Great Barrington

Sister cities

• Fada N’Gourma
• Ingersoll

History

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 Massachusetts Bay. The first recorded account of Europeans in the area happened in August 1676, during King Philip's War. Major John Talcott and his troops chased a group of 200 Mahican Natives west from Westfield, eventually overtaking them at the Housatonic River in what is now Great Barrington. According to reports at the time, Talcott's troops killed twenty-five Indians and imprisoned another twenty. On April 25, 1724, Captain John Ashley of Westfield, Massachusetts, bought on behalf of himself and a committee of the Massachusetts General Court the land that became the towns of Great Barrington, Sheffield, Egremont, Alford, Mount Washington, and Boston Corner for £460, three barrels of "sider," and thirty quarts of rum from 21 Native American sachems headed by Conkepot Poneyote. The Konkapot River in southwestern Massachusetts is named after him. The village was first settled by colonists in 1726 and from 1742 to 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, local colonists temporarily forced the closure of the Berkshire County Court in response to unpopular British policies. In the winter of 1776, Henry Knox passed through Great Barrington while transporting the "noble train of artillery" from Fort Ticonderoga to the outskirts of Boston during the siege of Boston. Due to his time in the area, he established an agricultural interest in the area of Great Barrington. With the arrival of the railroad in the late 19th century, Great…

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has an area of , of which is land and , or 2.09%, is water. Great Barrington is bordered by West Stockbridge, Stockbridge and Lee to the north, Tyringham to the northeast, Monterey to the east, New Marlborough to the southeast, Sheffield to the south, Egremont to the southwest, and Alford to the northwest. The town is south of Pittsfield, west of Springfield, west of Boston, and north-northeast of New York City. Great Barrington is in the valley of the Housatonic River. The Williams River, Green River and several brooks also flow through the valley into the Housatonic. To the east of the river, several mountains of the Berkshires rise, including East Mountain (site of the Ski Butternut resort (also known as Butternut Basin) and a state forest), Beartown Mountain (and the majority of Beartown State Forest) and Monument Mountain. The Appalachian Trail crosses through East Mountain State Forest in the southeast corner of town. The southwest corner of town is the site of several country clubs and a fairgrounds. U.S. Route 7 passes through the center of town, and was once part of New England Interstate Route 4 (also known as the New York-Berkshire-Burlington Way). Massachusetts Route 23 passes from west to east through town, combining with Massachusetts Route 41 and U.S. Route 7 in the western part of town and Massachusetts Route 183 in the eastern part of town, which also follows part of the path of Route 7 northward from Route 23 before splitting towards the village of Housatonic. Great Barrington is approximately south of Exit 2 of Interstate 90 (the Massachusetts Turnpike), the nearest interstate highway.

Race & ethnicity

Most-observed species

• Black-capped Chickadee

  Poecile atricapillus (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  15,839
• American Crow

  Corvus brachyrhynchos C.L.Brehm, 1822 · Aves
  14,706
• Blue Jay

  Cyanocitta cristata (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  13,776
• Song Sparrow

  Melospiza melodia (A.Wilson, 1810) · Aves
  13,233
• American Robin

  Turdus migratorius Linnaeus, 1766 · Aves
  13,152
• Tufted Titmouse

  Baeolophus bicolor (Linnaeus, 1766) · Aves
  11,977
• Northern Cardinal

  Cardinalis cardinalis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,625
• American Goldfinch

  Spinus tristis (Linnaeus, 1758) · Aves
  11,617

Largest nearby schools

• Monument Mt Regional High
  High · Great Barrington · 472 students · 10.5:1 ratio
• Muddy Brook Regional Elementary School
  Elementary · Great Barrington · 372 students · 9.8:1 ratio
• W.E.B. Du Bois Regional Middle School
  Middle · Great Barrington · 325 students · 9.8:1 ratio
• Lee Middle/High School
  High · Lee · 325 students · 9:1 ratio
• Mt Everett Regional
  High · Sheffield · 294 students · 7.3:1 ratio
• Undermountain
  Elementary · Sheffield · 241 students · 9.3:1 ratio
• New Marlborough Central
  Elementary · Sheffield · 66 students · 8.3:1 ratio
• South Egremont
  Elementary · South Egremont · 13 students · 13:1 ratio

Most recent

• M 2.79 — 2015-09-27
  New York
• M 2.76 — 2011-08-27
  5 km WSW of Altamont, New York
• M 2.69 — 2011-08-25
  5 km WSW of Altamont, New York
• M 3.15 — 2009-12-13
  15 km N of Medusa, New York
• M 2.56 — 2009-12-13
  14 km N of Medusa, New York
• M 2.9 — 2009-10-21
  15 km N of Medusa, New York