Photo: Tom Ragusa.

Next year the United States will celebrate its 250th anniversary of independence with ceremonies under the banner, "America250." Events such as reenactments, proclamations, and tours are planned across the country, particularly in the former colonies. Towns and historical sites in Massachusetts, like Bunker Hill, are already promoting events under "MA250."

There are 250th battlefield sites in western Massachusetts.

However, we do have the Colonial road that connected Boston with Albany and became known as the Knox Trail.

The Knox Trail played a crucial role for the Patriots during the beginning of the Revolutionary War. It is named after Henry Knox, who as an officer under General Washington, transported during the winter of 1775-76 sixty tons of artillery captured at Fort Ticonderoga, NY, to support the Colonial Army at their siege of Boston.

The only undeveloped section of the original 300-mile route lies within Sandisfield and Otis. This heavily wooded section is an authentic witness to the extraordinary feat of human resolve and endurance that is believed to have affected the outcome of the war. The Berkshires 250 committee will memorialize this epic event and the role played by south Berkshire County towns in a program to be held in the Mahaiwe Theater in Great Barrington on Saturday morning, January 10, 2026.

To support the committee's activities, a booklet with the working title, Ye Trodden Path: The History of the Knox Trail, is under development by the historical commissions of Sandisfield and Otis and Bernard Drew, a foremost Berkshires historian and an acknowledged authority on the Knox Trail. The booklet is underwritten by Berkshires250 and the Berkshire County Historical Society.

Photo: Tom Ragusa.

Part I of the booklet, "The Amherst War Road of 1758," will be a fascinating, well-researched summary of the origins of the road from its beginning as a colonial "highway" in the 1660s and ending with the Knox expedition. Bernard Drew is the author of the definitive history of the road, Henry Knox and the Revolutionary War Trail in Western Massachusetts (2012).

Part II, "Before Knox," will review the significance of the ancient indigenous trails which evolved into networks that connected tribes the length of the American eastern seaboard. Our modern roads and highways often trace their origins to hunting paths such as this one, which ultimately became the Knox Trail.

Part II will also review some two dozen colloquial names for this road, including "Ye Trodden Path." Another section concerns the significance of indigenous Ceremonial Stone Landscapes" (CSLs). These are sacred stone arrangements which survive in considerable numbers in the vicinity of Sandisfield's portion of the Knox Trail.

It will also include the story of Sandisfield's colonial-era taverns and the innkeepers who accommodated civilian and military travelers. including the Knox teamsters.

Part III will be the story of "Mapping the Trail, a Lifetime Quest." This Part is the untold story of the discovery and documentation of this unspoiled segment of the Knox Trail through the towns of Sandisfield and Otis which presents an incredible portrait of how the rugged trail appeared, pre-contact. Tom Ragusa of Otis, a retired employee of the Massachusetts Department of Conservation and Recreation, has devoted more than thirty years to creating an accurate map of the original trail as it passed through Sandisfield and Otis. Unlike Cervantes' Don Quixote, Tom's impossible quest was rooted in self-confidence, determination, and modern surveying techniques.

Photo: Tom Ragusa.

The result is a 15-foot long, detailed map of this segment of the trail, a wonder of a creation. Tom has created a piece of authentic American heritage which will no doubt one day be displayed in the State Library, if not in a place like the Smithsonian or the Library of Congress.

A copy of Tom's map will be included in the booklet.

Watch for more information about this booklet and the Berkshires250 celebrations in The Time's November and December issues.