Tekoa Mountain, , is a dramatic, rocky high point overlooking the Westfield River Gorge at the eastern edge of the

Berkshire plateau The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...

in the towns of Montgomery and

Russell, Massachusetts Russell is a town in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States. The population was 1,643 at the 2020 census. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. Geography Russell is in western Hampden County, bordered ...

, USA. Tekoa Mountain, very prominent from the "Jacob's Ladder" section of

U.S. Route 20 U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...

in the town of Russell, is not a true mountain but a

cleaver A cleaver is a large knife that varies in its shape but usually resembles a rectangular-bladed hatchet. It is largely used as a kitchen or butcher knife and is mostly intended for splitting up large pieces of soft bones and slashing through ...

jutting from a

dissected plateau A dissected plateau is a plateau area that has been severely eroded such that the relief is sharp. Such an area may be referred to as mountainous, but dissected plateaus are distinguishable from orogenic mountain belts by the lack of folding, me ...

; it was produced by glacial action and through continuous erosion by the Westfield River and Moose Meadow Brook before and after the last

ice age An ice age is a long period of reduction in the temperature of Earth's surface and atmosphere, resulting in the presence or expansion of continental and polar ice sheets and alpine glaciers. Earth's climate alternates between ice ages and gree ...

. With nearby Shatterack Mountain, another cleaver, Tekoa Mountain forms a high knobby cliff face and gorge wall along the northeast side of the Westfield River as it plunges from the

Berkshire Mountains The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...

of western

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett language, Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut assachusett writing systems, məhswatʃəwiːsət'' English: , ), officially the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, is the most populous U.S. state, state in the New England ...

into the

Connecticut River Valley The Connecticut River is the longest river in the New England region of the United States, flowing roughly southward for through four states. It rises 300 yards (270 m) south of the U.S. border with Quebec, Canada, and discharges at Long Island ...

. Much of the face of Tekoa Mountain is barren or populated by sparse tree cover exacerbated by frequent fires which support partially fire-dependent tree species such as

pitch pine ''Pinus rigida'', the pitch pine, is a small-to-medium-sized pine. It is native to eastern North America, primarily from central Maine south to Georgia and as far west as Kentucky. It is found in environments which other species would find unsuit ...

and

scrub oak Scrub oak is a common name for several species of small, shrubby oaks. It may refer to: *the Chaparral plant community in California, or to one of the following species. In California *California scrub oak (''Quercus berberidifolia''), a widespr ...

. The mountain is also the habitat of the

New England cottontail The New England cottontail (''Sylvilagus transitionalis''), also called the gray rabbit, brush rabbit, wood hare, wood rabbit, or cooney, is a species of cottontail rabbit represented by fragmented populations in areas of New England, specificall ...

, a species in decline in Massachusetts. Tekoa Mountain has been targeted by the

United States Fish and Wildlife Service The United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS or FWS) is an agency within the United States Department of the Interior dedicated to the management of fish, wildlife, and natural habitats. The mission of the agency is "working with othe ...

's Connecticut River Valley conservation plan as a "high priority" ecosystem.

Geography

Tekoa Mountain overlooks the Westfield River Gorge and the Connecticut River Valley. The town of Russell and its villages, Woronoco and Crescent Mills, lie at the foot of the mountain along the Westfield River. From the summit ledges, the cities of Westfield and

Springfield, Massachusetts Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...

are visible to the east. The southwest and northeast sides of Tekoa Mountain are steep and rugged with frequent cliff faces and rocky overlooks; to the north, the topography gradually flattens out as Tekoa Mountain merges with the upland plateau of Montgomery. The southwest side of Tekoa Mountain drains into the Westfield River, thence into the Connecticut River and

Long Island Sound Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...

; the northeast side drains into Moose Meadow Brook, thence the Westfield River.

History

The Tekoa Mountain region was originally inhabited by Native Americans of the Woronoake tribe. During the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

, the north (plateau) side of the mountain was the location of a secret, pro-revolution

musket A musket is a muzzle-loaded long gun that appeared as a smoothbore weapon in the early 16th century, at first as a heavier variant of the arquebus, capable of penetrating plate armour. By the mid-16th century, this type of musket gradually d ...

factory operated by early 18th century settler

Richard Falley Jr. Richard Falley Jr. (January 31, 1740 in St. George, Maine – September 3, 1808 in Westfield, Massachusetts) was a soldier who fought in the Battle of Bunker Hill. Early life Falley was born on January 31, 1740, in St. George, Maine. He was the ...

(slag may be found in the vicinity of the former "musket factory") a home belonging to Falley was located at the base of Tekoa Mountain, more information can be obtained at the Westfield Athenaeum ; the summit was used as a lookout to watch for

British British may refer to: Peoples, culture, and language * British people, nationals or natives of the United Kingdom, British Overseas Territories, and Crown Dependencies. ** Britishness, the British identity and common culture * British English, ...

spies. Tekoa Mountain was named after the biblical fortress and settlement of Tekoa, translated alternately as a place "fastening down" or "a trumpet blast." According to 2

Books of Chronicles The Book of Chronicles ( he, דִּבְרֵי־הַיָּמִים ) is a book in the Hebrew Bible, found as two books (1–2 Chronicles) in the Christian Old Testament. Chronicles is the final book of the Hebrew Bible, concluding the third sect ...

11:5, Tekoa was built as a city for the defense of Judah; a high place, its elevation offered a strategic military advantage and provided a vantage point from which to send signals to

Jerusalem Jerusalem (; he, יְרוּשָׁלַיִם ; ar, القُدس ) (combining the Biblical and common usage Arabic names); grc, Ἱερουσαλήμ/Ἰεροσόλυμα, Hierousalḗm/Hierosóluma; hy, Երուսաղեմ, Erusałēm. i ...

and other allied cities. It is unknown if the mountain was named with this history in mind.

Recreation

Much of Tekoa Mountain lies within the Tekoa Mountain Wildlife Management Area, managed by the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. The eastern portion of the mountain are part of the Westfield Watershed lands, owned by the City of Westfield, with public access provided under a Conservation Easement to the Division of Fisheries and Wildlife. These areas are open to hunting,

hiking Hiking is a long, vigorous walk, usually on trails or footpaths in the countryside. Walking for pleasure developed in Europe during the eighteenth century.AMATO, JOSEPH A. "Mind over Foot: Romantic Walking and Rambling." In ''On Foot: A Histor ...

and other forms of non-motorized recreation. There are a few in-holdings of privately owned land. A number of unofficial trails and woods roads traverse Mount Tekoa, however, no officially designated or maintained trails exist. All motorized vehicles, including ATVs, are prohibited from the Wildlife Management Area and Watershed lands. The mountain and surrounding highland is part of a conservation effort by the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to secure critical habitats along the greater Connecticut River Valley.

References

Tekoa: location profile
Anchientsandals.com Retrieved March 16, 2008.

Rhodora.org. Retrieved March 16, 2008

U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service. Retrieved March 16, 2008.
Tekoa Mountain Wildlife Management Area map
Massachusetts Department of Fisheries and Wildlife. Retrieved March 16, 2008.

August 20, 1884. The Springfield Republican archived through the New York Times. Retrieved March 16, 2008.
Jacob's Ladder Trail
Berkshireweb.com. Retrieved March 16, 2008.

U.S. Forest Service. Retrieved March 16, 2008. {{Mountains of Massachusetts Mountains of Massachusetts American Revolutionary War Berkshires Mountains of Hampden County, Massachusetts