USA > Massachusetts > Berkshire County > Great Barrington > History of Great Barrington, (Berkshire County,) Massachusetts > Part 4
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First .- It was provided that all the lands along the river, im- mediately adjoining the home lots of the settlers, together with lands on the North Plain, and a tract lying west of Monument Mountain, should be so divided as to "make the home, or set- tling lot, of every proprietor equal to the largest settling lot laid out to any proprietor by the settling committee." The laying out of the lands thus appropriated, was, however, delayed for twenty years, or until 1770, when they were surveyed by Cap- tain William Day, and his surveys were only accepted and re- corded fifteen years later in 1785. These tracts are known as the Equalizing land.
Second .- All that tract of land lying west of the home lots, and equalizing lands, on the west side of the river, extending westerly to the west line of the township, and northerly to the south line of Stockbridge and West Stockbridge, was to be di- vided into forty lots, running east and west, to be numbered and drawn for by each proprietary right. These lots, known as the " West tier of long lots," were surveyed by Samuel Mes- senger, and were drawn by lot, by the proprietors, May 1st, 1753. These lots, with the exception of Nos. 1, 2, 3 and 4,- which bounded easterly on Mansfield Pond-were each two miles and one hundred rods in length, east and west, with a breadth of twenty-nine and one-half rods at the west, and thirty rods at the east end, and contained 137 acres each.
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DIVISIONS OF THE TOWNSHIP.
Third .- All the land on the east side of the river, east of the home lots, and equalizing lands, extending easterly to the east line of the township, (now the Monterey and Tyringhamtown lines) and northerly to the south line of Stockbridge, and the Hoplands, -now Lee,-was to be divided into forty lots, to be numbered, and drawn for by each proprietary right. These lots, known as the "East tier of long lots," were surveyed by Samuel Messenger, and were drawn by the proprietors, April 2, 1754; these lots were of unequal lengths and widths, and were said to contain 201} acres each. The survey of the east tier of lots is not recorded on the book of records.
Fourth .- The Hoplands,-the tract lying east of Stockbridge and north of the east tier of lots, -now included in the town of Lee-were to be equally divided to each proprietary right. The divisions of this tract, five in number, were made in 1752, 1753, 1771 and 1793. By these provisions all the lands in the town- ship were divided, with the exception of " a certain gore of land lying between the Stockbridge line and lot No. 40." of the east tier of lots, which was sold by a committee appointed for that purpose in 1794; and also excepting a small piece of land on the top of Monument Mountain, which was considered valueless, and has never been sold or laid out.
Aside from the votes respecting the divisions of land, the records of the propriety contained but few items of interest. At the first meeting of the proprie- tors,-1743-a committee was appointed to lay out highways in the township,-but of their action, (if any was had)-no record exists. In the laying out of the west tier of long lots, highways were provided for, run- ning north and south, near each end, as well as through the middle of the lots, and three other roads, running east and west, and intersecting the north and south roads, were also provided for.
In 1743, some persons had trespassed upon, and laid claim to lands, which had been laid out to the min- istry right, and John Williams was chosen agent "to sue off and eject " them. The proprietors were mind- ful of the value of the streams and water privileges, and with the intent that these should be held for the benefit of the township, on the 5th of September, 1749, voted :-- "That all the streams of water belonging to the propriety of Upper Housatonnock, and within said township, proper and convenient for erecting mills, with a suitable quantity of land adjoining to said streams, be sequestered to the use and benefit of the propriety." In the following month of December-the
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HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
propriety granted to John Williams the privilege on the Williams River, at Van Deusenville, for the purpose of erecting a saw-mill and grist-mill-provided the mills should be erected within one year.
So late as January 1773, the proprietors, eighteen in number, petitioned the General Court, stating that the township was granted, and a committee appointed for laying it out, in 1722; that, though diligent search had been made, no returns of the committee to the General Court had been found ; that the first meeting of the proprietors had been convened by the virtue of a warrant issued by a Justice of the Peace, according to the law ; that the warrant was not recorded, and the original could not be found ; that the petitioners had ever since held meetings, made partition of lands, and transacted other business ; that these defects had been but recently discovered ; that the petitioners were ap- prehensive that difficulties-to their prejudice-might hereafter arise, in consequence of these defects, and praying the court to take the matter into considera- tion, and provide a remedy.
