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August 30, 2004
  Articles on this page: • Washington • West Stockbridge • Williamstown • Windsor Washington Background The town of Washington got off to a bad start in 1757 when Robert Watson of Sheffield sold the land on which the town would be established to investors. Three years later, the purchasers learned Watson had pulled a scam and they had to rebuy the properties from the Indians. The town was incorporated in 1777 and named after George Washington. Fertile land in the valleys and the abundance of lakes and streams attracted earlier settlers, but by the end of the 19th century, the population had dropped to less than 300 and there were no shops, mills or stores. The town is now largely a bedroom community for Pittsfield with almost 30 percent of the houses being built in the 1980s. Town Trivia * The mountainous area had a stage coach road before the Pontoosuc Turnpike was built on the east side of town in 1830. * The town's lakes serve as the water supply for the city of Pittsfield. * Until it was taken over by the state in 1915, October Mountain State Park was a private game preserve owned by William C. Whitney, secretary of the Navy under President Grover Cleveland. Whitney stocked the park with buffalo, moose, elk and employed 55 people to take care of it. Statistics Town Hall - 8 Summit Hill Road Washington, MA 01223 Phone - 623-8878/fax - 623-2116 www.washington-ma.us Population: 585 Registered Voters: 414 Democrats: 134 Republicans: 32 Other: 247 Tax Rate: $12.62 Assessed Town Value: $49,926,976 Average House Value: $159,229 Average Single-Family Tax Bill: $1,996 Selectmen: Richard J. Grillon, William D. Cawley, Jr., David E. Fish (Meetings are held Mondays at 7:00 p.m. at Town Hall) West Stockbridge Background West Stockbridge was originally owned by the Stockbridge Indians whose leader, the sachem Konkapot, in 1724 sold a huge territory including West Stockbridge. The town was incorporated in 1774 and changed it's name from ìQueenboroughî. In addition to farming, West Stockbridge's early economy was based on quarries of fine marble and iron ore. Much of the marble was used to build the State House in Boston, the old City Hall in New York, and Girard College in Philadelphia. Other industries in the 19th century included a paper mill, machine shop grist mill, iron furnace and lime kilns. Industry has largely left West Stockbridge. The downtown underwent a renaissance in the 1970s and 80s when developer Gordon Rose invested in several buildings. The town has been increasingly popular with young families who have edged the population up by 25 percent in the last 15 years. The number of West Stockbridge households increased by 20 percent in the 1980s. Town Trivia * The first photograph produced in Berkshire County began in the early 1840's. In 1842, inventor Anson H. Clark of West Stockbridge produced a daguerreotype of his home town. He took portraits of local people as well as photos of local sites. * On August 28, 1973, a tornado roared through West Stockbridge killing 4 people and injuring 34. The twister leveled three homes and wreaked 34 buildings on the Kingsmont Camp property. * West Stockbridge has the second longest cave in the Berkshires. Eldon's Cave is 623 feet long. Statistics Town Hall - 9 Main Street West Stockbridge, MA 01266 Phone - 232-0300/ fax - 232-0318 Website: www.weststockbridgetown.com Population: 1,660 Registered Voters: 1,025 Democrats: 311 Republicans:112 Other: 602 Tax Rate: $13.75 Assessed Town Value: $167,350,100 Average House Value: $261,485 Average Single-Family Tax Bill: $3,595 Selectmen: Lawrence D.Tonini (Chair), Elizabeth M. DiGrigoli, Curt G. Wilton (Meetings are every Monday at 7:00 p.m. at the Village School, 21 State Line Road) Williamstown Background Williamstown was incorporated in 1765. It was named after Colonel Ephraim Williams, Jr., who had commanded nearby Fort Massachusetts for several years and was killed in 1775 in a battle at Lake George. Williams, a member of a famous and powerful family, provided in his will for a free school in the town (which had been named West Hoosac at the time) that later became Williams College. Today, Williams is among the top liberal arts colleges in the country. The town is also the home of the Sterling and Francine Clark Art Institute, Williams College Museum of Art, Williamstown Theatre Festival and Williams' Chapin Library of Rare Books. Connoisseur magazine described Williamstown in 1984 as having the most art per capita of any American community. Williamstown also has a relatively strong industrial base and continues to possess many rural characteristics. It is one of the most heavily farmed towns in the Berkshires. Town Trivia * Williamstown celebrated it's Ducentquinquagentennial (250th Birthday) on Saturday, September 20, 2003. A year of events honoring the anniversary began in March, marking Ephraim Williams’ 289th birthday and ended with the holiday walk in December 2003. * Williams College installed electricity in their dorms in 1904. * The first school house in Williamstown was built on what is now Spring Street in 1763. * Recently, Williamstown was ranked 18th in Norman Crampton's The 100 Best Small Towns in America. Statistics Town Hall - 31 North Street Williamstown, MA 01267 Phone - 458-3500/fax - 458-4839 Website: www.williamstown.net Population: 8,275 Registered Voters: 4,312 Democrats: 1,748 Republicans: 520 Other: 2,044 Tax Rate: $14.14 Assessed Town Value: $723,156,900 Average House Value: $176,000 Average Single-Family Tax Bill: $2,488 Town Manager: Peter L. Fohlin Selectmen: John R. Madden, Charles T. Schlesinger, Jane B. Allen, Philip Guy, John G. Merselis, Jr. (Meetings are the second and fourth Monday of the month at 7:30 p.m. in Town Hall) Windsor Background Like many of the other central Berkshire hill towns, Windsor's streams and fertile fields attracted settlers early in the town's history (it was incorporated in 1771). The town's off-the-beaten-path location away from the rail line, however, led to a decline the population in the 19th and early 20th centuries. That trend, again similar to its neighboring hill towns, has been reversed in the last few decades as an increasing number of families that work in Pittsfield are attracted to Windsor's rural lifestyle and attractive countryside. Windsor today has 50 percent more people than it did 15 years ago. The town still boasts a few small farms and a hilltop general store that has been in the same family for several generations. Town officials describe their community as "a small town which behaves like a large family." Town Trivia * On June 30,1868, Windsor voted 34 against licensing open bars for the sale of intoxicating liquors in town and one vote for it. There was a unanimous vote to prohibit the sale of all strong beer, porter lager beer and ale within the limits of the town on May 2, 1871. It was voted on March 7, 1870, to instruct the Windsor selectmen to close the Town Hall against dancing. * In 1929, the town hall was wired for electricity by J.R. Adams. This was a big improvement over the large round chandelier which held many kerosene lamps in the middle of the ceiling. It was quite a task for the people who filled and cleaned the chimneys on these lamps and the other lamps throughout the Town Hall. * More than half the houses in Windsor were built between 1970 and 1990. Statistics Town Offices - 1890 Route 9 Town Hall - 1927 Route 9 Windsor, MA 01270 Phone - 684-3811/ fax - 684-3806 Town Clerk - Evelyn Bird Phone - 684-3977/fax - 684-1585 Population: 903 Registered Voters: 587 Democrats: 133 Republicans: 73 Other: 381 Tax Rate: $13.41 Assessed Town Value: $79,096,170 Average House Value: $130,427 Average Single-Family Tax Bill: $1,749 Selectboard: Robert J. Bradley, Barbara E. Giusti, Charles H. Sturtevant (Meetings are Mondays at 7:30 p.m. at Town Offices)  RETURN TO TOP |
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