Hockanum

The Hockanum Rural Historic District, added to the National Register of Historic Places in 1993, is a rural community encompassing a classically famous landscape along the Connecticut River in Hadley, Massachusetts.  The fertile farmland and quiet village is home to families that have been here for generations.

The Hockanum Village formal boundaries run from Hockanum Cemetery in the southwest, following the river and the summit ridge of Mount Holyoke to the northeast corner of J.A. Skinner State Park. It includes the summit area of Mount Holyoke, including the Summit House, Halfway House, and other historic structures within the park, along with the agricultural lands of the valley below.

Barstow’s Longview Farm has been a driving part of the scenery and an active part of the Hockanum community for two centuries.  The farm was founded in 1806 by Septimus Barstow.  It wasn’t until 1840 that the Hockanum Village School House opened, presumably offering the first formal education to young Barstow’s and the other Village children.

We would like to invite you to stay awhile in our beautiful corner of the world.  Take a hike up Mount Holyoke, organize a farm tour with us, or just take in the view from the porch at Barstow’s Dairy Store and Bakery – where we are using recipes that have been passed down for generations.  Relax, enjoy, and consider the deep history and heritage that is preserved and lives on in the Hockanum Rural Historic District.

Signup for Barstow's monthly newsletter