The history of the Lower Township belongs to the annals of Sheffield, with the exception of the fourth and fifth divisions, which were included in the North Par- ish, and became a part of Great Barrington. The set- tlers and early inhabitants of these divisions, with those of the Upper Township, will be hereafter noticed in connection with the history of Great Barrington.
CHAPTER V. GEOGRAPHICAL AND TOPOGRAPHICAL.
The town of Great Barrington as originally incor- porated, in 1761, comprehended the whole of the Up- per Township,-excepting that part which had been set off in the formation of the Indian Town,-and so much of the Lower Township,-or the old town of Sheffield-as lies between the present north line of Sheffield and a line drawn nearly east and west, cross- ing the Housatonic river at the Great Bridge. Its area has since been materially diminished by the elim- ination of its boundary lines in the formation of the towns of Alford and Lee. From 1743 to 1761 this ter- ritory had a corporate existence as the North Parish of Sheffield,-sometimes called Upper Sheffield, and dur- ing that period was included in and formed a part of the town of Sheffield. The adjoining towns on the north, are Alford, West Stockbridge, Stockbridge and Lee, on the east, Tyringham, Monterey and New Marl- boro, on the south New Marlboro, Sheffield and Egre- mont, on the west Egremont and Alford. The extreme western limits of the town approach within about three miles of the neighboring state of New York, and the north line of Connecticut is distant not more than eight miles from the southern boundary of the town.
In its outline the town is of irregular form, though its average length and breadth are nearly the same,- a little less than seven miles. The whole area of the town, as near as the roughness of its boundary lines and the inaccuracies of their recorded surveys permit of computation, is 28,621 acres, or a little less than 45 square miles. In 1778 a considerable tract of land was taken from the north-westerly part of Great Barring- ton and included in Alford. This section was 652 rods in length,-north and south-with a width of 210 rods at its northern and 266 rods at its southern end ; again in 1819, another piece, south of and adjoining to the above described tract, was separated from this town
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HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
and annexed to Alford, making with the first piece, a strip of 712 rods in length, and 296 rods in width at its southern end. In the north-eastern section, that part of the Upper Township known as the Hoplands, was taken from this town and included in the town of Lee at the time of its incorporation, October 21st, 1777. By the setting off to Alford, Great Barrington lost 1075 acres of its territory, which was still further reduced about 4700 acres by the annexation of the Hoplands to Lee. By these changes the whole reduc- tion of area since the incorporation of the town has been nearly 5800 acres. In January, 1761, a small tract, including the dwelling and part of the lands of Garret Burghardt, was, on his own petition, set off from Egremont and attached to Sheffield, and on the incorporation of Great Barrington, a few months later, fell within the limits of this town. This change causes the jog or irregularity in the west line of the town near the late residence of Jacob Burghardt, deceased. On the south, the divisional line between this town and Sheffield, which is now commonly surveyed and considered a straight line, was formerly the north line of the Indian Reservation, and in the Legislative act of the 13th of January, 1742, investing the-after- wards-North Parish of Sheffield, with parish privi- leges, is thus described: "Beginning at the most north-westerly corner of the Indian Land, in the west line of the town of Sheffield, running easterly on said Indian Land till it comes to a beech tree marked, near the mouth of Green river, then turning something northerly, and leaving to Sheffield a small piece of meadow, or intervale of said Indian Land till it comes to range the line and beech tree on the easterly side of said meadow, or intervale, and then to continue said line till it intersects the east line of Sheffield Proprie- ty." By this line as described,-which afterwards be- came the south line of Great Barrington,-the "clear meadow," reserved by the Indians, was left to the town of Sheffield, but in later years the crook in this line has been disregarded, and, without any known Legislative enactment, by common consent of both towns, this line has been perambulated, surveyed and recorded as a
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MOUNTAINS.
straight line, thus leaving the clear meadow within the limits of Great Barrington.
