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87-401: Berkshire County (pronounced / ˈ b ɜːr k ʃ ər / ) is the westernmost county in the U.S. state of Massachusetts . As of the 2020 census , the population was 129,026. Its largest city and traditional county seat is Pittsfield . The county was founded in 1761. The Berkshire Hills are centered on Berkshire County. Residents are known as Berkshirites. It exists today only as

174-506: A circular way), Nonotuck (in the midst of the river), Pocumtuck (narrow, swift river), and Sokoki (separated from their neighbors). The modern-day Springfield metropolitan area was inhabited by the Agawam people . The Agawam, as well as other groups, belong to the larger cultural category of Alongkian Indians . In 1634, a plague, probably smallpox , reduced the Native American population of

261-704: A comparatively narrow range along New York's eastern border. Also referred to as the Berkshire Highlands, Berkshire Hills, Berkshire Mountains, and Berkshire Plateau, the region enjoys a vibrant tourism industry based on music, arts, and recreation. Geologically, the mountains are a subrange of the Appalachian Mountains . The Berkshires were named among the 12 Last Great Places by The Nature Conservancy . The term "The Berkshires" has overlapping but non-identical political, cultural, and geographic definitions. Politically, Berkshire County, Massachusetts ,

348-500: A historical geographic region, and has no county government, with the exception of the retirement board for former county workers, and certain offices such as the sheriff and registry of deeds. Of the fourteen Massachusetts counties , Berkshire County is one of eight that exists today only as a historical geographic region; it has limited county government. Berkshire County government was abolished effective July 1, 2000. Most former county functions were assumed by state agencies, and there

435-405: A long process of repatriation began. Tensions between the colonists and surrounding Indian tribes, which had already been poor for some time, continued to deteriorate in the years preceding the outbreak of King Philip's War . Colonial encroachment on Indian lands combined with the decimation of the native population with European diseases led to increasing Native resentment and hostility towards

522-528: A microcosm of the rest of the United States. The third largest city in Massachusetts, Springfield is situated in the region, and it has struggled financially coming close to bankruptcy at the beginning of the 21st century. The unemployment rate in the area lags behind that of eastern Massachusetts by double though officials have pushed for ways to lure more longer-term business growth into the region to tap

609-785: A push for adding high-speed rail from western Massachusetts for eastern Massachusetts. The residents of western Massachusetts have vibrant culture in and support the local mix of arts, tourism, and culture. The decline of manufacturing as the region's economic engine since World War II—and in particular, since the controversial closing of the Springfield Armory —was counterbalanced in western Massachusetts by growth in post-secondary education and healthcare. This created new jobs, land development, and had gentrifying effects in many college towns . State and community-funded schools (e.g., University of Massachusetts Amherst and Westfield State University ) were conspicuous in their growth, as were

696-620: A region in Massachusetts , one of the six U.S. states that make up the New England region of the United States . Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and universities including UMass in Amherst, MA , with approximately 100,000 students; and such institutions as Tanglewood , the Springfield Armory , and Jacob's Pillow . The western part of western Massachusetts includes

783-693: A term interchangeable with the Hill Towns west of the Pioneer Valley. The mountain range in Berkshire County at the western end of Massachusetts is conventionally known as the "Berkshires". Geologically, however, the Berkshires are a westward continuation of uplands west of the Connecticut River and a southern extension of Vermont's Green Mountains . The Hilltown-Berkshire upland ends at the valley of

870-481: A variety of other methods. Native people began to construct and gather in palisaded “forts”―structures that were not necessary beforehand. These sites were excavated in the 19th and 20th centuries by anthropologists who took cultural objects and human remains and displayed them for years in area museums. With the passage of the Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act (NAGPRA) in 1990,

957-580: A war against colonial expansion in New England which spread across the region. As the conflict grew in its initial months, colonists throughout western Massachusetts became deeply concerned with maintaining the loyalty of "their Indians." The Agawams cooperated, even providing valuable intelligence to the colonists. In August 1675, a group of colonists in Hadley demanded the disarming of a “fort” of Nonotuck Indians. Unwilling to relinquish their weapons, they left on

