USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Historic homes and institutions and genealogical and personal memoirs of Berkshire County, Massachusetts, Vol I > Part 2
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of Adams, extending into the southwesterly part of North Adams." Adjoining the northeasterly part of the reservation as now acquired, the city of North Adams owns about eight hundred acres, used for a reservoir and water supply, which will be kept by the city in harmony with the general purposes of the state reservation.
The county of Berkshire annually appropriates fifteen hundred dollars " for the care and maintenance of the reservation." Individuals have aided the commission in various ways, by gifts of land and money, and by their efforts in forwarding the purposes of that body. The com- missioners serve without compensation. They are appointed for six years, one each two years. The first board was composed of John Bas- com, of Williamstown; Francis W. Rockwell, of Pittsfield; and A. B. Mole, of Adams. Mr. Mole rendered valuable service until his re- moval to Montreal. He was succeeded by G. S. Wilkinson, of North Adams. On his death, Mr. W. H. Sperry, of the same city, received the appointment and is the present commissioner. A custodian acting under the commission occupies, with his family, the little house on the summit of Greylock. His duties are to cut out trails for approaches to the mountain, keep the roadways to and over it, superintend changes in the road or laying out spur-roads, and keep a lookout for forest fires. His family, for a small compensation, serve lunch to visitors.
The Greylock Reservation is the pride of the Berkshires, and pre- sents an unending field for study. It is noted the world over for the variety of its scenery, and Greylock mountain, its principal peak, the highest point in the State of Massachusetts, commands a view of widest scope and unsurpassable beauty, and is annually visited by about ten thousand people. These visitors begin to arrive about the middle of May, and are numerous until early in October. Some drive from North Adams, a distance of nine miles; others from Pittsfield, sixteen miles,
Taconic Range.
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the drive either way occupying about four hours. Many enthusiastic pedestrians walk from Williamstown, from Adams, and from Cheshire Harbor. There are foot trails from the Williamstown side of the moun- tain through "the Hopper." one from North Adams through "the Notch," a distance of about five miles in either case.
Probably the first white men in the region now known as Berk- shire county were Major Talcott's column of British troops, which in 1676 passed over a route lying through the present towns of West Otis, Monterey and Great Barrington. Settlement of the region was in one way delayed and in another hastened by the uncertainties concerning the precise boundary line between Massachusetts and New York. It is as- serted that the first to come were from New York, and settled at Mt. Washington as early as 1693, a Hallenbeck being named as the first settler. and the next a Van Valkenburg. Local annalists, however, do not seem to recognize these as bona fide settlers, and they accord that pre-eminence to Obadiah Noble, who came from Westfield and settled in what is now Sheffield, and who the next year after his coming brought a sixteen-year-old daughter. Noble came in 1725, being the first land occupant in Berkshire under a Massachusetts grant covering two town- ships, and under which was occupied, at least in part, the territory now known as Sheffield, Great Barrington, Alford, Egremont and Stock- bridge. These lands came to the whites with a flawless title, directly acquired from the Indians, who accepted three barrels of cider and thirty quarts of rum as a just consideration. The next step in the settlement of the Berkshire region was under a grant of land for four townships along the route between Westfield and Sheffield. The main purpose was the making and maintenance of a passable road between the Con-
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necticut and Housatonic rivers, for military purposes, affording a line for troops and supplies to the Canada frontier. What was called "the Great Road from Boston to Albany." between Blanford, Hampden county, and Great Barrington, was traversed by the troops under Major General Amherst, marching to the capture of Fort Ticonderoga; and upon it, from Saratoga to Boston, marched the captured army of Bur- goyne, who, himself. was lodged for one night at Tyringham.
