Mount Fitch (Massachusetts)
| Mount Fitch | |
|---|---|
_summit_sign.jpg) Sign at the summit of Mount Fitch, photographed in July, 2012 | |
| Highest point | |
| Elevation | 3,104 ft (946 m)[1] |
| Prominence | 103 ft (31 m)[2] |
| Parent peak | Mount Greylock |
| Coordinates | 42°39′20.89″N 73°9′35.83″W / 42.6558028°N 73.1599528°W[1] |
| Geography | |
  Mount Fitch Location in Massachusetts | |
| Location | Berkshire County, Massachusetts, U.S. |
| Parent range | Taconic Range |
| Topo map(s) | USGS Williamstown, Massachusetts |
Mount Fitch is the third-highest peak[3] in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts at 3,104 feet (946 m). It is located on the ridge between Mount Greylock at 3,489 feet (1,063 m) to its south and Mount Williams at 2,951 feet (899 m) to its north. The peak sits in the northwest corner of the Town of Adams (originally known as the Town of East Hoosac[4]) in Berkshire County. The forested summit is approximately 123 yards (112 m) due west of a local high-point on the Appalachian Trail. Mount Fitch does not meet the Appalachian Mountain Club's prominence criterion of 200 vertical feet of separation from adjacent peaks as outlined in New England's Four-thousand footers list. Currently there is no side-spur trail or signage directing a hiker to the summit of Mt. Fitch from the Appalachian Trail; however, there is a wooden placard at the summit itself (pictured at right). The top is infrequently visited by hikers due to its anonymity, the bushwhack necessary to reach the top and the viewless summit.
The peak is named for Ebenezer Fitch,[5] who served as president of Williams College in nearby Williamstown, Massachusetts from 1793-1815. The name and geographic significance of the peak were disparaged by R.R.R. Brooks in his 1953 history of Williamstown, "[I]t is doubtful whether more than one resident in ten knows Mt. Williams from Mt. Fitch".[6]
In 1947, local residents Dr. Joseph Wilk and Bartlett Hendricks terminated clear cutting the summit of Mount Fitch, which remains overgrown to this date.[5]
Geography, Geology & Ecology
[edit]see Mount Greylock
References
[edit]- ^ a b "Mount Fitch". Geographic Names Information System. United States Geological Survey, United States Department of the Interior. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
- ^ "Mount Fitch, Massachusetts". Peakbagger.com. Retrieved 2024-06-01.
- ^ List of mountains in Massachusetts
- ^ A.L. Perry, "Origins in Williamstown", Heritage Books, 1894 on page 4
- ^ a b Deborah E. Burns and Lauren R. Stevens, Most Excellent Majesty: A History of Mount Greylock, Berkshire County Land Trust and Conservation Fund, 1988.
- ^ Robert Romano Ravi Brooks, "Williamstown: the First Two Hundred Years", Williamstown, MA: McClelland Press, page 27
External links
[edit]
- http://www.peakbagger.com/peak.aspx?pid=7062 Peakbagger Website.
- https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=SQJfkGdcki8 Brief summary of locating and placing the sign.