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1044-717: Is a landmark destination of 750 acres, 20 historic Shaker buildings, and over 22,000 Shaker artifacts. On the National Historic Register, it is one of the most comprehensively interpreted Shaker sites in the world. The Berkshires lie within the New England/Acadian forests ecoregion . Similarly, the U.S. Environmental Protection Agency in Massachusetts (Griffith et al. 1994) has defined six ecoregions within this area: Taconic Mountains, Western New England Marble Valleys, Lower Berkshire Hills, Berkshire Highlands, Vermont Piedmont, and Berkshire Transition. Each region

1131-550: Is an ancient downfaulted graben or rift valley that formed during the Mesozoic Era when rifting developed in the Pangaea supercontinent to separate North America from Europe and South America from Africa. Secondary rifts branched off the main crustal fracture, and this one was eventually occupied by the Connecticut River. The Metacomet Ridge is a series of narrow traprock ridges where lava penetrated this rift zone, beginning at

1218-484: Is distinct from the others, providing a unique habitat assemblage. Much of the Hoosic and Housatonic River valleys have underlying bedrock limestone and marble which contribute to calcareous wetlands unique in Massachusetts. The alkaline pH waters support a diversity of plants and animals intolerant of more acidic waters, some of which are state-listed rare or endangered. Combined with the rich mesic forests ranging from

1305-493: Is no county council or commission. The sheriff became a Commonwealth employee, but remains locally elected to perform duties within the county region and retains administrative and operational control over the Berkshire Sheriff's Office, an independent state agency created after the county government was abolished. The Berkshire Sheriff's Office runs the county jail and house of correction . Local communities were granted

1392-602: Is part of the 8th District. The Council generally meets at noon on Wednesdays in its State House Chamber, next to the Governor's Office, to act on issues such as payments from the state treasury, criminal pardons and commutations, and approval of gubernatorial appointments such as judges, notaries and justices of the peace. See also the League of Women Voters of Massachusetts former page on counties (more detailed and with map) and its current page on counties (also useful). According to

1479-479: Is provided by the Berkshire Regional Transit Authority . Amtrak train service and Peter Pan intercity bus service is provided at Pittsfield . This county is the highest milk producer in the state. 42°22′N 73°13′W  /  42.37°N 73.21°W  / 42.37; -73.21 Western Massachusetts Western Massachusetts , known colloquially as "western Mass," is

1566-592: Is sometimes regarded as defining western Massachusetts; for example, the Western Massachusetts Office of the Governor serves residents of these counties. Towns at the western edge of Worcester County , especially those near the Quabbin Reservoir , may be considered to be in western Massachusetts for some purposes; for example, two Worcester County towns have telephone numbers in western Massachusetts's area code 413 . Hampden County, with over half of

1653-469: Is today southern Berkshire County. This deal did not include modern Stockbridge , Richmond , and Lenox , or any northern towns. Berkshire County was the western part of Hampshire County until separated in 1761. In the 19th century, Berkshire County became popular with the American elite, which built what they called "cottages" throughout the countryside. The Gilded Age ended in the early 20th century with

1740-735: The Berkshire Mountains , where there are several vacation resorts. The eastern part of the region includes the Connecticut River Valley , which has a number of university towns , the major city Springfield , and numerous agricultural hamlets. In the eastern part of the area, the Quabbin region is a place of outdoor recreation. Archeological efforts in the Connecticut River Valley have revealed traces of human life dating back at least 9,000 years. Pocumtuck tradition describes

1827-542: The Boston metropolitan area . Innovations originating in the valley include the sports of basketball ( James Naismith , 1895) and volleyball ( William Morgan , 1895); the first American automobile ( Duryea , 1893); the first motorcycle company ( Indian , 1901); the first use of interchangeable parts in manufacturing ( Thomas Blanchard , 1825); and the first commercial radio station, ( WBZ , 1920, from Springfield's Kimball Hotel ). Significant Massachusetts towns and cities in