The mountains of Western Massachusetts form an interesting and attractive feature in the landscape, and Berkshire is emphatically the mountain district of the state. Great Barrington, though less mountainous than many of the towns of the county, has a very un- even surface, and is beautifully diversified with moun- tain, hill, valley and plain. In the north-easterly sec- tion of the town, the Beartown mountain extends south-easterly from Stockbridge and Lee into Monte- rey, cutting off from the main body of the town the school district of Beartown, and rendering it inaccessi- ble by public highways except through the adjoining towns of Stockbridge and Lee, or Monterey. To the westward of the Beartown mountain, and directly at its base, lies the locality known as Muddy Brook, a se- cluded farming district,-extending from the top of Three Mile Hill northerly to the Stockbridge line,- through which flows the stream called Muddy Brook. (1) This stream unites with the Housatonic river in Stockbridge, and is there called Konkapot Brook, in memory of Capt. Konkapot, who resided upon its bor- der. To the westward of the central part of Muddy Brook Valley the Monument Mountain rises reaching northerly into Stockbridge and spreading westerly with its spurs and offshoots to the Housatonic River which washes its western base at the village of Housatonic, in the extreme northerly part of the town; from its southern base a long range of hills extends southerly along the western border of the Muddy Brook Valley to Three Mile Hill (2) and there unites with the War- ner Mountain, (3) a spur of the East Mountain.
Immediately east of the village, the East Mountain, or, as it is sometimes called, the Great Mountain, rises to an elevation of several hundred feet, having its
(1) Muddy Brook,-so called in Proprietors Records, 1743.
(2) Three Mile Hill,-called by that name in the records of the settling committee previous to 1740, probably from the fact that its top is about three miles from the Great Bridge.
(3) Warner Mountain derives its name from Consider War- ner, who long ago cleared land and dwelt upon it.
40
HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
northern terminus in a singularly prominent pile of rocks, about one-fourth of a mile east of the Great Bridge, from which it extends, with a gradually widen- ing base, easterly, beyond Three Mile Hill into New Marlboro, and southerly into Sheffield. Opposite to, and east of the southern part of the village, lies the Little Mountain, apparently thrown from the larger or East Mountain in some great convulsion of nature, and still reclining in the lap of the parent mountain. Be- tween the Little and East mountains a narrow valley intervenes, through which passes one of the early high- ways of the town, and also the East Mountain Brook, which supplies the village with water. The East Mountain, below the village, recedes from the river and in the southerly part of the town throws out an arm to the westward, which extends into Sheffield, and is called the June Mountain. (1) To the eastward of June Mountain, between it and the East Mountain, passes the road to the Soda Springs and Brush Hill, and the elevated intervening valley furnishes a course for the Roaring Brook, which flows northerly to its con- fluence with the Housatonic, near the late residence of David Leavitt, deceased. In the north-westerly part of the town the mountain called Tom Ball, in West Stockbridge, and Long Pond Mountain in this town, enters the town from West Stockbridge and reaches along the Alford town line, more than two miles, to the valley of the Seekonk Brook. This mountain, too, has an offshoot to the eastward, called Sherlock Mountain, (2) the eastern base of which borders on Williams River. Between the Sherlock and Long Pond mountains is an elevated valley, containing good farm- ing lands, and forming the basin of Long Pond, a secluded and attractive sheet of water of about 100 acres.
The principal streams of water in the town are the Housatonic, Williams, and Green rivers. The Housa- tonic, having its rise in New Ashford and Windsor, in
(1) June Mountain, so called from Benjamin June, who cleared the land and dwelt upon it about 1795.
(2) Sherlock Mountain derives its name from Thomas Sher- lock, one of the early settlers near Long Pond.
