Western Mass History

Episode 8: The Pine Tree Riot of 1765

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On October 25, 1765, an angry mob attacked two royal officials in Northampton. They beat them, held them captive for hours, and eventually forced at least one of them to resign his commission. The cause of this riot was their enforcement of the Pine Tree Acts, which restricted the ability of colonists to cut down valuable white pine trees. This episode explores the motivations behind these laws, the ways that colonists in Western Massachusetts resisted these laws, and the consequences of the 1765 riot.


Episode photo: Looking up the trunk of the Jake Swamp Tree, the tallest known tree in New England.


Sources:

  • Forests and Sea Power by Robert G. Albion
  • History of Hadley: including the early history of Hatfield, South Hadley, Amherst and Granby, Massachusetts by Sylvester Judd
  • April 24, 1764 letter to Governor Francis Bernard from Eleazer Burt and Elijah Lyman
  • Pines, Profits, and Popular Politics: Responses to the White Pine Acts in the Colonial Connecticut River Valley by Strother E. Roberts
  • The Acts and Resolves, Public and Private, of the Province of the Massachusetts Bay
  • Hampshire County Court Records, Volume 8 (1764-1766)
  • A report on the trees and shrubs growing naturally in the forests of Massachusetts by George B. Emerson
  • The Exceptional White Pines of Mohawk Trail State Forest
    • ...more
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