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August 30, 2003
  Articles on this page: • Peru • Pittsfield • Richmond • Sandisfield • Savoy Peru Statistics Town Hall - 3 East Main Road Peru, MA 01235 Phone/fax - 655-8312 Population: 853 Registered Voters: 476 Democrats: 84 Republicans: 67 Other: 315 Tax Rate: $17.61 Assessed Town Value: $46,878,900 Average House Value: $95,719 Average Single-Family Tax Bill: $1,685 Selectmen: Douglas A. Haskins (Chair), Jay Jewell, Edward P. Richards (Meetings are Mondays, 6:00 p.m., Peru Town Hall) Background Incorporated in 1771 as Partridgefield, the town was a prosperous community in its early days. The 1800 census counted 1,361 people, more than Lee, Lenox and Dalton at that time. Having the highest town center in the state and being off the beaten path of stage lines and railroads, however, Peru's fortunes declined. The population dipped to fewer than 200 in the early part of this century. More than half the town now is publicly owned woodlands. The town has recently seen a steep increase in population as its relatively low housing prices and attractive countryside have lured residents who work in Dalton, Pittsfield and Springfield. Town Trivia • In 1806, a town minister, Rev. John Leland, suggested the town's name "Partridgefield" be changed to "Peru". He thought the original name was too long, and the town's mountainous landscape reminded him of the South American country, Peru. • Garnet Lake, the only lake in town, is privately owned. • Garnet Mountain Monument was built in memory of 15 soldiers who were killed in a plane crash during World War II on Garnet Mountain. Pittsfield Statistics City Hall - 70 Allen Street Pittsfield, MA 01201 Phone - 499-9321/fax - 442-8043 Website: Pittsfield-ma.org Population: 41,208 Total Area: 42.32 sq. miles Density: 971 per sq. miles Normal annual precipitation: 44.8 inches Normal temp. in Jan. 23 degrees July: 69 degrees Household size: 2.26 Race and Ethnicity: White (92.6%), Black (3.7%), American Indian (0.1%), Asian (1.2%), Hispanic (2.0%), Other (0.4%) Registered Voters: 27,966 Democrats: 12,348 Republicans: 3,474 Other: 274 Unenrolled: 11,870 Tax Rate: $20.01 (Residential) $29.35 (Commercial/Industrial) Assessed City Value: $2,085,947,159 Average House Value: $106,000 Average Single-Family Tax Bill: $2,121 Mayor: Sara Hathaway City Clerk: Jody L. Phillips City Council: Richard A. Scapin (President), Peter G. Arlos, James A. Arpante, Daniel L. Bianchi, Mark A. Brennan, Joseph O. Guzzo, Matthew M. Kerwood, Gerald M. Lee, Peter M. Marchetti, Robert G. Tuttle, Ozias "Chuck" Vincellete. Total Annual Payroll: $59,043,881 No. of Retail Establishments: 375 Total Sales: $430 million (Autos: $90 million, Food stores: $113 million, Eating/drinking places: $41 million) No. of Housing Units: 21,366 Owner Occupied: 11,979 Renter Occupied: 7,725 Background Pittsfield is the commercial, political and social center of the Berkshires. The county seat since 1868, Pittsfield is the largest community in the Berkshires and serves as the region's industrial-manufacturing center. Some of the county's largest companies in the county (General Dynamics Defense Systems, G E Plastics, Berkshire Life, KB Toys and Berkshire Medical Center) are all located in Pittsfield. The city is known as the "Plastics Technology Center of the Nation" with more than 40 plastics companies, including GE Plastics, making their home in Pittsfield. Although the total number of jobs in Pittsfield has remained relatively static over the last 20 years, there has been a significant shift in the makeup of those jobs from manufacturing to service jobs. Pittsfield was founded in 1761, named after British Prime Minister William Pitt (who would later take up the American colonists cause before the revolution). In the 1800 census, Pittsfield's 2,261-person population put it on relatively equal status to almost a dozen other communities at the time, including New Marlboro (1,848), Tyringham (1,712), and Sandisfield (1,857). The community's fast waters and flat open land attracted industry and Pittsfield soon flourished. Nevertheless, farming continued to play a major role through much of the 20th century. In 1885, Pittsfield was selected as one of the 20 most productive agricultural communities in Massachusetts. Pittsfield was incorporated as a city in 1891 and rapidly grew with a burst of new manufacturing activity. Stanley Electric (which would later become General Electric) turned out the first of many large power transformers in 1901. In 1914, Pittsfield became the "high-voltage capital of the world" when it built a laboratory in which GE produced an artificial 10 million-volt lightning bolt twenty years later. During World War II, more than 10,000 people worked in the GE plant. Population peaked in the 1950s at about 58,000. The city has had its fair share of famous residents who have made major contributions to the nation's history, including: Herman Melville, who wrote Moby Dick at Arrowhead; Civil War Colonel William F. Bartlett who rose from private to become the youngest major general in the war at the age of 24; and Lieutenant Colonel Charles W. Whittlesley won the Congressional Medal of Honor as commander of the "Lost Battalion" during World War I. City Trivia • In June 2003, the new Pittsfield Visitor's Center opened on South Street, near the Colonial Theatre. • In 1799, Lemuel Pomeroy opened a blacksmith shop in Pittsfield and made guns for the War of 1812. This business became a leading manufacturer of muskets for the state and federal governments for many years. • A crowd of 300 gathered in the Academy of Music in 1877 for the first local demonstration of the telephone. • Pittsfield has close to 11,000 acres of forests and six lakes