Devil’s Den to Lickingwater: The Mill River Through Landscape and History

Book reading by local author, John Sinton – January 9, 7:00, Leeds School Music Room Come meet John Sinton, author, historian, and proud “River Rat.” John’s presentation will focus on why our river area was a sacred and central place for the many tribes of the northeast. He’ll show us how the Mill River area was an essential resource for early Anglo American settlers, and will talk about how it powered our first industrialists. John will connect for us how different peoples and cultures have shaped and been shaped by the Mill River and it’s environment. There will be a Q&A after the presentation. More about John Sinton’s new book: It tells the multifaceted tale of the Mill River in West-ern Massachusetts, from its emergence after the glaciers 20,000 years ago to the present. Little escapes Sinton’s voracious historical appetite – the creation of the landscape, the dis-appearance and reappearance of native fish and animals, the Mill River as a Native Ameri-can crossroads, the contrast between English and Native ways of managing the land, the transformations wrought by war, floods and industrial disasters, the extraordinary role of the Mill River in the Industrial Revolution, and exceptional personalities from Sachem Um-panchala to Calvin Coolidge: all this is told through the arc of the Mill River’s history—beloved, abused, diverted, and ultimately reclaimed as an integral part of the landscape. Beautifully written and lavishly illustrated with maps, drawings and other images, Devil’s Den to Lickingwater will serve as an exemplar for readers and authors of local and public history, proving that local history is a reflection of the larger world. Sinton’s unique book is a delight for the eye, the intellect, and the heart. Copies can be purchased at Collective Copies or at the book reading.