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1914-721: The Connecticut border. Numerous other towns stretching east towards Worcester are sometimes included in the Quaboag Valley region. Geology is similar to the Hilltown-Berkshire uplands with resistant metamorphic rocks overlain by thin and rocky soil. With less relief, the river valleys are less pronounced, but still moderately high gradient. The Quaboag Hills and Valley, the Quabbin Regions, and populated places stretching east towards Worcester are all locally known as "Hill Towns";

2001-696: The Holyoke Range and the Mount Tom Range , this relatively small area contains a number of college towns, urban environments, and rural hamlets. The portion of this valley in Massachusetts is also commonly referred to as the Pioneer Valley . At its southern tip, the Springfield-Hartford region is home to 29 colleges and universities and over 160,000 university students—the United States' second highest concentration of higher learning institutions after

2088-711: The Housatonic River which flows south to Long Island Sound, and in the extreme north west of Massachusetts at the Hoosic River , a tributary of the Hudson . From these valleys, uplands to the east appear as a rounded mountain range, rising some 1,600 feet (490 meters) although they are actually a plateau . West of the Housatonic-Hoosic valley system rises the narrower Taconic Range along the New York border. Upper tributaries of

2175-479: The Housatonic River . The Berkshire hills runs through: The largest municipalities associated with the Berkshires cultural region include Pittsfield , North Adams , Great Barrington , Williamstown , Stockbridge , Lee , and Lenox, Massachusetts . During the American Revolution a Continental Army force under Henry Knox brought captured cannons from Fort Ticonderoga by ox-drawn sleds south along

2262-611: The Industrial Revolution . There was hardly a land rush into such marginal land, but the uplands were slowly settled by farmers throughout most of the 18th century and organized into townships . Then in the early 1800s better land opened up in Western New York and the Northwest Territory . The hilltown agricultural population went into a long decline and fields began reverting to forest. The Connecticut River Valley

2349-634: The Massachusetts House of Representatives . Berkshire County comprises only part of one district for the Massachusetts Senate due to its low population. The district consists of all 32 cities and towns in Berkshire County as well as the following 25 communities: Ashfield, Buckland, Charlemont, Colrain, Conway, Hawley, Heath, Monroe, Shelburne, Rowe and Whately, in the county of Franklin; Blandford, Chester, Granville, Southwick, and Tolland in

2436-418: The Native American Graves Protection and Repatriation Act in 1990 ordered museums across western Massachusetts and the country to repatriate these remains to Native peoples, an ongoing process. The region was inhabited by several Algonkian-speaking Native American communities, culturally connected but distinguished by the place names they assigned to their respective communities: Agawam (low land), Woronco (in

2523-648: The New Hampshire border. The South Quabbin region (formerly the Swift River Valley) includes the towns of Barre , Belchertown , Pelham , Ware , Hardwick , Leverett , and Shutesbury . This area once included the four "Lost Towns" of Enfield, Dana, Greenwich, and Prescott, which were destroyed to make way for the Quabbin Reservoir . Farther south, the area called the Quaboag Hills includes Hampden , Monson , Wales , Warren , Holland , and Wilbraham on

2610-498: The U.S. Census Bureau , the county has a total area of 946 square miles (2,450 km) of which 927 square miles (2,400 km) is land and 20 square miles (52 km) (2.1%) is water. It is the second-largest county in Massachusetts by land area. The highest natural point in Massachusetts, Mount Greylock at 3,492 feet (1,064 m), is in Berkshire County. Berkshire County is one of two Massachusetts counties that borders three neighboring states (Vermont, New York and Connecticut);

2697-470: The northern hardwood to the taiga or sub-alpine, the Berkshires have a valuable, biologically diverse ecosystem. The classic study of the vegetation of the Berkshire Highlands was Egler's 1940 monograph, covering the flora of an area stretching roughly from Pittsfield, Massachusetts , in the west to Hatfield, Massachusetts , in the east, and from Goshen, Connecticut , in the south to the Vermont border in

