Place:Great Barrington, Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States

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source: Family History Library Catalog

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Great Barrington is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,104 at the 2010 census. Both a summer resort and home to Ski Butternut, Great Barrington includes the villages of Van Deusenville and Housatonic. It is also the birthplace of W. E. B. Du Bois. In 2012, Smithsonian Magazine ranked Great Barrington #1 in its list of "The 20 Best Small Towns in America".

Great Barrington today is a vibrant small town acting as the hub for "South County". The Town and its surrounds support not only a vibrant year round population but second home owners in the surrounding communities. Great Barrington is home to over 55 restaurants catering to a wide spectrum. The recently renovated Mahaiwe Theater has become a center for year round music and cultural events.

History

the text in this section is copied from an article in Wikipedia

Early history: 1726 - 1995

The Mahican Indians called the area Mahaiwe, meaning "the place downstream." It lay on the New England Path, which connected Fort Orange near Albany, New York with Springfield and then Massachusetts Bay. The village was first settled in 1726, and from 1742–1761 was the north parish of Sheffield. In 1761, it was officially incorporated as Great Barrington, named after the village of Great Barrington in Gloucestershire, England.

In the summer of 1774, 1,500 men shut down the Berkshire County Court in response to British oppression.

In the winter of 1776 Henry Knox passed through Great Barrington while transporting the cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to the Siege of Boston which established an agricultural interest in the area of Great Barrington.

With the arrival of the railroad, Great Barrington developed into a Gilded Age resort community for those seeking relief from the heat and pollution of cities, although it is now considered a small city in itself. Wealthy families built grand homes called Berkshire Cottages here, as others would in Lenox and Stockbridge. Among the earliest estates was that built by New York City banker, industrialist and art patron David Leavitt, who built an elaborate estate, and was soon followed by those of his sons nearby. Leavitt was instrumental in the development of the local Housatonic Railroad, serving as its president.

Other later estates included Searles Castle, commissioned in 1888 by the widow of Mark Hopkins together with her second husband, Edward Francis Searles, and Brookside, built for William Hall Walker. In 1895, Colonel William L. Brown, part owner of the New York Daily News, presented Great Barrington with a statue of a newsboy, now a landmark on the western edge of town.

In March 1886, the water mill at Great Barrington was the site of an experiment that first used water to drive an alternating current generator. A transformer was used to increase the voltage and the current was transmitted over a mile away to the nearest town to power street lights.

The town was the site of an F4 tornado around 7:00 PM on Memorial Day, May 29, 1995. The tornado killed three people and caused damage in the area.

W. E. B. Du Bois

Great Barrington is the birthplace of W. E. B. Du Bois, an American civil rights activist most known for being one of the co-founders of the National Association for the Advancement of Colored People (NAACP) in 1909. Du Bois was born on February 23, 1868, located on where present-day Route 23 would run. As a child, Du Bois attended the Congregational Church, where many of the church members helped donate the funds needed for Du Bois to attend college. Du Bois lived in the town until he was seventeen.^[1]

Alice's Restaurant

Arlo Guthrie's "Alice's Restaurant," which runs for 18½ minutes, is based on true-life events that occurred in Great Barrington and the adjoining towns of Stockbridge and Lee., which is at the Old Trinity Church and was the home of Ray and Alice Brock at the time of the incidents related in the song, is at 4 Van Deusenville Road in Great Barrington.

2010

On June 1, 2010, a new fire station was opened for the Great Barrington Fire Department, located on Route 7. The new fire station replaces the old one, which was located on Castle Street. The old fire station was deteriorating both aesthetically and structurally, and provided insufficient space for the growing needs of the fire department. The new $9.1 million dollar facility will also host community events such as elections, and serve as the hub for emergency operations in southern Berkshire County.^[2]

2011 - Present

The Town celebrated its 250th anniversary with a large parade on July 10, 2011. Other events celebrating the 250th anniversary were held throughout the year as well.

A plan called the "Main Street Reconstruction Project" was launched, involving massive improvements made between the stretch of Main Street between Saint James Place and Cottage Street. The plan includes the reconstruction of the road with new pavement, new sidewalks, sewer and utility improvements, and the removal of the large trees that span Main Street, to be replaced with much smaller trees. The project has finished its design phase as of 2012, and construction will begin in early 2013, with the hopes of completing the project in 2013 as well.^[3]

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