Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885, Part 28

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal Office
Number of Pages: 972

USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885 > Part 28

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225

TOWN OF MOUNT WASHINGTON.

uel, Jr., and Jonathan. Samuel Townsend, Sr., was sixty years of age when he came to the town, and died, September 11, 1822, aged ninety-four years.

M OUNT WASHINGTON is a mountainous town lying in the ex- treme southwestern corner of the county, in lat. 42° 6' and long "3 34', bounded north by Egremont, east by Sheffield, south by the state line of Connecticut and west by the state line of New York. It was originally known as Taghconic, or Taconic moun- tain, its settlement being commenced as early as 1753 or '54, and in 1757 the Indian title to it was purchased for £15. Soon after this John Dibble, John King, Nathan, Benjamin and Peter Woodin, Benjamin Osborn, Charles Patterson and others petitioned the legislature for a grant of the ter- ritory, and in 1759 or '60 the township was surveyed under direction of the legislature, and divided into fifty lots, though the grant prayed for was not issued until 1774. June 21, 1779, the township was incorporated, under the name it now bears. June 17, 1817, a part of Egremont was annexed to its territory.

Rising in noble grandure above the valley of the Housatonic, the traveler through southern Berkshire will see the dome-like summit of Mt. Everett, or Bald mountain, rising abruptly 2,000 feet above the valley, or 2,624 feet above tide water, flanked by a short range of mountains extending north and south. Behind it, to the west, is another range, along the state line of New York, of nearly equal height above Harlem railroad, which skirts its western base. Between these two ranges there is an elevated inhabited area, from one to two miles in width from east to west and seven from north to south- the town of Mount Washington.

This "town among the clouds," as it were, however, is not only rich in picturesque scenery, but has an eventful and interesting history. Its loca- tion in the extreme southwest corner of the county and State, and its height above the neighboring towns, places it in a disadvantageous position as a business town ; but as a health resort, winter or summer, no town in Berk- shire county is more favorably situated, nor more accessible from New York city and vicinity, access being by the Harlem and other railroads, at and near Copake Iron Works, 104 miles from New York city, while Sheffield, the near- est town on the Housatonic, in Berkshire county, is 135 miles.

The grand and beautiful scenery in the drive of three miles from Copake, by two routes, the one following the Bash-Bish stream, through a deep ravine, passing the well-known Bash-Bish falls, the other skirting the western slope of the mountain, and giving a panoramic view of the Hudson river valley, with the entire range of the Catskill mountains in the back ground, proves a pleasant change from the thirty miles longer railroad ride up the Housatonic to Sheffield. The principal and at present only good carriage road from

15*

226

TOWN OF MOUNT WASHINGTON.

Berkshire county, is by excellent roads from Sheffield or Great Barrington, through South Egremont to the base of the mountain, about two miles west of the village of South Egremont. Then, after following a mountain brook by a well-shaded road between two ranges of mountains about two and a half miles to the summit, a view unique, and hardly surpassed in New England, bursts upon the view. That to the north, from Sky Farm, looking down through the gorge, through which you come to the farthest extremity of Berkshire, with Greylock and the mountains of Vermont in the distance, Lenox, Stockbridge, Monument mountain, etc, in the intervening distance, is grand in the extreme. The various views of the interior of this "mountain town girt round about with mountains," its cultivated fields, and scattered white farm houses form a picture in itself. The views of the surrounding country from the various peaks of Mts. Ethel, Sunset, Prospect, Fray, Cedar, Alander, and that monarch of all, Mt. Everett, from whose dome-like summit you have an unrivalled view of the whole of Berkshire county, Western Con- necticut, New York State to the Catskills, and a birds-eye view of the fine scenery of the town which lies beneath you. From the bright, silvery lakes in Salisbury, to the deep blue of the Catskills, from the distant hills and mountains of Berkshire to the rich and fertile valleys of the Housatonic and the Hudson, with their cultivated fields, the eye will continue to return to the nearer grand mountain ranges which, like natural ramparts, form the boundaries of this romantic town, transforming it into a fortress, form altogether a scene such as God alone can make. . In the northwest part of the town are two water-falls and ravines rivaling even Bash-Bish. First Sage's Ravine, in the extreme southeast, partly in Connecticut, through which, for a mile or more, a mountain stream of almost icy coldness in midsummer plunges down through a dense forest, by successive leaps. from a few feet to sixty or more. About a mile north of this, a stream from Plantin pond, which nestles among the hills 1,000 feet above the Housatonic, after flowing a quarter of a mile through a wild forest, plunges over an almost perpendicular cliff nearly 500 feet, and disappears in the woods below, and thence, by a less rapid descent, it flows south and joins the brook from Sage's ravine, at the base. of the mountain just across the State line in Connecticut, and thus united, as if reluctant to leave their mountain home and beautiful Berkshire, flow slowly several miles northeasterly into Berkshire again, to join the Housatonic in the village of Sheffield. At the top of the mountain, from the character of its surroundings and the richness of the Housatonic valley scenery beneath, one of the finest views in New England is obtained. With the roaring brook at your back, rushing through the forest to its final plunge, and the forest trees over your head, you look down upon a scene which lingers long in the memory of all who witness it. The forest, 500 feet beneath you, in which the brook is soon lost after its final plunge, the fertile valley of the Housa- tonic, Twin Lakes beyond, with perhaps a train passing across on the Con- necticut Western railroad, three miles distant, the hills of Canaan and Norfolk