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2784-407: The 56,006 households 27.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 48.00% were married couples living together, 11.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.30% were non-families. 31.60% of households were one person and 13.90% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.89. The age distribution was 22.40% under

2871-712: The American Revolution, a rebellion led by Daniel Shays culminated in a battle at the National Armory in Springfield. The Berkshires have long been patronized by artists (e.g. Herman Melville , who wrote Moby-Dick while living in Pittsfield ; Edith Wharton , who wrote The House of Mirth and Ethan Frome while living in Lenox ; and Norman Rockwell , many of whose painting were based on scenes that he observed in

2958-504: The Berkshire plateau. The Berkshires and related Green Mountains formed over half a billion years ago when Africa collided with North America , pushing up the Appalachian Mountains and forming the bedrock of the Berkshires. Erosion over hundreds of millions of years wore these mountains down to the hills that we see today. The average regional elevation of the Berkshires ranges from about 700 to 1,200 feet (210 to 370 m). One of

3045-750: The Berkshires include Tanglewood Music Center and Boston University Tanglewood Institute in Lenox , the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra ; the Bang on a Can Summer Festival for contemporary music in North Adams ; Shakespeare & Company in Lenox; summer stock theatre festivals such as the Williamstown Theatre Festival in Williamstown , Barrington Stage Company in Pittsfield ,

3132-560: The Chapter 70 structure which the state presently uses to allocate education funding to cities and towns. Western Massachusetts used to be the Republican stronghold in an otherwise heavily Democratic state, but it is now consistently viewed by political analysts as one of the most politically liberal regions in the United States. In 2006 and 2010, the region voted heavily in favor of Democratic gubernatorial candidate Deval Patrick . In Crash!ng

3219-559: The Connecticut River Valley produced streams and rivers with gradients around 40 feet/mile (8 meters/km) flowing through steep-sided valleys, notably the Westfield and Deerfield rivers and their larger tributaries. Mills were built to exploit the kinetic energy of falling water, and mill towns grew up around them, or company towns integrating production, residential and commercial activities. The development of steam engines to free industrialization from reliance on water power brought about

3306-599: The Connecticut River Valley to a tiny percentage of its previous size. Governor Bradford of Massachusetts writes that in Windsor , notably the site of a trading post, where European diseases often spread to Native populations, "of 1,000 of [the Native Americans] 150 of them died." With so many dead, English colonists were emboldened to attempt significant settlement of the region. The first European explorers to reach western Massachusetts were English Puritans , who in 1635, at

3393-557: The Hoosic separate Massachusetts' highest peak, Mount Greylock 3,491 ft (1,064 meters) from both ranges, however Greylock's geology connects it with the Taconics. Most of this region is a rolling upland of schist , gneiss and other resistant metamorphics with intrusions of pegmatite and granite . Scraping by continental glaciers during the Pleistocene left thin, rocky soil that supported hardscrabble subsistence farming before

3480-941: The Massachusetts legislative and executive branches know little of and care little about western Massachusetts, which comprises 20% of the total population of the state. Among the incidents that have created this feeling: Long a haven for small, independent businesses, western Massachusetts has expressed conflicted feelings towards big box corporations, leading to controversies about zoning changes and variances that would allow companies such as Wal-Mart to build in western Massachusetts towns. The debate has been particularly strong in northern towns; for example, in Greenfield, Massachusetts . The following regional transit authorities operate in western Massachusetts: Berkshire Hills The Berkshires ( locally / ˈ b ɜːr k ʃ ɪər z , - ʃ ər z / ) are highlands located in western Massachusetts and northwestern Connecticut in

3567-587: The Party , Ralph Nader includes western Massachusetts as one of the few places in the country where he believes small-town spirit is still strong. In a 2010 editorial, the Boston Globe berated communities in northern western-Massachusetts for resisting efforts to force consolidation of local school districts. In response, the Franklin County School Committee Caucus released a map that overlaid

