Come learn about the historic Springfield riverfront, including histories of the bridges, steamboat access, buildings, and even the sewage system.
Derek Strahan will be leading the Second Saturday Tours series on June 14th at 10:30am. It will start at Riverfront Park, at the parking lot directly across from the end of State Street. The Springfield Preservation Trust walking tours this season are sponsored by the Springfield Cultural Council and Mass Cultural Council.
This walking tour departs from the Riverfront Park at 10:30am and ends at 12pm. The tour is $5 for Springfield Preservation Trust, Springfield Museums, and $10 for non-members, payable in advance on Eventbrite or at the tour's outset.
The Second Saturday Tours series explores historic Springfield and is co-presented by the Springfield Preservation Trust and Springfield Museums and is generously sponsored by the Springfield Cultural Council and Mass Cultural Council.
About the Tour Guide
Derek Strahan is a former board member and former chair of the Educational Programming committee at the Springfield Preservation Trust, which is focused on protecting, preserving, and promoting historic properties in Springfield. He was on the board from 2017-2024 and served as president of the nonprofit from 2019 to 2023. He leads historic walking tours of Springfield, presents lectures about Springfield’s history, and has also been a costumed interpreter at several of the organization's annual “Voices of the Grave” cemetery tours. Aside from his work with the Trust, Strahan also runs the local history website LostNewEngland.com, and he is the author of "Lost Springfield, Massachusetts" and "New England Then and Now," and is the host of the Western Mass History podcast. Derek has a Bachelor of Arts degree in English and a Bachelor of Science degree in Regional Planning from Westfield State University, and currently serves as a land use and environmental planner at the Pioneer Valley Planning Commission. He and his wife Melissa are proud owners of a circa 1760 farmhouse, where they are raising their two young sons.
About the Springfield Preservation Trust
Founded in 1972, the Springfield Preservation Trust strives to preserve and protect properties in Springfield that have architectural or historic significance. As the only non-profit, non-government advocacy group for historic preservation in Springfield, the Trust will continue to be the voice of preservation into the future. Learn more at springfieldpreservation.org.
