Little Tom Mountain

Little Tom Mountain
Protected Area
Location Holyoke, Massachusetts
Founded 2002
Management The Trustees of Reservations

Little Tom Reservation is located within the heart of Holyoke’s Mt. Tom range, one of the most ecologically significant areas of the state and a recognized biodiversity hotspot. Little Tom’s intimate forests and open fields host a variety of rare species and community types that are ecological signatures of the CT River Valley. A new property of The Trustees as of 2002, it is full of opportunity: It will serve as a focus for outreach and education in the Valley, an example of an exemplary stewardship of important ecological resources and new recreational opportunities, and a place where The Trustees of Reservations can work with members of the local community to provide opportunities for people to connect with the land. The former Mt. Tom Ski Area, 396 acres in all, was located on the eastern slope of the mountain. Mt. Tom is one of the most prominent features of the Valley landscape, and was recognized in 2000 as one of America’s “Last Chance Landscapes” by Scenic America. An ecological gem, Mt. Tom supports one of the most notable concentrations of rare species and natural communities in the state, most notably reptiles and amphibians.

Little Tom Reservation was created through the protection of the former Mt. Tom Ski Area property, which was purchased in 2002 by four entities; U. S. Fish and Wildlife Service, Mass. Department of Conservation and Recreation, The Trustees of Reservations, and the Holyoke Boys and Girls Club. Located at the center of the Mt. Tom landscape, the former ski area was the largest, private, unprotected parcel in the Range and its protection had been a key objective of conservationists and others concerned about the future of the Connecticut River Valley. As part of the ski area acquisition, The Trustees acquired the 73-acre landscape feature known previously as ‘Little Mountain or Little Tom Mountain’ and established Little Tom Reservation.

Through the former ski area acquisition, Little Tom has been connected to the Mt. Tom State Reservation, which boasts over 2,000 acres of protected land. Thus, Little Tom is nested within an existing network of open space and recreational opportunities that serve the residents of urban, suburban, and rural communities of the CT River Valley. Little Tom Reservation will become a vital component of this Mt. Tom landscape and is another gateway through which visitors will learn about Mt. Tom and its fascinating history and geology, as well as The Trustees’ work statewide.

History

No events of national importance have taken place on Little Tom nor has significant human settlement ever occurred there.Evidence of early occupants of the area can be found in the dinosaur fossil tracks in the sandstone bedrock at Dinosaur Footprints Reservation to the east of Little Tom. Eubrontes giganteus, Anchisauripus sp., and Grallator cuneatus, all bipedal theropods, lived in this area some 200 million years ago. Although no fossil tracks are known to be visible on Little Tom, undoubtedly many are preserved deep within the sandstone layers on the property. Moving ahead millions of years we find Little Tom overlooking glacial Lake Hitchcock, which was formed in the present Connecticut River basin as the retreating Laurentide ice sheet deposited sediments near Rocky Hill, CT, damming the Connecticut River basin. Glacial meltwater refreshed Lake Hitchcock for over 4,000 years until about 14,000 years ago. Recent discoveries have placed early Native Americans just to the south of the glacial ice sheet 18,000 years ago (Scientific American Frontiers). These peoples pushed north as the ice sheet retreated. They were ancestors of the Pocumtuck tribe, which lived and thrived in the Connecticut River Valley until the arrival of the Europeans. There is no known evidence of use of Little Tom by the Pocumtucks.

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