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3654-607: The United States. Generally, "Berkshires" may refer to the range of hills in Massachusetts that lie between the Housatonic and Connecticut Rivers . Highlands of northwest Connecticut may be seen as part of the Berkshires and sometimes called the Northwest Hills or Litchfield Hills. The segment of the Taconic Mountains in Massachusetts is often considered a part of the Berkshires, although they are geologically separate and are

3741-536: The abundance of students being turned out by colleges and universities in the area. To combat the higher cost of telecommunications which were roughly double that of eastern Massachusetts, the government of the Commonwealth invested $ 45.4 Million in building out a broadband network using Federal grant under the 'Massachusetts Technology Park - MassBroadband 123' initiative, funds which were matched by $ 45 million in federal investment. The 1,200 mile 'middle mile' project

3828-431: The age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 26.40% from 25 to 44, 24.90% from 45 to 64, and 17.90% 65 or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 91.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.10 males. The county's median household income was $ 39,047, and the median family income was $ 50,162. Males had a median income of $ 36,692 versus $ 26,504 for females. The county's per capita income

3915-545: The border they fall on. In physical geography, the Berkshires extend from the Housatonic River and Hoosic River valleys in western Massachusetts, to the Connecticut River valley in north-central Massachusetts, and to the foot of the lower Westfield River valley in south-central Massachusetts. In Connecticut, where they are referred to as the Litchfield Hills, they extend east from the upper Housatonic River valley in

4002-421: The coastal Massachusetts Bay Colony , shaping the region's political boundaries. The Massachusetts Bay Colony settled at the Connecticut River Valley's most fertile land―stretching from Windsor, Connecticut , (once part of Springfield,) to Northampton, Massachusetts ―from 1636 to 1654. For the next several decades, Native people experienced a complex relationship with European settlers. The fur trade stood at

4089-545: The colonists in exchange for the future promise of beavers. However, trade with the colonists made pelts so lucrative that the beaver was rapidly overhunted. The volume of the trade fell, from a 1654 high of 3723 pelts to a mere 191 ten years later. With every mortgage, Native people lost more land, although their population recovered and expanded from the old plague. In a process that historian Lisa Brooks calls "the deed game", colonists acquired an increasing amount of land from Indian tribes through debt, fraudulent purchases and

4176-629: The colonists. Though some Indians became integrated into colonial society, with many being employed in white households, numerous pieces of legislation were passed which prevented Indians from marrying settlers and staying in colonial settlements after dark, while colonists were prevented from living among the Indians. In 1662, the leader of the eastern Massachusetts Wampanoag Indian tribe, Wamsutta , died shortly after being questioned at gunpoint by Plymouth colonists. Wamsutta's brother, Chief Metacomet (known to inhabitants of Springfield as "Philip,") began

4263-489: The county north-to-south over Metro Boston. The overlay reached from Rhode Island in the south to New Hampshire in the north and Framingham in the west. In 2008 the Office of the Governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts opened a local office in western Massachusetts. The western portion of Massachusetts consists approximately of the four counties of Franklin , Hampshire , Hampden and Berkshire . This set of four counties

4350-585: The county of Hampden; Chesterfield, Cummington, Goshen, Huntington, Middlefield, Plainfield, Westhampton, Williamsburg and Worthington, in the county of Hampshire. Paul Mark (D) is the current Senator. The Massachusetts Governor's Council, also known as the Executive Council, is composed of eight individuals elected from districts, and the Lt. Governor who serves ex officio. The eight councillors are elected from their respective districts every two years. Berkshire County

4437-446: The county voted for Joe Biden by a 47.1% margin over Donald Trump , 72.4% to 25.3%. The Mahican (Muh-he-ka-neew) Native American tribe lived in the area that now makes up Berkshire County until the early 18th century, when the first English settlers and frontiersmen appeared and began setting up farms and homesteads. On April 25, 1724, "The English finally paid the Indians 460 pounds, 3 barrels of cider, and 30 quarts of rum" for what

