Dwight, Massachusetts

Dwight is an unincorporated, historical village in North Belchertown, Massachusetts, United States, named for the family. It was a railroad destination and farming community in the 19th century with lumber mills, grist mills, schools, a chapel, cemeteries, two railway depots, aquatic gardens, restaurants, ballrooms, inns, a silk mill, a carding mill, a woodturning mill, an apiary, a cider mill, a carriage-maker, wheelwright, gunsmith and blacksmith, a general store and post office. Today the community is known for its natural beauty, scenic waterfalls, wildlife, forests, ponds, lakes, brooks, springs, hiking trails, and bike paths.

Geography

The center of Dwight is in the northwestern region of Belchertown, defined as the intersection of Federal and Goodell Streets. Village boundaries have historically formed a square, approximately 10 mi.² or about 3.2 linear miles east to west and 3.2 linear miles north to south. Pelham is to the north, Amherst and the Lawrence Swamp on the west, Lake Arcadia on the south and Jabish Brook and Pelham on the east.Jenks, Gladys M. (1958) Dwight Station History, Belchertown Historical Association, Stone House Museum, Belchertown, Massachusetts. Box 33, Folder 1.

The center of Dwight lies further from Belchertown’s Common than other towns. It’s about 4.8 road-miles northwest from Belchertown Common (by State Route 9); 4.2 miles southwest from West Pelham; 4.2 miles southeast from East Amherst Common; and 3.5 miles east from the South Amherst Common. It is 2.5 miles from the extinct village in South Amherst called Nuttingville. The southwestern boundary of Dwight is the northwestern corner of Granby, about 1.5 linear miles from the center of Dwight.

The village was developed in the mid to late eighteenth century by third and fourth generation colonists around the intersection of three named brooks: Montague Brook, Scarborough Brook, Hop Brook. Jabish Brook forms on its eastern border.

The Town of Pelham annexed a square mile section on its southern border that incorporated part of North Belchertown and included the village of Packardsville in 1786. Belchertown‘s historical central eastern and northeastern boundary once extended to the Swift River, until 1816, when Enfield was formed. This section later became part of the Quabbin Reservoir.

Dwight encompasses many unnamed historical ponds and several lakes: its present named bodies of water are Lake Holland, about 1 linear mile south of the center of the village, Lake Arcadia, about 1.3 linear miles south, Scarborough (Scarboro) Ponds, about 1.7 linear miles northeast of the center, Two Ponds (seasonal) and Knight's Pond (which includes Gold's Pond), which is 2.4 linear miles northeast of the center.

There are numerous unnamed tributaries, vernal pools, and hundreds of acres of conservation land includin
Holland GlenWentworth PropertyTopping FarmLashway Property
Warren Wright Road
Holyoke RangeArcadia BogScarborough Brook
Upper Gulf
Mead's CornerReed Property
and part o
Jabish Brook
Th
Kestrel Land Trust
provides trail maps of Holland Glen, Scarborough Brook and Jabish Brook.

The peak of West Hill, a region of colonial settlement in Dwight known for its panoramic view of the Holyoke Range and the Connecticut River Valley, is 1.6 linear miles northeast of the center, and measures 1,070 feet above sea level.

An unnamed peak to the southeast of West Hill, or immediately south of the Munsell Cemetery, is 1,075 feet, and Juckett Hill, once called “East Hill,” in far northeastern Belchertown, stands at 1,070 feet.Massachusetts Historical Commission Reconnaissance Survey Town Report Belchertown, 1982. Associated Regional Report: Connecticut Valley

Dwight’s boundary encompasses what were once called the Bridgman Ponds: Lake Holland, or Holland Pond, named for J.G. Holland, and Arcadia Lake.

Lake Metacomet