Sponsored by Friends of The Discovery Center, DCR and Turners Falls RiverCulture
The Great Falls Discovery Center, 2 Avenue A, Turners Falls
Open seven days a week during September, from 10 am to 6 pm.
All programs are free to the public unless otherwise noted.
Facilities are wheelchair accessible.
Take a Tour of Paperlogic
Saturday, September 10, Tours at 10:30 & 11:00am
President Abraham Lincoln wrote from his office, overlooking the unfinished Washington Monument and Union soldier encampments, on Southworth paper. The Southworth company, which started in Springfield in 1839, purchased the Esleeck mill in Turners Falls in 2006.
Take a tour of the historic paper company in operation since 1896 to see the entire process, from pulp bales to finished paper. Meet under the Paperlogic sign on Turners Falls Road, just over the Canal Street bridge. NOTE: This tour is NOT handicap accessible, with several flights of stairs. Children must be 10 years or older. Please arrive a few minutes early. Co-sponsored with Turners Falls RiverCulture. Registration is appreciated: riverculture@gmail.com
Turners Falls: America’s 19th Century Cutlery Manufacturing Capitol
Saturday, September 10, 1-2:30pm
In cooperation with Greenfield’s Museum of Our Industrial Heritage, Al Shane leads an industrial and cultural archaeology tour of the John Russell Cutlery Company sitems in Turners Falls. Meet in the Great Hall to see cutlery artifacts. The walking tour includes uneven, irregular ground, so be sure to wear sturdy shoes. Co-sponsored with Turners Falls RiverCulture.
It’s Your River, So What Are You Going to Do About it?
Saturday, September 17, 1-2 pm
Join the Connecticut River Watershed Council’s Executive Director, Andrew Fisk, to explore the past, present, and future of the Connecticut River. Learn about the biology, law, engineering, and hydrology which reveal the successes and failures in the decades long work to improve your river and watershed.
Canal Drawdown and Powertown History Stroll
Thursday, September 22, 5-7 pm
Take a stroll back in time with local historian Ed Gregory, DCR’s Janel Nockleby, and Northfield Mountain’s Kim Noyes, to discover the rich industrial history along the Canalside Rail Trail during the annual draw down of the canal. Wear walking shoes and meet at the entrance of the Center for a two mile walk on flat terrain. Register at: 800-859-2960.
Connecticut River Source to Sea Cleanup– Be a Part of History!
Saturday, September 24, 9 am-12 pm
Work to make the watershed a cleaner place on sites that run the gamut from fishing trash to illegal dumping.
For ages 7 & up. Great Hall. Register: 413-659-3714.
Calling all Junior Planners and Future Architects
Sunday, September 25, 10:30 am-12 pm
Kids, ages 8-12, bring your imaginations on a walk along the Canalside Rail Trail to see the Strathmore Mill and learn its history. We’ll return to the Great Hall where you’ll plan and design the future use of the Mill as part of Turners Falls History Month! Children must be accompanied by an adult.
The Great Configuration by Professor Evan Pritchard
Sunday, September 25, 1-2 pm
Algonquian peoples (A Native American culture group of our region) knew how to live off the land and would seek out certain types of configurations of land and water to establish their political and economic centers, often involving the confluence of rivers, islands at the crossing of trade routes, fording places, bends in rivers, waterfalls, estuarine valleys, heads of tide, and more–in combination. Many of these spots became US or Canadian capitals. Turner’s Falls never became a state capitol but it has a remarkable “configuration” and was once upon a time one of the great “rendezvous” spots in what is now New England. Professor Pritchard will lecture and show slides to illustrate the hidden significance of our bioregional area.
Professor Evan Pritchard, of Mi’kmaq and Celtic descent, is the director of the Center for Algonquin Culture in Rosendale NY, and the author of thirty books on Native American culture, including the critically acclaimed Native New Yorkers, No Word For Time, Bird Medicine, and Henry Hudson and the Algonquins. He has taught Native American Studies at Pace, Vassar, and Marist and has lectured at U Mass, Columbia, and countless other universities. He has been researching and visiting “great configurations” for fifteen years.
Montague Plains Afternoon Habitat Walk and Evening Talk
Thursday, September 29, 3-5 pm walk/ 7-9 pm talk
Mass Wildlife offers an afternoon site walk at the Montague Plains Wildlife Management Area (WMA) at 3 pm, followed by an evening talk at 7 pm at the Discovery Center. Directions to walk location: Meet on Old Northfield Road between Turners Falls Road and Lake Pleasant Road beneath the large powerline that crosses Old Northfield Road. Please wear sturdy boots and dress for cold weather. The talk includes: the history of the WMA, unique species & communities there, habitat management, and prescribed fire.