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4524-545: The county was 92.5% white, 2.7% black or African American, 1.2% Asian, 0.2% American Indian, 1.2% from other races, and 2.1% from two or more races. Those of Hispanic or Latino origin made up 3.5% of the population. The largest ancestry groups were: Of the 56,091 households, 25.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.9% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, 40.1% were non-families, and 33.0% of households were made up of individuals. The average household size

4611-507: The creation of Lake Hitchcock in Deerfield by a giant beaver, possibly representing the action of a glacier that retracted at least 12,000 years ago. Western Massachusetts was originally settled by Native American societies, including the Pocomtuc , Nonotuck Mohawk , Nipmuck , and Mahican . Various sites indicate millennia of fishing, horticulture, beaver-hunting, and burials. The passage of

4698-822: The development of tourism throughout that valley. This far-western zone is linked to New York City and Albany, New York , more than with the rest of Massachusetts, however both populated zones are ultimately part of the Northeast megalopolis . The rest of western Massachusetts is lightly populated, particularly the Hilltowns where densities below 50 persons per square mile (20 per km ) are the rule. In descending order of size, its largest communities are: Springfield, Chicopee, Pittsfield, Westfield, Holyoke, Northampton, Agawam, West Springfield, Amherst Center (CDP), Easthampton, Longmeadow (CDP), East Longmeadow, North Adams , and Greenfield (CDP). Western Massachusetts has been compared as

4785-515: The era of Lake Hitchcock accounts for this region's exceptionally rich agricultural soil, which attracted settlers as early as 1635. Although the Connecticut River Valley's soil is the richest in New England, many of its fields have been covered by urban and suburban development. Regardless, the valley remains New England 's most productive farmland. Tobacco, tomatoes, sweet corn, and other vegetables are still produced there in commercial quantities. Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire and Hampden counties, in

4872-529: The escarpment zone. On top, elevations rise gradually to the west. Williamsburg in Hampshire County and Becket in Berkshire County are prominent hilltowns. Generally, the hilltowns west of the Connecticut River Valley were less attractive for agricultural uses, which resulted in later migration there than, for example, the fertile Connecticut River Valley. Subsistence farming predominated in this area. The 1,000-foot elevation difference between uplands and

4959-498: The heart of their economic interactions, a lucrative business that guided many other policy decisions. White settlers traded wampum, cloth and metal in exchange for furs, as well as horticultural produce. Because of the seasonal nature of goods provided by Native people compared with the constant availability of colonial goods, a credit system developed. Land, the natural resource whose availability did not fluctuate, served as collateral for mortgages in which Native people bought goods from

5046-787: The heat of the lowlands. At the 2000 census there were 134,953 people, 56,006 households, and 35,115 families in the county. The population density was 145 people per square mile (56 people/km). There were 66,301 housing units at an average density of 71 per square mile (27/km). The county's racial makeup was 95.02% White , 1.99% Black or African American , 0.15% Native American , 0.99% Asian , 0.04% Pacific Islander , 0.59% from other races, and 1.23% from two or more races. 1.69%. were Hispanic or Latino of any race. 16.5% were of Italian , 16.4% Irish , 10.8% French , 10.3% English , 8.0% Polish , 7.1% German , 5.8% American and 5.1% French Canadian ancestry, 94.1% spoke English , 1.6% Spanish and 1.1% French as their first language. Of

5133-625: The high points is Spruce Mountain, at 2,710 feet (830 m). The highest point in the Berkshires physiographic region is Mt. Greylock at 3488 feet. The Housatonic River, Hoosic River, Westfield River , and Deerfield River watersheds drain the Berkshire region in Massachusetts; in Connecticut the main river drainages are the Farmington River , the Naugatuck River , the Shepaug River , and

5220-509: The income tax, World War I, and the Great Depression . In the 20th century, some of these cottages were torn or burned down, while others became prep schools, historic sites, or bed-and-breakfast inns. Today Berkshire is known throughout the East Coast and the country as the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra at Tanglewood . It includes attractions such as the Clark Art Institute , Norman Rockwell Museum , Naumkeag , Mass MOCA , and Hancock Shaker Village . County-wide bus service