The coming of Noble was the precursor of an immigration which was slow for some years, and attended with a degree of discomfort almost inconceivable at the present day, as may be discerned from a portion of a letter written by one of the later immigrants, and quoted by Mr. Charles J. Palmer, of Lanesborough, in a historical paper : " Berkshire County, and what it has done for the World :"
" My father and mother, with three children, started for Berkshire in a cart containing the provision for the journey, and all the house- hold goods, drawn by a yoke of oxen. We traveled from five to eight miles a day, much of the way through a wilderness where roads had to be cut and bridges made. After a journey of a month's time we reached our new home, a log hut. Our cabin was very small, and we had to partition off nearly half of it for a fold for our sheep to keep them from the wolves, whose nightly howling echoed among the sur- rounding mountains. After three years my father conceived the idea of building a frame house, but was cautioned by the neighbors against so wild a project."
The general appearance of the county at the time of its settlement we can not so well describe as has been done by the gifted pen of Mr. J. E. A. Smith, the historian of Pittsfield :
"If from some neighboring mountain top, the pioneer, as he ap- proached, gained a view of the amphitheatre which lay below, the scene was one to enchant even the most prosaic heart. All the minor irreg-
Hemlock Brook Valley.
V
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ularities, all the sharper angles, were softened and rounded by an enamel of forest, in which were embossed the rolling outlines of hill and valley. The landscape stretching through a range of fifty miles presented, until all other hues were lost in the blue of distance, the unbroken green of waving tree tops-save where through a few chance openings, the Housatonic flashed back the sunlight, or some shimmering glimpse of lakelet revealed its lonely surface upon which, perhaps, still lingered the graceful bark of a wandering Mohegan. At intervals, in the sea of green, a spot of darker verdure, where the boughs stirred more stiffly to the breeze. betrayed the lurking place of the gloomy and frequent hemlock swamps. Around the southern borders of Lake Shoonkeek- Moonkeek. and on some of the Taconic hills, glowed those noble groves of pine, whose fame, attended by a few not unworthy relics, remains to this day. As he descended the mountain side by Unkamet's road. or some other rude path, it would have been strange had not his ear been greeted by the growl of a bear, the howl of the wolf, or the cries of the wildcat and the Canadian lynx: for all then had their dens among the tumbled rocks of the neighboring ravines. As he proceeded, he might have caught a vanishing glimpse of a fox's brush, or the bristling quills of a porcupine. He was pretty sure to startle a brace of rabbits, and send a wood-chuck burrowing to his hole; while squirrels-red, black. grey, and striped-gambolled by scores up and down the shaggy sides of the great trees. The skunk made his presence known, and perhaps a raccoon, on some fallen mossy trunk, challenged a shot from the ever- ready firelock. But that, the marksman doubtless reserved for the moose which might presently peer at him from the recesses of the for- est, the deer that was almost sure to dash across his path, or the wild turkey stalking among the ferns. Above him the eagle and the hawk swept in dizzy circles. From the dank borders of the lake the shrill scream of the loon and the harsh note of the heron saluted him. The black duck swung on the still waters, and possibly a sea gull, which had wandered inland with the mist of the sea, dipped its white wing along their surface. All the feathered host, which with bright hues or melodious song makes glad New England woods, fluttered among the overhanging branches."
Early life and customs in Berkshire were vividly described by Mr. Alexander Hyde in his historical paper on that subject, published in "Collections of the Berkshire Historical and Scientific Society," in 1899:
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" In the valley of the Housatonic and Hcosac the forest must be leveled and burned before a hill of beans could be raised. The first thing to be done was to build a hut that might serve as a protection from the weather and the wolves. This was quite uniformly constructed of logs, notched together at the ends, with the interstices plastered with mud. The chimney was rudely built up of stones, which were also stuck together with mud, and the roof was formed of hemlock boughs. Sometimes the hut was built against some huge boulder, or some steep hill, which served as a back to both shanty and chimney, and one of the early settlers boasted a good deal of this style of architecture, claim- ing that it was very convenient, as he could feed his fire from the chim- ney top, and it saved time and labor in cutting and splitting the wood. No patent, however, was taken out for the invention, and the style be- came obsolete when saw mills and brick kilns were introduced. These log houses were pretty rough structures, as the axe and spade were the only implements employed in their construction. No wonder that a visitor from Cape Cod. as he came in sight of one of these houses, re- marked to the guide, 'Sec, there is a hog-pen with a chimney to it.' 'Be quiet,' was the reply. 'that is where your uncle lives.'"