totaling 1,161 acres. • The first parking meters in the county were installed in Pittsfield in 1948. Richmond Statistics Town Hall - 1529 State Road Richmond, MA 01254 Phone - 698-3882/fax - 698-3272 www.richmondmass.org email: richadmi@rnetworx.com Population: 1,667 Registered Voters: 1,162 Democrats: 290 Republicans: 189 Other: 670 Tax Rate: $11.10 Assessed Town Value: $251,324,400 Average House Value: $280,951 Average Single-Family Tax Bill: $3,118 Town Administrator: Bruce Garlow Selectmen: Marguerite J. Rawson (Chair), Alan B. Hanson, Roger W. Manzolini (Meetings are the first, second and fourth Wednesdays of the month at 6:00 p.m. at Town Hall) Background Richmond is a small, rural community that is immediately south of Pittsfield and abuts the New York state border. Richmond's scenic beauty and rural ambience are enforced by progressive and strong zoning and wetland bylaws and by the Berkshire Scenic Mountains Act. Although the town once hosted extensive iron mining operations up until 1923, Richmond has a few commercial enterprises other than several orchards and farms. There are two farm stores, a farmer winery, an upholstery shop, a cheese/specialty shop and a restaurant with a catering business. Richmond residents express a strong sense of community with the town boasting its own civic association since 1947 as well as a land trust and historical society. The town is named after a British nobleman who spoke on behalf of the American colonists during the American Revolution. Town Trivia • Prior to incorporation in 1765, Richmond lay in territories known as Mt. Ephraim and Yokuntown. • Richmond has one of only two private phone companies in the state. • Recent research has revealed that the Northeast Schoolhouse, one of six local schoolhouses that were closed upon the opening of the consolidated school in 1937, was actually built in 1791, not in 1856, making it 65 years older than previously thought. The Richmond Historical Society has completely renovated the Northeast Schoolhouse and it has been used in recent years as a home for the society and for summer school classes. Sandisfield Statistics Town Hall - 66 Sandisfield Road, P.O. Box 163 Sandisfield, MA 01255 Phone - 258-4711/ Fax - 258-4225 Email address: townclerk@Gis.net Population: 793 Registered Voters: 500 Democrats: 160 Republicans: 72 Other: 268 Tax Rate: $10.18 Assessed Town Value: $136,618,000 Average House Value: $201,680 Average Single-Family Tax Bill: $2,053 Selectmen: Victor Hryckvich (Chair), Willard Platt, Richard Campetti (Meetings are on Mondays at 7:30 p.m. in the Town Hall Annex; During July and August every other Monday) Background Incorporated in 1762, Sandisfield was a prosperous and bustling town in its early days. As a stopping point on the Hartford to Albany stage line, Sandisfield (also known then as New Boston) grew to be the fourth largest town in the Berkshires in 1800. The railroad bypassed Sandisfield, however, and the population plummeted from about 2,000 to several hundred people by 1900. Today, Sandisfield is a small rural community that still retains some of the farming families that have formed the core of the town for 200 years. Town Trivia • Sandisfield was first settled by a grant in 1736 and was named after the prominent Sandys family. One family member was related to the late Winston Churchill. • The average commuting time to work for a Sandisfield resident is 27.1 minute. • The state owns 5,883 acres of forest and park land in Sandisfield, or 18 percent of the town. • Sandisfield is the most heavily forested town in the Berkshires with over 30,000 acres of woodlands. • Sandisfield is 53 square miles and is the largest town in area in Berkshire County. Savoy Statistics Town Hall - 720 Main Road Savoy, MA 01256 Phone - 743-4290/fax - 743-4292 Email: Slibrary@rnetworx.com Population: 717 Registered Voters: 481 Democrats: 58 Republicans: 43 Other: 350 Tax Rate: $16.17 Assessed Town Value: $37,598,081 Average House Value: $91,000 Average Single-Family Tax Bill: $1,419 Selectmen: Rita Pierce (Chair), Allen Haskins, Emile Mayer (Meetings are held on Tuesdays,7:00 p.m. in Town Hall) Background Savoy came into being when the state of Massachusetts awarded a six-square mile territory to Colonel William Bullock for his ancestors' service in the French and Indian Wars. The first settlement of the town was made in 1777 and by the end of the Revolutionary War, 35 families lived in Savoy. The town was incorporated in 1797 and given its name, according to some, because of its resemblance to the mountainous country of Savoy in Europe. The town had remarkably diverse industries in the 19th century with sawmills, box manufacturers, tanneries, printing shop, a large lumber mill and three hotels. Equally diverse was the town's religious groups. Baptists, Congregationalists, Methodists, Adventists and Shakers all worshiped in Savoy. The rugged terrain and harsh weather conditions, however, led to the gradual decline of Savoy as a place of commerce, but in recent years the town has undergone something of a boom. More than a fourth of the houses in Savoy were built in the 1980s. Town Trivia • Savoy was settled by the so-called Narraganset Baptists from Plymouth and Bristol Counties of the Bay area of Massachusetts. • The Town of Savoy is situated at an elevation of 1,880 feet on the Hoosac Range of the Green Mountains. • Savoy includes Tannery Falls, a 110 foot waterfall. • A Shaker community lived in Savoy from 1817 to 1821. This community pre-dates the Hancock Shakers. • When the state auctioned off ten township sites to raise money in 1762, the purchaser of Savoy demanded his money back, saying the land was not as advertised.  RETURN TO TOP |
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