227

TOWN OF MOUNT WASHINGTON.

in Connecticut, and New Marlboro and Great Barrington across the valley of the Housatonic, with the scattered villages here and there and the farm houses of Western Sheffield at your feet, combine to make a landscape of surpassing beauty.

Such in brief are some of the views in this town of less than the average area. It has also a dry and sunny atmosphere, the purest water from numer- ous springs and mountain brooks, and an even temperature. These many attractions are rapidly becoming known and appreciated, and the capacity of its well-kept summer. boarding houses prove insufficient to accommodate even half of those who apply, while many who have spent several successive seasons here have commenced to build cottages for themselves, so that the present time appears to be the beginning of a fresh impetus in the growth of the town, bidding fair to become a popular summer resort.

The rock is principally talcose-slate and limestone. Iron ore of a good quality is found, which formerly was wrought to a considerable extent, though not much has been done in this line since about 1850.

In 1880 the town had a population of 205. In 1883 the town employed one male and two female teachers in its public schools, paying $24.00 per month to the male and $20.00 each to the females. There were then twenty- two school children in the town, while the whole amount raised for school purposes was $160.00.

There is no postoffice in the town at present, though there is, we believe, one to be established soon.

Small in population though it has ever been, Mount Washington has an interesting early history, being one of those earliest settled in the county, by an energetic class of pioneers, many years previous to its incorporation. These early settlers were in constant conflict for a number of years, with Robert Livingston, whose grant from the colony of New York then included the west part of this town. Among these early settlers, previous to the pur- chase of the territory of the Indians, March 15, 1757, were Christopher and Henry Brasie, John and Michael Hollenbeck, Andrew Race. Josiah Loomis, James VanDeusen, Joseph Paine, George Robinson, Jonathan Darby, Elea- zer Stockwell, William Race, Joseph Graves, John Cade, Thomas Wolcott, Daniel Lord and a Mr. Vangilder. May 7, 1757, the houses of several of these were burned, or pulled down, by the Livingstone party. But these troubles were finally ended, and, after the Indian purchase, the settlers were mostly of a new class of people. In 1766 there were about twenty families in the town, and a grist-mill and a saw-mill had been erected. At the time the town was incorporated, in 1779, most of the landowners were the following, viz. : John Barber, Joseph Benedict, Peleg and Nathan Benjamin, William Campbell, Samuel Cogswell, John, Daniel and Samuel Dibble, Elnathan Hall, Andrew Hoxton, Jonah Ireler, Thomas Jones, Samuel Judson, John and Fenner King, Andrew Loomis, Gilbert and James Murray, Ezra Nickerson, Benjamin and Jonas Osborn, Nathaniel and William Palmer, Andrew and Charles Patter-

228

TOWN OF NEW ASHFORD

son, George and James Robinson, Philip Ruff, Allen and Sebah Sage, Elisha Sheldon, Eleazer Stockwell, John Wright, John, Abner and Peter Woodin, and Samuel, Azariah and Joseph Winchell.

As early as 1800 the town supported two schools, and soon after three. Its first church was erected in 1806. Between the years 1830 and 1850, it manufactured bar iron, axes, shovels, forks, hoes, and cartridges, but since about that time there has been no manufacturing carried on within its limits. Since the beginning of its popularity as a summer resort, the citizens have erected a new church building, a town-house, and the project of erecting a large hotel is being agitated. Telegraph and mail facilities, of which the town has been deprived, are also being talked of.