5307-416: The late 1990s (including Franklin, Hampshire, Hampden, Berkshire and Worcester), most county functions were assigned to the state government. The municipalities of Franklin and Hampshire counties then organized two voluntary county-oriented "regional councils of government". Some residents of western Massachusetts are critical towards Boston , the state's capital and largest city. This group believes that

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5394-408: The list are reflective if the census designated locations and villages were included as cities or towns. Data is from the 2007–2011 American Community Survey 5-Year Estimates. In the 2016 and 2020 U.S. presidential elections, Berkshire County was Massachusetts's third-bluest county behind Suffolk County , which consists primarily of Boston , and Dukes County , home to Martha's Vineyard . In 2020 ,

5481-423: The night of August 25. A hundred colonists pursued them, catching up to them at the foot of Sugarloaf Hill, which was a sacred space for the Nonotucks called the Great Beaver. The colonists attacked, but the Nonotucks forced them to withdraw and were able to keep moving. The shedding of Native blood on sacred land was an attack on their entire kinship network, and caused Native peoples in western Massachusetts to join

5568-406: The north. Today, efforts are being made by many organizations to preserve and manage this region for biological diversity and sustainable human development. The Berkshires have numerous shops, motels, hotels, museums, and trails, including part of the Appalachian Trail , large tracts of wilderness and parks Berkshire Botanical Garden and Hebert Arboretum The area includes Bash Bish Falls ,

5655-630: The northern end of the graben near Greenfield and extending south across Massachusetts and Connecticut to Long Island Sound . Fossil dinosaur footprints in Holyoke attest to the life present in this region during the Mesozoic. As continental glaciers receded near the end of the last glacial period , a moraine at Rocky Hill, Connecticut , dammed the river to create Lake Hitchcock , extending northward some 200 miles (320 km) inundating places such as Springfield, Agawam, and West Springfield, while certain highlands remained above water, (i.e. sections of Holyoke). Accumulation of fine sediments during

5742-604: The northwest part of the state. Geologically, the Berkshires are bordered on the west by the Taconic Mountains , the south by the Hudson Highlands , and to the east, they are bordered by the Metacomet Ridge . They are on the average 1,000 ft (300 m) lower and less prominent than the Green Mountains of Vermont, and form a broad, dissected plateau punctuated by hills and peaks and cut by river valleys. The Berkshires topography gradually diminishes in profile and elevation from west to east and from north to south, except where rivers have cut deep gorges and sharp bluff faces into

5829-466: The ongoing conflict. Following the war, the greater part of the Native American population left western Massachusetts behind. Many refugees of the war joined the Wabanaki in the north, where their descendants remain today. Native American influence remains evident in the land and culture of western Massachusetts, from the practice of tobacco farming to the names of cities and rivers In 1777, George Washington and Henry Knox selected Springfield for

5916-403: The other is Worcester County . The two counties are also the only ones to touch both the northern and southern state lines. Running north-south through the county are the Hoosac Range of the Berkshire Hills in the eastern part of the county and the Taconic Mountains in the western part of the county. Due to their elevation, the Berkshires attract tourists and summer residents eager to escape

6003-436: The population of western Massachusetts, includes the City of Springfield ; to the north, Hampshire County contains the college towns of Northampton , Amherst and South Hadley ; further north, rural Franklin County borders Vermont and New Hampshire; to the west is Berkshire County, bordering New York, Vermont and Connecticut and the other three counties. After a number of county governments were eliminated in Massachusetts in

6090-446: The region's highly regarded liberal arts colleges , including Williams founded 1793, Amherst founded 1821, Mount Holyoke founded 1837, Smith founded 1871, and American International founded 1885. Despite the gains in higher ed, the region has sought to obtain equitable share of the state's education budget to place into local primary education as well. Several communities in western Massachusetts have fought to have changes made

