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Within the Wayne National Forest, largely associated with the vicinity of the City of Nelsonville, Ohio, is the area of the Robbins Crossing Historic Village on the southeastern side of the area. Though not much in terms of civil amenities exists within the community of Nelsonville, the nearby community of Athens to the southeast is home to a rare sense of civilization within the general Appalachian region, in large part thanks to the presence of Ohio University (OU).
Otis is a town located within the central portion of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, in a strictly rural region primarily along Routes 8 and 23. Route 8 is north-south, retaining the number 8 into both Connecticut to the south and Vermont to the north, while Route 23 is east-west for the region. As with surrounding communities such as Tolland in Hampden County to the southeast and Sandisfield (also Berkshire County) to the southwest, the Town of Otis also serves as the namesake for an associated state forest unit within the Commonwealth (and the same is also true for numerous other communities, particularly in Western Mass). Overall, however, the Town of Otis is located nearly halfway from the Town of Great Barrington to the City of Springfield in Hampden County, toward the southeast of Berkshire County relative to most other communities located within.
Western Massachusetts is very differently organized from the more dominant eastern side of the Commonwealth. Throughout much of Berkshire County in particular, the state forests share names with potentially namesake towns, a feature that also continues into select portions of Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, and Worcester Counties. In Hampden County, Tolland and Granville are names of towns where state forests exist under such town names. In Berkshire County, Otis and Florida may be additional towns with associated state forests.
The Town of Tolland is located at the extreme western end of Hampden County, Massachusetts, adjacent to the Berkshire and Hampshire County lines and the Connecticut state line. Tolland is home to fewer than one thousand residents per the 2020 census, and only one notable state highway passes through the town: Route 57. Route 57 crosses the town from east to west; Agawam is to the east, New Marlborough to the west. This state highway exists in an extremely rural region of Western Massachusetts while passing through the Town, though the same route further east, as in Agawam, is significantly more urbanized. As with much of Hampden County, the Town of Tolland is located entirely within the Connecticut River watershed.
The Town of Tolland, Massachusetts, is home to a town library and not much else in terms of amenities for locals. As the town is an extremely rural New England town, the lack of church (or other religious) structures is not at all surprising, particularly as the region is amongst the least religious in the nation. Outside the inner village area, the town also contains the southern part of the Tolland State Forest and the western part of the Granville State Forest within town limits. The Tolland State Forest is to the northwest, and the Granville State Forest is to the southeast, of the Town of Tolland, Hampden County, Massachusetts.
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