N EW ASHFORD lies in the northern part of the county, in lat. 42° 36' and long. 3º 47', bounded north by Williamstown, east by Adams and Cheshire, south by Cheshire. Lanesboro and a small part of Hancock, and west by Hancock. It is principally noted as being the smallest town in the State, both as regards area and population. It was originally incorporated as a district, February 26, 178r, having all the privileges and immunities enjoyed by regularly incorporated towns, except that of choosing a representative. March 14, 1793, a portion of its territory was taken towards making up the township of Cheshire ; February 6, 1798, another portion was added to the same town, and June 26, 1798, a portion of Hancock was annexed to New Ashford, so that it is now about 1,400 rods in width, from east to west, at its widest part, and about 1,000 rods in extent from north to south. May I, 1836, it was incorporated as a town, and since that time has enjoyed the privileges accorded such bodies.

The surface of the town is very rough and mountainous, being situated principally upon the steep and rugged hills which are made up from Saddle mountain on the east, and the Taconic range on the west, which here ap- proach each other. In the narrow valley between these hills, along the rise of the western branch of the Housatonic, and the eastern branch of Green river, are some small tracts of land, having an arable, productive soil, though the soil in general is hard and gravelly, and of an indifferent quality. By these streams, with the connected springs and brooks, the town is well watered. The branch of Green river, on which are some mill privileges, flows north into Williamstown, receives the branch from Hancock, and finds its way into the Hoosac. The source of these streams is near the source of the west- ern branch of the Hoosatonic, which takes an opposite course and flows into Lanesboro.

The rocks entering into the geological structure of the territory are lime- stone and talcose-slate. Some valuable beds of marble are found. In one part of the town, also, is a remarkable cave, about 130 feet in extent. Some

229

TOWN OF NEW ASHFORD.

of its apartments have arches rising twenty feet above the floor, which glitter with stalactites, formed by water dripping for ages over the limestone.

In 1880 New Ashford had a population of 203. In 1883 it employed three female teachers, at an average salary of $20 per month. There were thirty-four school children in the town, while the entire amount raised for school purposes was $102.

NEW ASHFORD (p. o.) is a hamlet located in the southern part of the town.

Lester Roys's grist and saw-mill, located on Green river, was built by Gid- eon Lewis, many years ago. The grist-mill has one run of stones, and the saw-mill cuts about 10,000 feet of lumber per year.

The settlement of the territory was begun as early as 1762, by emigrants from the eastern part of the State, and from Rhode Island and Connecticut. Among the early settlers were Nathaniel, Abel and Gideon Kent, Uriah, Peter and Eli Mallery, Samuel Gregory, John Wells, William Green, Jacob Lion, Samuel Gridley, Jonathan, Hezekiah and Caleb Beach, Samuel P. and Benjamin Tyler, Abraham Kerby, William Campbell, Amariah Babbit, Evans Roys, Captain Samuel Martin, John Lyon and a Mr. Mason.

The first store was kept by Peregrine Turner ; the first hotel was kept by William Starkweather ; no doctor or lawyer has ever been located in town.

During the Revolutionary period committees of safety were formed here, and several of the citizens were actively engaged in the war. Some of them were at the battle of Bennington, present on the occasion of the surrender of Burgoyne, and five or six were at Stone Arabia when Col. Brown fell. J. G. Holland mentions an incident of the old French war, as follows :-

"An incident of the bravery of two young men, which occurred within the territory now covered by the town, during the old French war, may be related here. Samuel Curtis and James Ensign, youths seventeen and nineteen years of age, volunteered as bearers of a communication from fort No. 4 (Williams- town) to the fort in Lanesboro. They had arrived at the northern part of New Ashford, where they discovered that Indians had been digging for ground nuts. They cautiously followed their trail, up the valley, to the knoll where the dwelling of William B. Dewey now stands. On arriving there, they dis- covered four savages, unsuspectingly roasting their ground-nuts, and each selecting his victim, fired, and ran for the Lanesboro fort. The two surviv- ing Indians seized their rifles, and gave pursuit. The chase was a long and desperate one, and darkness only saved the young men. Their course was cut off, and they were driven easterly out of their way, but during the night they made their way to the fort. On their return, the following week, they visited the scene of the encounter, and two newly made graves showed that their baffled pursuers had preceeded them."

Evans Roys, one of the first two settlers of New Ashford, (Hezekiah Beach being the other,) came from Connecticut some time previous to the Revolu- tionary war. His son, William, also lived and died here about 1830. His son John was born in town in 1790 and died here in 1874, aged eighty-four. He had nine children, only three now living, one son, Lester, on road 3, in this town.

