#202 - 204 Southwick, Agawam and Longmeadow

We visited the southern Pioneer Valley and saw three very different towns. Longmeadow (#204) ended up being one of our favorite spots to walk around Mass. We walked in the Longmeadow Historic District, which is a nearly 1.5 mile loop along Route 5, around the Longmeadow Town Green. The homes were all marked with a numbered star, which coincides with historical data on each. It was a magnificent display of early American architecture. The sidewalks are far offset from the road, which is a cool effect.

Across the Connecticut River from Longmeadow is Agawam. We knew when we visited Agawam (#203) we wanted to walk Six Flags. The park was closed for the season, but we walked from the parking lot to the M&M stairs for our mile. We have so many memories of this Six Flags, since we had season passes for over a decade when the kids were younger!

Southwick (#202) is located west of Agawam, you will find Southwick. Southwick is the strange southward "jog" in the otherwise straight MA/CT border (check out a map). The region's microclimate allows tobacco to grow successfully as a cash crop. That's why you see these classic long wooden tobacco drying barns all over the region.