. The tower bears various inscriptions including, "they were faithful even unto death." One of the inscriptions inside the monument reads, "Of those immortal dead who live again in the minds made better by their presence", which is a line from a poem by [[George Eliot]]. The translucent globe of light on top, originally illuminated by twelve 1,500 watt lights (now six), is said to be visible at night for {{convert|70|mi|km|-1|abbr=on}}. It creates a light-pollution problem for the summit area all night long.{{fact|date=August 2025}}
[[File:Scaffolding on Mt. Greylock's War Memorial.jpg|thumb|left|upright|Renovations due to persistent water infiltration, August 2016]]
The Veterans War Memorial Tower was closed for four years beginning in 2013 because of water infiltration that caused structural damage from freezing. A $2.6-million restoration project that began in August 2015 was awarded to Allegrone Construction of Pittsfield.<ref>The Berkshire Eagle April 4, 2016 & 5/11/16</ref>

=== Broadcast tower ===
Although not as part of the Historic District, one radio and one television station transmit from a broadcast tower below the summit on the west side: [[WAMC]] (90.3 [[Albany, New York]]); and W38DL (38 [[Adams, Massachusetts]]) (repeater of [[WNYT-TV]]). A [[NOAA]] Weather Radio station (WWF-48, 162.525&nbsp;MHz) broadcasts from a different tower on the mountain.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nws.noaa.gov/nwr/stations.php?State=MA|publisher = NOAA|title=NWR Station Listings for Massachusetts|date=October 3, 2009}}</ref> The Northern Berkshire Amateur Radio Club runs several amateur radio repeaters on the mountain under the callsign K1FFK.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.nobarc.org/repeaters.htm|publisher = Northern Berkshire Amateur Radio Club|title=NoBARC Repeaters|date=May 2, 2016}}</ref>

==History==

=== In American Literature ===

[[File:Herman Melville 1860.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Herman Melville]]]]
By the mid-19th century, improved transportation into the region attracted many visitors to Greylock. Among them were writers and artists inspired by the mountain scene: [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]], [[William Cullen Bryant]], [[Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr.|Oliver Wendell Holmes]], [[Herman Melville]], and [[Henry David Thoreau]].<ref name="DCR1">{{cite web|url=http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/massparks/region-west/mount-greylock-state-reservation-history-and-culture-the-romantic-period.html |title=The Romantic Period
|work=MassParks: Mount Greylock State Reservation |publisher=Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Department of Conservation and Recreation |access-date=July 20, 2013}}</ref>

In the summer of 1838, Hawthorne had visited [[North Adams, Massachusetts]], and climbed Mount Greylock several times. His experiences there, specifically a walk he took at midnight where he saw a burning [[lime kiln]], inspired his story, originally titled "The Unpardonable Sin".<ref>{{cite book|last1=Ehrlich|first1=Eugene|first2=Gorton|last2=Carruth|title=The Oxford Illustrated Literary Guide to the United States|location=New York|publisher=Oxford University Press|year=1982|page=[https://archive.org/details/oxfordillustrate00euge/page/54 54]|isbn=0-19-503186-5|url=https://archive.org/details/oxfordillustrate00euge/page/54}}</ref> Hawthorne had not written tales since 1844 when he wrote "[[Ethan Brand]]" in the winter of 1848–1849.<ref>{{cite book|last=Miller|first=Edwin Haviland|title=Salem is my Dwelling Place: A Life of Nathaniel Hawthorne|location=Iowa City|publisher=University of Iowa Press|year=1991|page=[https://archive.org/details/salemismydwellin00mill/page/263 263]|isbn=0-87745-332-2|url=https://archive.org/details/salemismydwellin00mill/page/263}}</ref>