Archibald Beach, an early settler, came here and located on what is called

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TOWN OF NEW ASHFORD.

"Beach Hill." He had a large family, all of whom are now dead. His son, Atwater, was born here in 1792, and lived here till about four years before his death, which occurred in 1864. He raised six children, four now living in New Ashford, Florea, William P., Rhoda C. Phelps, and Sibyl N. Baker.

Uriah Mallery came here from Connecticut, or Rhode Island, at an early date, and settled on the farm which is now owned by Van Ness Mallery. He built the house now occupied by Van Ness, in 1794.

Henry Dewey moved from New Lebanon, N. Y., to New Ashford some time previous to 1800, settled near the center of the town, lived there till his death in 1859. He had a family of fourteen children, nine of whom lived to maturity. Three still live, a daughter, Betsey, in North Brookfield, Mass., another, Susanna, in Fairfax county, Virginia, and a son, William B., on road 4 in Lanesboro.

Jonathan Ingraham moved here from Pelham, Mass., about 1790, and located in the northern part of the town. He had served through the Revolutionary war, was at the battles of Stillwater, Cowpens, Valley Forge and many other important engagements, and died in New Ashford in 1847, aged eighty-six years. He had eight children, all now dead. His son, Elihu, was born here in 1792, living here till his death in July, 1868. He was a captain of the militia, an active, public-spirited man who held many town offices. He had a family of seven children, five now living, a son, George H., in Pittsfield, a daughter, Sarah E. Goodelle, in New Ashford, also a son, Elihu, the present town clerk and first selectman, and a daughter residing in Michigan.

Gaines Harmon came to New Ashford from Suffield, Conn., just before the battle of Bennington, in 1777, at which battle he was present. He settled on road 9, on the farm now owned by Elihu Ingraham, and died there about 1818. His son, Nathaniel, was born (it is so supposed) here in 1779, and lived here till near the close of his life, when he removed to Dalton, where he died in 1860. Nathaniel had six children, all living to maturity. Two still live, one son, Judge Nathan W., in Lawrence, Mass., and a daughter, Mrs. Dean, in New York State. One son, Phinehas, born here in 1802, was a resi- dent until his death. In his early life he was a school teacher, was married in 1830 to Sarah A. Mallery, had eight children, was appointed justice of the peace about 1833 by Governor Lincoln, holding that office till 1882, and was town clerk most of the time from 1832 to 1867, besides being selectman. He died June 10, 1884, aged eighty-one years, eleven months.

Samuel Baker, a very early settler of New Ashford, lived in the southern part of the town on road 5, till he died about 1820. His son, Elihu, was born here in 1802, but removed to Hancock and finally to Bennington, Vt., in 1835, and he died in Cheshire about 1868. Six of his sons are residents of Berkshire county.

The Methodist church, located on road 3, was organized by its first pastor, Rev. Martin Ruter, at an early day. The church building was erected in 1828, and is now valued, including grounds, at $1,500.00.

231

TOWN OF NEW MARLBORO.

N EW MARLBORO lies in the southern part of the county, in lat. 42° 6' and long. 3º 47', bounded north by Monterey, and Great Barring- ton, east by Sandisfield, south by Litchfield county, Conn., and west by Sheffield. It was granted in 1735, under the name of Township No. 2, the grant being brought about as follows : At the great and general court of Massachusetts Bay which sat at Boston from Wednesday, May 28, 1735, and was continued by several adjournments to the 3Ist of the following Decem- ber, Edmund Quincey, Esq., from the committee of both Houses, made the following report :

" That there be four towns opened upon the road betwixt Westfield and Sheffield : That they be contiguous to each other : That they be six miles square and as near to said road as the land will allow: That there be sixty- three house lots of sixty acres each laid out in each township, in as regular, compact and desirable a manner as may be, one of which shall be for the first settled minister, one for the second, one for the school, and one for each grantee, and who shall draw equal shares in a l future divisions ; and also that said grantees shall appear and give surety to the value of £40 to perform all things on their lots and in their respective townships which had been required by the Great and General Court of grantees between the Connect- icut and Merrimack rivers, and that there be a committee of five appointed, empowered and obliged to bring forward the line of the townships as is before provided."