The interior arrangements and furnishings were in keeping with the exterior. There were no floors, for there were no boards, neither were there chairs or tables. The bedstead posts were crotched sticks driven into the ground, and in the crotches were placed two stout sap- lings, one at the head and the other at the foot, and on these were put lengthwise some slight elastic poles, serving the purpose of slats. Pine or hemlock boughs served for a mattress. The cooking utensils were a skillet and a spider, and the closet possibly contained a pewter cup and platter, and perhaps a wooden trencher. Clean birch bark frequently supplied the place of plates. The food was mostly fish and game, both of which were abundant.
The local nomenclature of Berkshire is interestingly significant, as pointing out the origin of the people who came to settle it. The subject was made the theme of an interesting paper by Charles J. Palm-
Flora's Glen.
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er, and this has been largely drawn upon for the information herein contained. Tyringham derives its name from the Tyringham in Eng- land, which was connected with the family of Governor Bernard. Egre- mont was so called for Charles Windham, Earl of Egremont, who was secretary of state in England when the town was incorporated. Shef- field was named for Sir Edmund Sheffield, second Duke of Buckingham, grandson of James II. Becket took its name from the birthplace of Governor Bernard, in Berkshire, England. Marlborough was named after the town of the same name in England. Great Barrington prob- ably was named after Lord Barrington, of England, then deceased, who during his life had manifested an especial interest in the New England colonies. The divisional line between Massachusetts and Rhode Island was unsettled and in controversy: the town of Barrington, now in Rhode Island, lay near the disputed line, and, as it was uncertain whether a final adjustment would leave it in Massachusetts or Rhode Island, to obviate the possible inconvenience of having two towns of the same name in the province, it was determined to call the new town Great Barrington. Stockbridge appears to have been named for the English town of the same name. Pittsfield was named after William Pitt, then prime minister of England. Windsor was named after Windsor, Connecticut, which was named for the English Windsor, in Berkshire. Lenox and Richmond were originally one town, named after Charles Lenox. Duke of Richmond, and when the town was divided one town took his name, and the other that which belonged to his distinguishing title. Lanesborough was so named for the Countess of Lanesborough, of Ireland, who was a court favorite. and a friend of the governor of Massachusetts. It is of interest to note that the Lane family of Ireland were ardent friends of the American cause, and sought to create a rebellion in Ireland at the time of the American revolution.
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BERKSHIRE COUNTY
New Framingham, the former name of Lanesboro, was named from the Framingham in Middlesex county, whence came the greater part of the early settlers. Queensborough, the original name of West Stock- bridge. was given it in honor of the queen of George III, but was dropped at the beginning of the revolution. The other towns in the county are named in greater part for revolutionary worthies, or after individuals who located manufacturing industries. Few Indian names are preserved.
On account of its position on the line of communication between New England and Canada, Berkshire was situated very much as were the " Border States " of Virginia, Kentucky and Missouri during the Civil war. The Indians, entirely familiar with the region, and in- spired by the rewards offered by the French for American scalps, kept the settlers in constant dread. The relics of various of the old forts and stockades, and the sites of others which have entirely disappeared, are eloquent reminders of the courage and endurance of the early set- tlers of those times-of their privations, sufferings and dangers, and even of cruel deaths at the hands of a savage foe. The preservation and identification of these historic sites and the perpetuation of historical records have been effected primarily through the instrumentality of various patriotic societies, who by their works have proven themselves real guardians of the fame of their forbears-the Berkshire Chapter of the Massachusetts Society, Sons of the American Revolution; the Berkshire Chapter, Daughters of the American Revolution; the Berk- shire County Historical and Scientific Society; the Fort Massachusetts Historical Society, etc. Nor must be omitted from this mention refer- ence to the arduous labors of one of the most active members of various of these bodies, the late lamented Rollin Hillyer Cooke. Among other notable efforts, he was primarily instrumental in locating the sites of
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many of the forts of the colonial and revolutionary periods, and was among the first to urge that they should be suitably marked. He also sought out and was instrumental in securing a marker for the site of the ancient Indian fort in New Ashford, from which the town took its name (Ashfort) ; and he also located the last resting places of soldiers of the Revolutionary war.
