The Green River is a scenic stream that originates at the mysterious No Bottom Pond in Austerlitz, N.Y., and meanders through the hamlet of Green River, N.Y. It enters Massachusetts in Alford and continues through North Egremont and Great Barrington. Flowing in a mostly southeast direction toward the Housatonic River, geologic changes force it northward for a short section between Seekonk Cross Road and Hurlburt Road in Great Barrington. Along the way, small pools of emerald green water can be found between intervals of faster-moving water flowing through twists and turns, around big rocks, over gentle waterfalls, and into popular swimming holes lined by sand dunes.
The photographs shown above and at right were taken in 1995 by the late Don Victor. They depict legendary photojournalist Lucien Aigner visiting a Green River swimming hole when he was in his 90s. Other swimmers, including Pastor Charles Van Ausdall, assist him. To this day, generous land owners along the river allow public access, which is especially appreciated on sizzling summer days.
The Green River has played an important role in the lives of area inhabitants for hundreds of years. The surroundings were popular fishing and hunting grounds for the Mohican indigenous people. Early land records reference the river as an important landmark. A large stone outcrop near a present-day Route 23 swimming hole was a Mohican boundary marker. A nearby spring on private land is still referred to as Indian Springs. Numerous projectile points and artifacts have been found in present-day cornfields along the river. In the 18th and 19th centuries, dams were built to supply water to grist and textile mills. One of those mills is pictured below. The river also provides drinking water to many residents of Great Barrington.
The Green River remains a study in contrasts. Its graceful beauty inspired a famous poem by 19th-century journalist and editor William Cullen Bryant. Summertime swimmers flock to its cool waters in several popular locations. In the 1980s, there was even a “secret” nude beach on a sandbar between Hurlburt Road and Route 23. The river is also home to scores of lost golf balls as it wanders through Wyantenuck Golf Course.
After a fierce storm, however, the gentle Green River can quickly turn muddy, mean, and menacing. Its oxbows and floodplains experience erosion. Toppled trees create log-jams, and cornfields are undermined. But with better weather, the Green River returns to its peaceful state, beloved by visitors from near and far.
