Connecticut River Byway Waypoint Center Celebrates September 7th Opening

01 Sep 2016

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

September 1, 2016

CONTACT

Christopher Curtis or Patty Gambarini, PVPC (413) 781-6045

 

CONNECTICUT RIVER BYWAY WAYPOINT CENTER CELEBRATES SEPTEMBER 7TH OPENING

HADLEY---A new Connecticut River Byway Waypoint Center will celebrate its opening on Wednesday, September 7th from 1 to 4:00 PM. 

Located at the Porter Phelps Huntington House Museum, the Waypoint Center provides visitors with information about tourist destinations, parks and recreational opportunities, historical features and the unique assets of the Connecticut River Scenic Byway. 

The Connecticut River Scenic Byway extends 498 miles from South Hadley and Hadley in Massachusetts, northward the entire length of Vermont and New Hampshire.  It is designated as a National Scenic Byway.

A key feature of the Waypoint Center is a new exhibit designed to illustrate key features of the Connecticut River Byway including:

  • A history of the Connecticut River Valley, from dinosaurs to Ice Age to Native American peoples to colonial settlers.
  • Attractions along the Connecticut River Byway for visitors, from farmstands to museums to parks and trails.
  • A history of the Porter Phelps Huntington House Museum illustrating six generations of one family’s life over 200 years at this historic residence and farm.

The opening of the Waypoint Center will offer visitors refreshments, free maps of bicycling route along the byway, and a guide to farmstands along the byway, and a brochure describing all seven scenic byways in western Massachusetts.  All are welcome to participate in this free event.

The Porter-Phelps-Huntington Museum is located at 130 River Drive (Route 47) in Hadley, two miles north of the junction of Routes 9 and 47. The Museum is open for guided tours Saturday through Wednesday from 1:00 p.m. to 4:30 p.m. The house, which remains unchanged since the family’s occupancy, tells the story of six generations of prominent Hadley residents. The family, prosperous traders turned farmers, fought in both the French and Indian and Revolutionary Wars, rose to prominence in local government, and embodied a consistently progressive social consciousness.

Tours highlight both local and regional narratives, from architecture, material culture, and labor, to early-American theology, economics, and social movements. For further information about tours or other programs, please call the Museum at (413) 584-4699 or visit our website at http://www.pphmuseum.org.

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