Fort Massachusetts, in North Adams, figures most prominently among the forts in Berkshire county during the French and Indian wars. This was attacked by a French and Indian force in 1746, and was compelled to surrender owing to the enfeebled condition of the garrison through sickness, and want of ammunition. The prisoners were taken to Canada, many dying on the journey. Those who sur- vived were humanely treated, and subsequently liberated. The fort, which was destroyed. was afterward rebuilt. Others of the old de- fenses were the forts at Pittsfield-Fort Anson, near the Beaver street crossing of the east branch of the Housatonic river; Fort Fairfield, on the Holmes road, between the Housatonic river and the Sampson resi- dence; and Fort Ashley, southwest of Oncta lake, on the hill after- ward occupied by the Daniels residence.
Against the pitiful side of the story of these trying days is set the narrative of the Rev. John Sergeant's missionary work among the Stockbridge Indians -- a story at once inspiring and pathetic. His, the first attempt to civilize and christianize the American red man, was made in face of all manner of discouragement and opposition, and intensely pleasing is the recollection of the strong impression for good which he left upon those he came to enlighten. For the Stockbridge Indians proved a tower of defense to New England, and so highly did Wash- ington esteem their services during the Revolution that, at the close
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of the struggle, in behalf of the infant nation and for himself. he pub- licly bore witness to his appreciation and gratitude.
Jolin Sergeant undertook his mission under the auspices of the Church of England Society for the Propagation of the Gospel, and the work enlisted a widespread interest among churchmen and humanita- rians in the Mother Country. The Rev. Isaac Hollis, of London (a nephew of Hollis, the dis- tinguished benefactor of Harvard College), of- fered to support twenty of the Stockbridge Indians at an annual charge of five hundred pounds. The Rev. Dr. Watts sent to Sergeant seventy pounds, collected from among his friends, and also a copy of CIE his treatise on " The Im- STOCKBRIDGE INDIANS provement of the Mind." OF OUR FATH a little volume which is a cherished memorial Stockbridge Monument. among the descendants of Sergeant to the pres-
ent day. Among other supporters of Sergeant were the Prince of Wales, the Duke of Cumberland, the Duke of Dorset, Lord Gower, and others. Francis Ayscough, clerk of the closet and first chaplain to the Prince of Wales, sent to Sergeant a copy of the Holy Scriptures, in two large folio volumes, embellished with engravings, in which was inscribed: "Presented by Dr. Ayscough to Rev. John Sergeant, mis-
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sionary to the Stockbridge Indians, in the vast wilderness called New England."
Sergeant found greater obstacles to contend against than the pa- ganism of the Indians, in the lawlessness and immorality of many of the white settlers. Rum was a principal agency of the white traders, but happily the influence of the missionary was so commanding and the good sense and moral principle of many of the red men so strong that a barrier was reared against this demoralizing traffic. A year after Sergeant had begun his labors, the Indians formally agreed "to have no trading in rum." The General Court further protected them by the enactment of a law (antedating the Maine liquor law by more than a century) making the sale of strong drink to an Indian a criminal of- fense. The traders endeavored to influence the Indians against this policy by the same arguments used in opposition to present-day prohibi- tion, urging that the inhibition was deprivation of their personal liberty rights : but the influence of their pastor was sufficiently great to con- vince them that the law was enacted for their welfare. A curious side- light upon this matter appears in the deplorable fact that the prohibition of liquor applied to the Indians only, and the records of a neighboring town show that, at the raising of the frame of a church, among other provisions made, it was voted to procure three barrels of beer and twenty gallons of rum.
Sergeant, in his work among the Indians, anticipated one of the foremost sociological movements of the present day, the principle of the University Settlement and the establishment of a school such as that at Hampton Court, where the Indians should be taught not only from books, but along practical lines, farming, the ordinary industrial avocations, housekeeping and domestic economy. At the same time, Sergeant anticipated the home missionary effort of the present age, by
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training native preachers to carry the Gospel to distant tribes. Among his scholars were some who, inspired by him, studied later at Harvard and Dartmouth, and proved shining lights in their day and generation.
