A new book about the role of the Knox Trail and its Berkshire towns at the outset of the Revolutionary War has been published by the Berkshire County Historical Society in conjunction with the commemoration, "Knox Trail 250."

Ye Trodden Path: the History of the Knox Trail is the product of a unique collaboration of five local historians and Knox aficionados including Bernard Drew of Great Barrington, Rob Hoogs of Monterey, Gary Leveille of Great Barrington, Tom Ragusa of Otis and Ron Bernard from Sandisfield.

It was Henry Knox whom Gen. Washington picked to organize a 'mission impossible' in the winter of 1775-76 to transport sixty tons of captured British cannonry 300 miles from Fort Ticonderoga, NY, to Boston. George Washington and his ragtag Patriots were faced off against the professional British army sent by King George to forestall a colonist uprising. Shocked by the sight of big guns aimed down from Dorchester Heights, the British armada evacuated Boston on March 17, 1776.

This was an event that changed the course of the American Revolution. But for brilliant planning, a super human feat of execution, and the bravery of the Patriots, we probably would not be celebrating the "Fourth of July." "Ye Trodden Path" includes an overview foreword and separate sections dealing with distinct aspects of this ancient roadway through Berkshires best known in colonial times as "The Great Road."

Local residents, students, and history buffs will derive much from the book's Foreword, a comprehensive summary of the Knox episode and the road taken, until now not widely known or enough appreciated.

Part I is Bernard Drew's back story of a "military road" from early colonial days through Shays' Rebellion in 1787, and the route's contemporary manifestation.

Part II takes readers from Columbia County, NY, into Alford, Egremont and Great Barrington, Mass., and the efforts of Knox researchers over many years to unravel vexing mysteries and sometimes unreliable tradition about the true path that Col. Knox followed from Columbia County into Massachusetts.

Part III, "Before Knox," is based on original and unpublished research on relevant topics including, the numerous colloquial names of this road, e.g., Ye Trodden Path; why countless ancient native trails like this one evolved into a modern system of roads and Interstates that have connected and shaped our country; the relevance of "ceremonial stone landscapes," pre-Columbian indigenous stone arrangements that lie undisturbed along the surviving section of the Great Road and are witnesses to history; and the untold story of the five Sandisfield taverns that welcomed settlers and military contingents in the 1750s-80s.

The initial impetus for this book is Part IV about the longest surviving original section of the Great Road, six miles through Sandisfield and Otis, most of it under protection of the Otis State Forest.

This section is the story of a decades-long quest of one man - Tom Ragusa of Otis - to create an accurate map of the trail as it was when the colonists arrived. Using long forgotten maps and reports from the 1760s found in state archives, together with modern surveying techniques, co-author Ragusa produced a marvel, mapping what may one day gain this section appropriate national recognition as pristine North American heritage site. His 15-foot-long map, now on display at the Massachusetts State Archives in Boston, was reconfigured to five feet in length and is enclosed as a fold-out in color in Ye Trodden Path.

In 2076, when people celebrate the 300th anniversary of this country including the legendary tale of the Knox expedition, the authors hope that their book will have aided those future historians and preservationists. They also hope that one day the original trail section in Otis State Forest will be properly marked and maintained so that visitors can experience walking in the footsteps of heroes and greatness, and appreciate the sacrifices that were made in the cause of liberty and freedom.

Copies of the book are available through Ron Bernard (see order form below), at the Farmington River Store in New Boston, or from the Berkshire County Historical Society in Pittsfield berkshirehistory.org.