Immediate and active measures must have been taken for complying with the terms of the grant, for only two years after, June 24, 1837, the necessary surveying had been accomplished and a plot of the four new townships, num- bered 1, 2, 3 and 4, and afterwards incorporated under the names of Tyr- ingham, New Marlborough, Sandisfield and Becket, was presented to the house of representatives, accepted and confirmed to the grantees of the said townships "to them, their heirs and assigns forever ; provided said grantees perform all the conditions of the grants." The original grantees admitted into No. 2, or New Marlboro, was Caleb Rice and fifty-nine associ- ates, among whom was undoubtedly Benjamin Wheeler, who became the first actual settler within the limits of the township. June 15, 1759, No. 2 was incor- porated as a township under the name of New Marlborough, (since shortened by common practice to New Marlboro) taking its name probably from Marl- borough, Middlesex county. The original area of the town was about 26,000 acres ; to this was added small parts of Sheffield on three different occasions, viz : June 19, 1795, February 7, 1798, and April 19, 1871; and parts of Tyringham, February 27, 1811 ; while a part of New Marlboro was annexed to Monterey, May 24, 1851, and a part to Tyringham, February 11, 1812, so that the town now has about 28,000 acres.

The surface of the town is generally uneven and hilly, and like most of the elevated towns of the county is stony, though there are some very fine farm- ing districts. It is watered by numerous brooks and ponds, the latter of which, Lake Buel, is the largest. It lies partly in Monterey and Great Bar- rington, being about two miles in length and one in width. George N. Gib-

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TOWN OF NEW MARLBORO.

son has a steamboat running on this lake, and also a fine grove at its south end, on road 1, which is a great resort for picnic parties. East, or Hermit pond comes next, about a mile in length and a half mile in width. It was. named Hermit pond from the fact that a hermit by the name of Timothy Leonard, from Danbury, Conn., settled on its shore just prior to the Revo- lution, residing here in loneliness, with an insane abhorance of woman, until his death, June 17, 1817. Konkapot river, on Mill Run, the largest stream, has its source in Lake Buel and flows through the eastern part of the town, furnishing a number of fine mill-sites. The town also contained several points that are celebrated for the natural curiosities they contain. Among these is the " Tipping rock," located just south of the junction of roads 52 and 53. This immense bowlder, weighing about fifty tons, is so nicely bal- anced on a pivotal point that a slight pressure will cause the immense mass to oscillate. Located on the southern line of the town, in a wild and pictur- esque spot, are Campbell falls, where the water falls over a precipice of one hundred feet or more. From whom, or what they derived their name we were unable to learn, though it is probably derived from some person or family by that name who resided near them. In the southwestern part of the town upon the farm of M. H. Mansir, there is quite an extensive cave, called the "Cat Hole." Dry hill is an elevation located in the northeastern part of the town. The early settlers in its vicinity found its rocks and stones so- covered by a peculiar vegetable mold, as to completely hide them, causing the men to express a fear lest they should not be able to obtain stone enough in the vicinity for building purposes. This fear, however, was proved to be completely groundless, for the rocks here are of a peculiar flinty formation, and are so cut by nature as to be taken out of the quarries in nearly perfect cubes of different sizes. The name of the hill was derived from the fact that no springs or streams are found upon it. Its timber is mostly chestnut, of fine, compact grain.

Geologically, the formative rock is principally ferruginous gneiss, Potsdam and Livis limestone. Iron, gold and silver ore exist in limited quantites. In 1880 L. J. Cleveland leased a strip of land on his farm, located on road 55, to J. B. Eldridge, William B. Gibson, William Sardam, and George W. Gib- son, for the purpose of mining gold and silver thereon. These gentlemen have sunk a shaft twelve feet in diameter to a depth of twenty-two feet, devel- oping ore of both kinds which assays about $28.00 to the ton. Gold was. first discovered here in 1867. Upon the farm of Hiram Hotchkiss there exists a considerable deposit of iron ore. He has also a fine ledge of mar- ble. In the westerly part of the town there is a valuable bed of white porce- lain clay.

In 1880 New Marlboro had a population of 1,876. In 1883 it employed three male and fifteen female teachers in its public schools, at an average monthly salary of $25.50 for males and $21.40 for females. There were 347 school children in the town, while the entire amount raised for school pur- poses was $2,041.52.

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Gazetteer of Berkshire County, Mass., 1725-1885, Part 28

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn Publication date: 1885 Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal Office Number of Pages: 972

Author: Child, Hamilton, 1836- comp. cn
Publication date: 1885
Publisher: Syracuse, N.Y., Printed at the Journal Office
Number of Pages: 972