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TOWN
OF CLARKSBURG, BERKSHIRE COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS
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| INCORPORATED
1798 |
Town
Hall
- 111 River Road - (413) 663-7940
Open - Monday - Friday 9 AM to 3 PM
Annual Town Meeting - Third Wednesday in May
Selectmen's Meeting Dates, Time & Place
Second and Fourth Wednesday at 6:30 PM
Town Hall - River Road |
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Clarksburg
lies
in the form of a parallelogram, seven miles long and two and
a half miles wide, at the northern border of Berkshire County,
about 120 miles northwest of Boston. It is bounded on the north
by Stamford, N. H., east by Florida, south by North Adams, and
west by Williamstown. There are 78 farms, containing 8,546 acres.
The dwelling-houses number 128; and these afford shelter for
the 708 inhabitants, 160 of whom are voters.
The land is mountainous, having, for its formative rock, granite,
Levis limestone, and Lauzon schist. Mount Hazen, northwest of
the centre, rises to the height of 2,272 feet. Its latitude
is 42° 44' north, and longitude 73° 9' west. Northam
Brook courses down from its southern side into the Hoosac River;
and the north branch of the latter, in the eastern part of the
town, with its affluents, Hudson's Brook, Muddy Brook and Beaver
Creek, furnishes motive power of much value.
The forests, which cover more than one half the area of the
town, consist mainly of oak, chestnut, spruce and hemlock. The
people are principally engaged in farming, lumbering and the
manufacture of powder, bricks and woollen cloth There are several
saw mills, grist mills, a woolen and a carding mill, and a number
of powder mills. The aggregate value of the manufactures, in
the census year of 1885, was $266,875. The farm stock and the
products are in the usual proportion. The aggregate value of
the latter in the year mentioned was $67,969. The valuation
in 1888 was $207,453, with a tax-rate of $20.50 on $1,000.
The town has three school buildings and a Sunday-school library.
The villages are Briggsville and Powder Mills; the post-offices
the first and Clarksburg; North Adams post-office, less than
a mile from the middle of the town line, being also used; and
this place affords railroad communication.
The snows in this region are deep, and the climate is severe
but salubrious. In 1885 there were 13 residents over 80 years
of age.
The settlement of this town was commenced in 1769 by Captain
Mathew Ketchum, Nicholas Clark and others. It was named from
one of its leading families, and incorporated March 2, 1798.
A part of its territory was annexed to Florida, May 2, 1848.
A man by the name of Hudson is supposed to have been the first
white person who felled a tree in the town. His name is perpetuated
by Hudson's Brook, which, soon after entering the town of North
Adams, passes under a natural bridge.
Nason
and Varney's Massachusetts Gazetteer, 1890, pp.240-241
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RESOURCE
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CONTRIBUTOR |
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BIRTHS
(to 1850)
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Resource
Needed!
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MARRIAGES
(to 1850)
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Resource
Needed!
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DEATHS
(to 1850)
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Resource
Needed!
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CEMETERIES
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Beth
Israel Cemetery |
Transcribed
by hcookis@glasscity.net |
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Clarksburg
Cemetery |
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MAPS
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MILITARY
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Resource
Needed!
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