BHS e249-Fort Hill Recreational Rail Trail

The Coronavirus has caused us to shelter in our homes for the foreseeable future. One of the few reasons to leave home would be to get some outdoor exercise. Fortunately our area is blessed with many great walking trails. This is the history that can be found along one of them. 110 years ago this week surveyors for the Boston and Maine Railroad were in Hinsdale mapping out a rail route along the east side of the Connecticut River. In 1911, newspapers reported that 1,200 men were working on the construction of the Fort Hill rail line, a majority of them were immigrant Italian laborers. Building the rail line, from the Asheulot River to the east side of the Connecticut River opposite today's Riverside Industrial Center, was dangerous and expensive. Here's the story of the trail...