(c) Pocumtuck Valley Memorial Association, Deerfield MA. All rights reserved. Contact us for information about using this image.
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As seen in this poetic picture by noted photographer Clifton Johnson, River Street in Conway, Massachusetts, contained a mix of homes and industry. Many of the original home lots, granted to Deerfield residents, were located along this road. In 1767 Caleb Sharp, a former slave said to be half Indian and half African American, built a gristmill, the first mill in Conway, on this street. River Street runs alongside part of the South River, a tributary of the powerful Deerfield River that bisected Conway and supplied power for many industries. The Methodist church in the background was built in 1871.