Of this carly day there is pleasant reminiscence in a letter to the " Boston Post Boy " of September 3. 1739, written from Stockbridge, and which contains the following :
" There is a church gathering and fourteen Indian communicants ; the number of the baptiz'd is near sixty. While I was at Stockbridge, the Rev. Mr. Sargeant ( the minister there) was married to Mrs. Abigail Williams, a virtuous and agreeable young gentlewoman. daughter of Ephraim Williams. Esq. There were ninety Indians present at the marriage, who behaved with great gravity while the prayers were being made, yea, during the whole ceremony, and seem'd exceedingly well pleased that their minister was married; they show him great respect, etc. And I hope he may prove yet a great blessing among them, and be instrumental of turning many of them from darkness to light."
On the death of John Sergeant, he was succeeded by Jonathan Edwards, even then a scholar of unusual ability, and who in his work as teacher among the mingled whites and Indians had an able assistant in his wife, Sarah Pierrepont Edwards. After his death the schools for Indians, male and female, were continued under succeeding teachers, the last being John Sergeant, son of the missionary. While he was their pastor the Stockbridge Indians, with him as their head, removed to the Oneida country, in central New York, and with their removal ends the story of their relation to Berkshire county.
Originally a part of the old county of Hampshire, that of Berk- shire was given its identity under its present name in 1761, by action of the General Court of the Province of Massachusetts Bay, in the first year of the reign of George III. This was fifteen years before the
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colonies declared their independence, and a little more than a half cen- tury before the neighboring counties of Hampshire and Franklin were created. Courts were first held at Great Barrington and Pittsfield al- ternately. Lenox was made the shire town in 1787, and remained such until 1868, when Pittsfield became the county seat, which it has since been to the present time.
From the outset the people of Berkshire were foremost in all move- ments looking toward independence, and which were destined to re- sult in the birth of a new nation. They were a conglomerate of diverse character. but became substantially one in spirit. Many came from Connecticut, others from Boston. There were ultr Puritans, Ana- baptists and Free-thinkers. There were hardy pioneers and Indian fight- es. sturdily independent and aggressive, prepared to lead in opposition to whatever seemed to threaten abridgement of the natural liberties of the individual man. There were, also, in unusually large proportion for a new community, the highly educated, cultured, even aristocratic. Both were equally necessary for the day of great events which was already dawning-the former to take upon themselves a foremost part in the actual revolutionary struggle, though the other class were not wanting here; the latter to exert a constructive influence in the estab- lishment of civil institutions after that struggle should have ended. As elsewhere in all the world's history during the progress of civilization and of man's advancement, neither class comprehended the importance of its own acts or their momentous effect upon the future of the country and of the world.
To the people of Berkshire county belongs the honor of being among the first (if they were not, as is probable, the very first) in the entire land to take pronounced action against British authority. At Sheffield, on January 12, 1773 (more than two years before the famous
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" Mecklenburg Declaration of Independence " proclaimed at Mecklen- burg. North Carolina, May 20, 1775). the people assembled to con- sider " The grievances which the Americans in general and the inhabit- ants of this province in particular labor under." The report of the committee appointed to voice the sentiments of the people, viewed " with deepest sorrow the design of Great Britain (which is too appar- ent to every virtuous lover of his country) gradually to deprive us of invaluable rights and privileges which were transmitted to us by our worthy and independent ancestors;" and professed "the most ami- cable regard and attachment to our most precious sovereign and protest- ant succession as by law established:" but "with that deference and re- spect due to the country on which we are and always hope to be de- pendent, enter upon the following resolves."
The first two of the resolutions are remarkable as being almost identical in language to a portion of the Declaration of Independence of July the Fourth, 1776, at Philadelphia :
" Resolved, that Mankind in a State of Nature are equal, free and independent of each other, and have a right to the undisturbed Enjoy- ment of their lives, their Liberty and Property.
" Resolved, that the great end of Political Society is to secure in a more effectual manner those rights and privileges wherewith God and Nature have made us free."
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