Melville is said to have taken part of his inspiration for ''[[Moby-Dick]]'' from the view of the mountain from his house [[Arrowhead (Herman Melville House)|Arrowhead]] in [[Pittsfield, Massachusetts|Pittsfield]], since its snow-covered profile reminded him of a great white [[sperm whale]]'s back breaking the ocean's surface.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.mobydick.org/hm.html|title=Herman Melville's Arrowhead|publisher=Berkshire Historical Society|access-date=March 9, 2008|url-status=dead|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20000111064501/http://www.mobydick.org/hm.html|archive-date=January 11, 2000}}</ref> Melville dedicated his next novel, ''[[Pierre: or, The Ambiguities|Pierre]]'', to "Greylock's Most Excellent Majesty", calling the mountain "my own ... sovereign lord and king". In August 1851 Melville and a few friends, including the young poet [[Sarah Morewood]], camped for a night on Greylock's summit.<ref>[[Michael Shelden]] (2016), ''Melville in Love: The Secret Life of Herman Melville and the Muse of Moby-Dick''. New York: Ecco/HarperCollins. pp. 137-48. {{ISBN|9780062418982}}</ref> Thoreau summited and spent a night in July 1844. His account of this event in ''[[A Week on the Concord and Merrimack Rivers]]'' described his approach up what is today the Bellows Pipe Trail. Scholars contend that this Greylock experience transformed him, affirming his ability to do these excursions on his own, following his brother John's death; and served as a prelude to his experiment of rugged individualism at [[Walden Pond]] the following year in 1845.<ref>{{cite book|last1=Thoreau|first1=Henry David|last2=Howarth|first2=William L.|year=1983|title=Thoreau In The Mountains: Writings By Henry David Thoreau|location=New York|publisher=Farrar, Straus, Giroux|isbn=0-374-27643-9|url=https://archive.org/details/thoreauinmountai00thor}}</ref>
[[File:Timothy Dwight IV.jpg|upright|thumb|[[Yale University]] president [[Timothy Dwight IV]] climbed the mountain in 1799]]

[[Timothy Dwight IV]], a once-famed poet and preacher, and president of Yale College, along with [[Williams College]] President Ebenezer Fitch, climbed Greylock in 1799, probably over a rough route cut by a local farmer Jeremiah Wilbur. Dwight's travel memoir describes the mountain: "During a great part of the year, it is either embosomed or capped by clouds, and indicates to the surrounding inhabitants the changes of weather with not a little exactness."<ref>Dwight, Timothy IV (Reprinted 1969) ''Travels in New England and New York'' Ed. Barbara Miller Solomon. Cambridge, Massachusetts: The Belknap Press of Harvard University Press.</ref>

=== Management and development history ===

[[Williams College]] students in 1830 directed by college President Edward Dorr Griffin improved and further cut a trail from the end of the Hopper Road to the summit. This is the current Hopper Trail, traditionally climbed by Williams students once a year.<ref>{{cite web|url=http://archives.williams.edu/williamshistory/mountain-day.php |title=Mountain Day |first=Brian|last=Van Wyck|publisher=Williams College Archives and Special Collections|access-date=July 20, 2013}}</ref>

In May 1831 a wooden [[meteorology|meteorological]] observatory, "Griffin's Tower", was built on the summit by students. Nine years later, it was replaced by a more substantial {{convert|60|ft|m|adj=on}} wooden tower, from which [[Donati's Comet]] was photographed in 1858. In 1863  the ''Alpine Club'', was founded in Williamstown by Professor Albert Hopkins. The club frequently camped on the mountain and certain members later helped found the [[Appalachian Mountain Club]] and the [[American Alpine Club]].<ref>{{cite news|last=Fanto|first=Clarence|date=August 7, 2007|url=http://www.cablemills.com/home/news/the_berkshire_eagle090707.html|title= Williamstown|newspaper=The Berkshire Eagle|location=Williamstown, MA|publisher=Media NewsGroup|access-date=March 6, 2008|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20090105160416/http://www.cablemills.com/home/news/the_berkshire_eagle090707.html|archive-date=January 5, 2009|url-status=dead}}</ref>

By the late 19th century, [[clearcutting]] had stripped most of Greylock's forest. Along with this came forest fires and landslides. The Greylock Park Association (GPA) was formed in 1885 and shares were sold locally with plans to make money by attracting tourists.<ref>{{cite book|title=Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Court of Massachusetts 1885 |chapter=Chapter 166 |chapter-url=http://archives.lib.state.ma.us/actsResolves/1885/1885acts0166.pdf |publisher=The State Library of Massachusetts |access-date=July 20, 2012}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|title=Greylock Reservation|first=John|last=Bascom|year=1907|pages=14–15|publisher=Press of the Sun}}</ref> The company purchased {{convert|400|acre|ha|abbr=on}} on the summit and made repairs to the Notch Road. The GPA charged a 25-cent toll for the carriage road and a 10-cent fee to ascend the iron [[observation tower]] (built 1889).<ref name="DCR1"/> Together, these fees are equivalent to ${{Formatprice|{{Inflation|US|0.35|1889|r=2}}}} in present-day dollars.{{inflation-fn|US}}

But 12 years later, with the GPA's business future imperiled by debt, local legislators proposed acquiring the company and forming Mount Greylock State Reservation. This was approved in 1898 along with plans to add to the original land (to ultimately total {{convert|12500|acre|ha|adj=on}}. The Berkshire County government was to maintain the reservation. Other early State Reservation properties  were similarly operated by local county governments.<ref name="DCR2">{{cite web|url=http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/massparks/region-west/mount-greylock-state-reservation-history-and-culture-massachusetts-first-state-park.html |title=Massachusetts' First State Park |work=MassParks: Mount Greylock State Reservation |publisher=Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs, Department of Conservation and Recreation |access-date=July 20, 2013}}</ref>

