Historic, but not traditional

Few places hold such prehistoric - and progressive - allure as tiny Turners Falls in the sprawling town of Montague, about a two-hour drive from Boston. The late-19th-century mill village, which in recent decades has undergone a revitalization, hosts jaw-dropping fossils, historic buildings, outdoor wonders, and more recently, an emerging arts community.

There is a new contemporary photography museum in the village. An upscale Italian restaurant called DiPaolo opened last year, and a hip neighborhood bar called The Rendezvous (rendezvoustfma .com) began serving last weekend.

There is a new bike path and a renovated park with a band shell. Turners Falls RiverCulture Project, which began two years ago to promote the rebirth of the village, has already created four public arts pieces, and efforts are underway to build a sculpture park.

I discovered the magic of Turners Falls several months ago and found myself immediately taken by it. So when out-of-town friends visited a few weeks later, I bypassed the sights of Boston to take them west to view fossils, hike, kayak, and wander the tiny village with its funky, eclectic feel. An example? Every December, the owner of Suzee's Third St. Laundry throws a fashion show highlighting the clothes customers have left behind.

"We're nontraditional," said Lisa Davol, cultural coordinator for the RiverCulture Project. "There isn't a sense that you are going to find the usual things here."

Perhaps the best way to explain - and visit - Turners Falls is chronologically. After you turn from Route 2 and head over the bridge, ancient layered banks of the Connecticut come into view. Some 200 million years ago, this was the muddy bottom of a rift in the supercontinent Pangea. Dinosaurs roamed, and their tracks, along with raindrops, fish imprints, and worm burrows were preserved as the mud sank and other material piled on top.