41
RIVER AND VALLEY.
the northerly part of the county, and flowing southerly through it and through the entire breadth of Connecti- cut, discharges its waters into the Long Island Sound below Stratford. It is a busy stream from its source to its mouth, turning numerous water wheels, propel- ling a vast amount of manufacturing machinery, fertiliz- ing the land through which it passes and enriching an enterprising population which dwells upon its borders. Entering the town from Stockbridge on the north, it flows centrally through it, though with varied and sin- uous course, forming a valley of rare beauty varying from one-fourth of a mile to a mile in width, and fur- nishing valuable water power, most of which is now improved. At the northern section of the town the stream is confined within narrow limits by the mount- ain, which rises abruptly on its eastern shore, and the upland on the west, where the busy manufacturing village of Housatonic is built. A little to the south- ward of Housatonic the river valley expands into a narrow belt of meadow, beyond which on either side is an extensive tract of gravelly plain land, extending on the east to the foot of Monument Mountain, and on the west to the valley of the Williams River, which inter- venes between the plain land and the eastern base of Sherlock Mountain. To the north and east of Van Deusenville the upland rises from the meadows with gracefully rounded though high and precipitous banks, conveying to the observer the impression that the meadows which they environ,-now crossed by the highway leading from Van Deusenville to Monument Mountain,-have in some former ages been the basin of a large body of water, of which the upland formed the shores or confining sides. In fact there are some indications that the whole valley from Monument Mountain to the Great Bridge, has once been the bottom of a large lake, confined at its southern ex- tremity by the rocky barrier which now forms the bed of the stream at the bridge, through which the pent up waters have in process of years worn a passage. In- deed, it requires no great stretch of the imagination to locate its outlines and define its boundaries. Between Van Deusenville and the Great Bridge,-a distance of
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HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
nearly two miles,-the valley spreads out into broad meadows on both sides of the river ; but at the bridge and for some distance below, the waters are contracted into a narrow, rocky channel, with high banks, and the valley is also hemmed in and contracted by the mount- ain on the east and a lofty curving hill on the west. It is here that the village is located, nestled beneath the hill, which bends gently around it, and protected from winds and storms by the hill on the west and mountain on the east. Below the village, the valley again ex- pands, its meadows extending westerly and joining with those of the Green River, presenting a wide stretch of low, level land, reaching far into Sheffield, having its eastern boundary on the base of June Mountain and bordered on the west by the Great Hill (1) west of Green River.
Aside from the Williams and Green rivers, the. Housatonic receives as tributaries, in this town. the waters of several small streams, the principal of which is the Pixley Brook, which has its source in the mount- ains to the southward of Three Mile Hill, and flowing westerly, unites with the Housatonic about three-fourths of a mile north of the Great Bridge. The Williams River, having its rise in Richmond, and in the borders of New York, passing through the entire length of West Stockbridge, enters the town on its northern line, flows along the eastern base of Sherlock Mountain, and unites with the Housatonic a little east of Van Deusen- ville. Along the valley of this stream are good meadow lands, rising into an extensive plain, which lies between it and the Housatonic. At Van Deusenville, the Wil- liams River furnishes the motive power for the blast furnace of the Richmond Iron Works, and also another privilege, formerly occupied by a cotton factory, but. not now improved.
The Green River-the Waumpaniksepoot-or White River, of the Indians, rises in Austerlitz, New York, flows through the south-westerly part of Alford, the north-easterly section of Egremont, and enters the town on its western border. In the westerly part of the
(1) The Great Hill-called by this name in the records of the settling committee.
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GREEN RIVER-PONDS.
town, it receives the waters of Seekonk Brook, (1) which rises in West Stockbridge, and has its course southerly, through Alford, skirting the western slope of Long Pond Mountain. The Green River then continues south-easterly to its confluence with the Housatonic, in quite the southerly part of the town. The valley of the Green River, above Kellogg's mill is bounded on its eastern side by the hill which curves around the village, and on the west by the extensive tract of plain land, which extends into Egremont. From the mill, the Great Hill extends along the course of the river for some distance, and into Sheffield. Below the mill the valley of the river expands eastward, with broad mead- ows, to the Housatonic. This stream derives its name from the color of its waters, which are of a decidedly greenish hue. It was called the Green River by the Settling Committee, who early discarded its Indian title. It is a stream of surpassing beauty, and has been immortalized by Bryant's verse. The only bodies of water, of any note in town, are the Long Pond, already mentioned, and the Mansfield Pond.
