Place:Hancock, Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States

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NameHancock
Alt namesJerico Plantationsource: name prior to 1776
Hancock Villagesource: USGS, GNIS Digital Gazetteer (1994) GNIS25000205
Jerichosource: USGS, GNIS Digital Gazetteer (1994) GNIS25000205
TypeTown
Coordinates42.533°N 73.317°W
Located inBerkshire, Massachusetts, United States     (1776 - )
See alsoNew Ashford, Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States1835 loss

Hancock, formerly known as Jerico plantation, was founded in 1776. It had no parent town.

  • July 2, 1776, established as a town.
  • June 25, 1835, part of Hancock annexed to the district of New Ashford.
  • May 20, 1851, bounds between Hancock and New Ashford established.

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Modern Hancock

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

Hancock is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 757 at the 2020 census.

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History

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

Hancock was first settled in 1762 as the Plantation of Jericho. The town was officially incorporated in 1776, and renamed for John Hancock.

Hancock is one of only three towns in Massachusetts whose local telephone service was not provided by the former Bell System (instead it is part of the Taconic Telephone Corporation, every one of whose other exchanges is situated in neighboring New York). The other two such towns are Richmond, also in Berkshire County, and Granby, in Hampshire County.

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Hancock Shaker Village

Around 1780, some families in Hancock converted to the teachings of the Shakers. By 1790, Believers in Hancock and Pittsfield established Hancock Shaker Village. The Shakers were a religious order which believed in pacifism, celibacy and communal living. Worship could take the form of singing and ecstatic dance, which is why they were called the "Shaking Quakers", or "Shakers." The utopian sect is renowned today for its plain architecture and furniture. Hancock Shaker Village is famous for its Round Stone Barn, built in 1826. In 1959, the remaining Shakers in Hancock sold the property to a non-profit museum.

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Resources

source: Getty Thesaurus of Geographic Names
source: Family History Library Catalog
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