===The 20th century===

The first automobiles to the summit, via the Notch Road from the north, were a pair of steam-powered "[[Locomobile Company of America|Locomobile]]s' in 1902; a gasoline-powered car followed in 1904.<ref>see page 53, "Literary Luminaries of the Berkshires" 2015, Bernard A. Drew, History Press, Charleston SC</ref> In 1907, Berkshire County Commission opened a new road from the south to the summit,<ref>{{cite book |chapter-url=http://archives.lib.state.ma.us/actsResolves/1906/1906acts0419.pdf
|title=Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Court of Massachusetts 1906 |chapter=Chapter 419 |publisher=The State Library of Massachusetts |access-date=July 20, 2012}}</ref> augmenting the existing northerly "Notch Road." The county subsequently attended  to building hiking paths, and by 1913 had completed 17 trails. The [[Appalachian Trail]] route across the mountain was opened in 1929, and the entire Massachusetts section was mostly complete by 1931.

The Massachusetts (Veterans) War Memorial Tower on the summit was completed in 1932.<ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://archives.lib.state.ma.us/actsResolves/1930/1930acts0411.pdf |title=Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Court of Massachusetts 1930 |chapter=Chapter 411 |publisher=The State Library of Massachusetts |access-date=July 20, 2012}}</ref> During nine years ending in 1941 the [[Civilian Conservation Corps]] (CCC)  worked on the mountain mostly through its 107th Company, MA camp SP-7.

[[File:Lanesborough - Rockwell Road Sign.JPG|thumb|The entrance to Rockwell Road, which extends from Lanesborough to the summit of Mount Greylock in Adams]]

CCC work included improvements to the road system (gravel surfaced), Adirondack lean-to shelters, the Thunderbolt Ski Shelter and its related trail, along with constructing much of Bascom Lodge.<ref name="thunderbolt">{{Cite news|last=Bradley|first=Matthew Timothy|date=February 17, 2013|title=Snowshoeing the Thunderbolt Ski Run|work=Snowshoe Magazine|url=https://www.snowshoemag.com/2013/02/25/snowshoeing-the-thunderbolt-ski-run/}}</ref>

Starting in 1954, the Greylock Tramway Authority was formed to build an [[aerial tramway]] on the mountain.<ref name=edge/> After the authority announced plans for a ski resort in 1964, a local conservation group called the Mount Greylock Protective Association led a campaign to shift the Reservation to state management from Berkshire County. This succeeded in 1966 and helped to block the resort.<ref name=edge>{{cite news|url=https://theberkshireedge.com/barrington-selectboard-regional-school-district-need-equitable-agreement|title=Part I. Big, bad things that never came to pass: A short history of environmental activism in the Berkshires|first=Daniel|last=Bellow|date=June 4, 2014|newspaper=Berkshire Edge}}</ref><ref>{{cite journal|title=The Rise and Evaporation of the Greylock Tramway Authority|first=William H.|last=Tague|journal=Berkshire Review|publisher=Williams College|volume=III|number=1|year=1967}}</ref><ref>{{cite book|chapter-url=http://archives.lib.state.ma.us/actsResolves/1966/1966acts0444.pdf |title=Acts and Resolves Passed by the General Court of Massachusetts 1966|chapter=Chap. 444 |publisher=The State Library of Massachusetts |access-date=July 20, 2012}}</ref>

==State parks==
The {{convert|12500|acre|ha|adj=on}} [[Mount Greylock State Reservation]] is managed and operated by the [[Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation]].<ref name=dcr>{{cite web|url=http://www.mass.gov/eea/agencies/dcr/massparks/region-west/mt-greylock-state-reservation-generic.html |title=Mount Greylock State Reservation |work=MassParks |publisher=Executive Office of Energy and Environmental Affairs. |access-date=July 20, 2013}}</ref>

[[File:Mount Greylock State Reservation.jpg|thumb|upright=1.5|Mount Greylock State Reservation (Greylock summit on the far right)]]
Mount Greylock has about 70 miles of hiking paths including an 11.5 mile section of the Appalachian National Scenic Trail. Primitive camping for backpackers is permitted at several sites. The staffed visitors' center in Lanesborough is open year-round (1.5 miles off [[U.S. Route 7|Route 7]]).<ref name="dcr3"/>

The Greylock Glen, site of a former proposed tramway/ski/resort development from 1953 to 1977, is a {{convert|1063|acre|ha|adj=on|abbr=off}} park in Adams, adjoining Mount Greylock State Reservation. It was acquired by the state in 1985 for joint public-private development.<ref>Comm. of MA, Chap. 676, Acts of 1985</ref>

