Open House and Tours at the Granite Saw
May 16 @ 9:00 am - 5:00 pm
Guided Tours on May 16th during Chester On Track 9am to 5pm
The Hilltown Hikers are pleased to announce a day of open tours at our Historic Granite Saw property in Chester. Our tour guides will be at 9 Prospect Street across from the Historic Chester Railway Station from 9am to 5pm. There is also a foot path entrance located across from Emery Ballfield on Emery Street. Historical tours are on a rolling basis with no need to register. Historical artifacts, media boards and more all from this era will be on display. Take home a piece of “Chester Blue Granite” for all who visit!
The Chester Granite Saw is a stone cutting and finishing plant established in 1870 in Historic Chester Factory Village. It was purchased by the current President of the Western Mass Hilltown Hikers in September 2023 and donated to that non-profit to conserve and historically preserve the entire mill operation.
It is open to the public dawn to dusk every day with a walking path that passes by the old buildings, machinery and the ten-foot diameter shot saw structure which is still standing today. The Hilltown Hikers and its volunteers are cleaning up this property after eighty years of abandonment by cutting back invasive species, dead ash trees, fallen trees and eight to twelve inches of sediment that has covered its floors. This project is one of a kind in Western Massachusetts as the first stone finishing plant in the area where granite and even on occasion, marble was brought to Chester to be cut and finished for monuments, historical buildings and more and shipped throughout the country by rail on its own Boston and Albany siding which visitors can see today. Be a part of this historic project to be enjoyed by generations to come by donating or volunteering on www.hilltownhikers.com.
The Hilltown Hikers will also have a second venue on Main Street across from the Historic Pease Store!
Raffles, Granite Saw and Lost Railroad shirts, safety vests, water bottles, free handouts and more!
Want to hike every weekend year round? Become a Hilltown Hiker Member! Get access to our private Messenger Group Text with hike and event announcements that are member exclusive events. You can sign up securely with a credit card on our shopping page here
Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, TikTok, and YouTube. Tees, hoodies, hats, patches, water bottles and safety vests will be for sale by donation at the event. See all our events, maps, blog and photos at www.hilltownhikers.com Please keep our beautiful places clean and carry in and carry out.
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GROUP HIKES AND TOURS SINCE 2010
Mission Statement: Western Mass Hilltown Hikers, Inc. is organized exclusively for charitable and educational purposes to engage in all legal activities relating to the development, maintenance and operation of historical properties and tours, recreational hiking and outdoor adventure in Western Massachusetts. Western Mass Hilltown Hikers, Inc. provides monthly, guided group tours of historical hiking destinations in various locations of Western Massachusetts. We also provide volunteer trail maintenance for trails, maintain our historic conserved properties and provide educational presentations to other civic groups, non-profit organizations, libraries and schools. We are a non-profit 501C(3) organization incorporated in the State of Massachusetts. Tax ID #86-2532249