The Long Pond lies between the Sherlock and Long Pond mountains, in the northwesterly part of the town, has an area of nearly 100 acres; its outlet is by way of . the Long Pond Brook, into the Seekonk Brook. At its outlet a small water power is obtained, which has been improved in former years, for the purposes of a saw mill. The Mansfield Pond, so named from one Daniel Mansfield, who owned land upon its borders, ninety years since, occupies a basin between the hills half a mile west of the village, with an elevation of about 140 feet above it. This pond covers 24 acres, and has a muddy bottom. It has no inlet, but is fed by springs and by the water flowing from the adjoining hillsides. Its outlet, which is at its northern end, affording a small water power, improved for running a plaster mill, empties into the Housatonic a short distance above the Great Bridge.
From the foregoing description of the town, im-
(1) Seekonk Brook, called "Seekonk Kiln," in the proprietors records, probably derives its name from Seaconk, which is the Indian for Wild Goose.
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HISTORY OF GREAT BARRINGTON.
perfect as it is, it will be seen that the eastern and north-western sections are mountainous. The uplands which surround the mountains, afford fine pasturage, and are extensively cultivated, whilst the summits and ledges, which are insusceptible of cultivation, are left to the production of wood and timber of which the town would otherwise soon be destitute. As an agri- cultural district, Great Barrington compares favorably with other towns in the county, and with the exception of Egremont is perhaps, excelled by none. That part of the town lying west of the Housatonic River, abounds in limestone, but little, if any of this stone, is found east of and in immediate proximity to the river. White marble, of fair quality, is found near the Green River, above Kellogg's mill. This marble was quarried and worked about fifty years since; a mill for sawing was erected, and considerable quantities were prepared for market, but the enterprise has been abandoned.
Beds of iron ore are found on the hill east of the residence of Lebbeus M. Pixley and also at the south end of Long Pond. Ore from the former, since called Dewey's bed, was used at Ingersoll's forge as early as 1740, and its existence near Long Pond was also then known. These beds have both, to some extent, been worked in later years. Traditions of mineral coal,- anthracite or bituminous,-said to have been found on Monument Mountain, and brought by the Indians to the village blacksmith in Stockbridge, a hundred years ago, have descended to us, and by some are still credit- ed. And much time and some money, even within a few years past, have been expended in fruitless search for this mineral.
Monument Mountain-Its Monument and Traditions.
The Monument Mountain,-the Mas-wa-se-hi (1) of the aborigines, is deserving of more than the pass- ing mention which has been made of it, as it is a fa- vorite place of resort of pleasure seekers from abroad
(1) Mas-wa-se-hi ; this is the orthography given us by Rev. Jeremiah Slingerland. Definition, "a nest standing up," or "the standing up nest," with reference to the form of the cliffs of the mountain.
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MONUMENT MOUNTAIN.
and from the surrounding villages, and is justly cele- brated for the extraordinary beauty of the scenery which its summit affords. Its tradition, beautifully woven in verse by our once Berkshire poet, the late William Cullen Bryant, has imparted to this mountain a world-wide notoriety. The summit of the mountain, to which the Indian name, as well as its present title, more particularly applies, and which is situated in quite the north part of Great Barrington, about one half mile south of the Stockbridge line, rises precipitously, to the westward of the county road leading from Great Barrington to Stockbridge, to the height of several hundred feet. It is formed of quartz rock, thrown up, in some great upheaval of nature, into wild and craggy ledges, and overhanging precipices. The name which is now accorded to the mountain originates from a rude pile of flint stones, which formerly stood at the foot of the southern slope of the higher part of the mountain, a short distance to the west of the county road. This pile, which was "some six or eight feet in diameter, circular at its base, and raised in the form of an obtuse cone," was of aboriginal origin, and was in existence before the white settlers occupied the valley. By vandal hands, this monument was thrown down more than forty years since, the stones scattered about, and an excavation made beneath it, probably in expectation of discovering hidden treasures. The stones, now thrown together in a circle, still mark the site of the monu- ment. Its erection has been attributed to several causes. The tradition on which Bryant's poem is founded-which, however poetical it is, may be deemed frivolous and not in consonance with Indian character -is, that an Indian maiden, having formed an extra- ordinary attachment for her cousin, whom the customs of her tribe forbade her to marry, threw herself from the mountain precipice and perished ; that she was buried at the base of the mountain, and the accumulated pile marked her resting place. (1) Another and per-
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