==In popular culture==
*Mount Greylock (Gray-lock) is mentioned in [[Nathaniel Hawthorne]]'s 1850 short story "[[Ethan Brand]]" (''From The Snow-Image, and Other Twice-told Tales'', 1850, 1852) as well as his posthumous "American Notebooks."
*Mount Greylock is the dedicatee of [[Herman Melville]]'s 1852 novel ''[[Pierre; or, The Ambiguities]]'', written at his home in Pittsfield, MA. 
*Mount Greylock is mentioned in [[Bill Bryson]]'s 1998 book ''[[A Walk in the Woods (book)|A Walk in the Woods]]''.
*Mount Greylock is the location of [[Ilvermorny]], the North American school of witchcraft and wizardry in the [[Fictional universe of Harry Potter|fictional universe of ''Harry Potter'']].<ref>{{Cite web|url=https://www.pottermore.com/writing-by-jk-rowling/ilvermorny|title=Pottermore - Ilvermorny School of Witchcraft and Wizardry|access-date=June 28, 2016}}</ref><ref>{{cite web|url=http://www.boston.com/culture/books/2016/06/28/new-j-k-rowling-story-tells-origins-magic-school-set-massachusetts|title = A new J.K. Rowling story tells the origins of a magic school set in Massachusetts|access-date=June 28, 2016}}</ref>
*Mount Greylock is the main location in which Rob Gavagan's [[analog horror]] series ''Greylock'' takes place.

{{wide image|2019-09-22 09 51 30 360-degree stitched panorama from the top of the Veterans War Memorial Tower on the summit of Mount Greylock in Adams, Berkshire County, Massachusetts.jpg|1500px|align-cap=center|Stitched 360-degree panorama from the Veterans War Memorial Tower on top of Mount Greylock||none|alt=Mount Greylock view}}

==See also==
{{Portal|Geography|North America|<!-- Northern America -->|United States|Mountains}}
*[[Outline of Massachusetts]]
*[[Index of Massachusetts-related articles]]
*[[List of U.S. states by elevation]]
*[[List of old growth forests in Massachusetts]]
{{clear}}

==References==
{{reflist|2}}

==External links==
{{commons}}
*National Park Service "Mount Greylock Historic District" [https://www.nps.gov/places/mount-greylock-summit-historic-district.htm]
*"Long-term Monitoring Program, Mount Greylock Forest Reserve" (published 2009)[https://www.mass.gov/doc/long-term-ecological-monitoring-program-mount-greylock-forest-reserve/download]
*[https://www.mass.gov/locations/mount-greylock-state-reservation Mount Greylock State Reservation] Department of Conservation and Recreation
*[http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/parks/trails/greytrailmiles.pdf Hiking Trail Mileages, Mount Greylock State Reservation] Department of Conservation and Recreation
*[http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/parks/mtgreylock/birdsofgreylockguidelist.pdf Birds of Mount Greylock] Department of Conservation and Recreation
*[http://www.mass.gov/eea/docs/dcr/parks/mtgreylock/wildflowers.pdf Wildflowers of Mount Greylock] Department of Conservation and Recreation
*[http://www.bascomlodge.net/ Bascom Lodge]
*[http://www.thunderboltskirun.com/ Thunderbolt Ski Run], an alpine racing trail from the 1930s still used recreationally today
* [https://www.byways.org/explore/byways/mount-greylock-scenic-byway/ Mount Greylock Scenic Byway]
* [http://www.nelsap.org/ma/greylock1.html Mt. Greylock] New England Lost Ski Areas Project
* [http://www.mgef.org/default.htm Mount Greylock Expeditionary Force Amateur Radio Club]

{{U.S. State Highest Points}}
{{Mountains of Massachusetts}}
{{National Natural Landmarks in Massachusetts}}
{{National Register of Historic Places}}

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{{DEFAULTSORT:Greylock, Mount}}
[[Category:Taconic Mountains]]
[[Category:Mountains of Berkshire County, Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Highest points of U.S. states]]
[[Category:National Natural Landmarks in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:Mountains on the Appalachian Trail]]
[[Category:Defunct ski areas and resorts in Massachusetts]]
[[Category:North Adams, Massachusetts|Mount Greylock]]
[[Category:Historic districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Massachusetts|Mount Greylock]]
[[Category:Civilian Conservation Corps in Massachusetts|Mount Greylock]]
[[Category:One-thousanders of the United States]]
[[Category:National Register of Historic Places in Berkshire County, Massachusetts|Mount Greylock]]