Mount Race

Mount Race, 2,365 feet (721 m), is a mountain in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. It shares many characteristics with the slightly higher Mount Everett about a mile to the north. Part of the Taconic Mountains, Race is known for its waterfalls, an eastern escarpment of nearly 2,000 feet, and expansive views. The Appalachian Trail crosses its summit, which has an open forest of dwarf pitch pine and scrub oak.

Mount Race
Highest point
Elevation2,365 ft (721 m)
Prominence453 ft (138 m)
Coordinates42°04′57″N 73°25′56″W
Geography
LocationSouthwest Berkshire County, Massachusetts
Parent rangeTaconic Mountains
Geology
Age of rockOrdovician
Mountain typeThrust fault; metamorphic rock
Climbing
Easiest routeRace Brook Falls Trail and Appalachian Trail

Details

Both Race Brook Falls and Bear Rock Falls spill from the steep eastern slopes of Mount Race, the summit of which is part of a divide between the Hudson and Housatonic rivers. The peak bears the surname of William Race, a local resident killed in 1755 by agents of Livingston Manor in a colonial border dispute concerning ownership and farm tenancy.[1][2][3]

Western slopes are in the town of Mount Washington, and the east slopes are in Sheffield, Massachusetts. Much of the mountain is part of Mount Washington State Forest; other parcels are privately held.

See also

References
  1. see mention of Mt. Race history in "Long-term Monitoring, Mt. Washington State Forest, 2009. (This state report appears to rely for its history note solely on "The Berkshire Hills" 1939 by the Federal Writers' Project. page 182:"In 1755, William Race, a Mount Washington pioneer, was shot to death by members of the Livingston party in a section of town near the present Mt. Race, probably named for the murdered man.")
  2. https://www.mass.gov/doc/long-term-ecological-monitoring-program-mount-washington-forest-reserve/download
  3. https://archive.org/details/berkshirehills00fede/page/182/mode/2up?q=Race

Sources
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