6177-410: The request of William Pynchon, settled the land that they considered most advantageous for both agriculture and trading in modern-day Agawam , adjacent to modern Metro Center , Springfield . In 1636, a group of English colonists—lured by the promise of a "great river" and the northeast's most fertile farmland—ventured to Springfield, where they established a permanent colony. Originally, this settlement

6264-627: The right to form their own regional compacts for sharing services, and the towns of Berkshire County have formed such a regional compact known as the Berkshire Regional Planning Commission. Berkshire County has three Registry of Deeds Districts, one for each district. Berkshire County is in the Massachusetts's 1st congressional district , a primarily rural district that makes up most of Western Massachusetts . Berkshire County has three districts and elected Representatives in

6351-579: The royal governor (in office 1760–1769), named the area "Berkshire" to honor his home county in England . In the present, the name of the modern American region is pronounced differently ( BERK -sheer, -⁠shər ) to the modern English County ( BARK-sheer, -⁠shər ). Geologically and physically, the Berkshires are the southern continuation of the Green Mountains of Vermont , distinct from them only by their lower average elevation and by virtue of what side of

6438-476: The site of the fledgling United States' National Armory . Built atop a high bluff overlooking the Connecticut River, Washington and Knox agreed that Springfield provided an ideal location—beside a great river and at the confluence of major rivers and highways. For the following 200 years, the Springfield Armory would bring concentrated prosperity and innovation to Springfield and its surrounding towns. After

6525-653: The so-called Second Industrial Revolution when railroads were built along the rivers to take advantage of relatively gentle grades over the Appalachians. And so as hilltop farming towns declined in importance, industrial towns in the river valleys rose to local prominence. In northern Massachusetts, the higher altitude area to the east of the Connecticut River Valley is known as the North Quabbin region. These northern municipalities include Warwick , Orange , Petersham , Phillipston , Wendell , New Salem , and Athol near

6612-460: The state as a whole. Western Massachusetts' population is concentrated in the cities and suburbs along the Connecticut River in an urban axis surrounding Springfield that is contiguous with greater Hartford, Connecticut (i.e. the Knowledge Corridor .) A secondary population concentration exists in the Housatonic-Hoosic valley due to the industrial heritage of Pittsfield and North Adams, and

6699-701: The tallest waterfall in Massachusetts. The Berkshire region is noted as a center for the visual and performing arts, many institutions which are associated with Williams College . The art museums include the Norman Rockwell Museum , the Clark Art Institute , the Massachusetts Museum of Contemporary Art (Mass MoCA), Berkshire Museum , Hancock Shaker Village, and the Williams College Museum of Art (WCMA). Performing-arts institutions in

6786-470: The term "Berkshires" includes all of the highland region in western Massachusetts west of the Connecticut River and lower Westfield River . The cultural region also includes the Taconic Mountains bordering New York, which are geologically distinct from the Berkshires orogeny. Southwest Vermont and the Taconic region of New York are occasionally grouped with the Berkshires cultural region. Sir Francis Bernard ,

6873-400: The town of Stockbridge ). Cultural institutions include Lenox's Tanglewood , Becket's Jacob's Pillow , and Stockbridge's Norman Rockwell Museum , as well the Clark Art Institute in Williamstown . The city of Pittsfield is the largest community located in the Berkshires. New England's largest river, the Connecticut , flows through the center of its agricultural valley. Nearly bisected by

6960-499: The valley's so-called "Knowledge Corridor" include Northampton , Amherst , Easthampton , Holyoke , Chicopee , West Springfield , East Longmeadow , Longmeadow , Ludlow , Agawam , and Westfield . The Hilltowns include the areas of Berkshire, Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties west of and above the escarpment bordering the ancient rift valley through which the Connecticut River flows. Elevations increase from about 200 feet (60 m) to at least 1,000 feet (300 m) in

7047-564: The west bank of the Hudson River from the fort to Albany , where he then crossed the Hudson. Knox and his men continued east through the Berkshires and finally arrived in Boston . This feat, known as the " Noble train of artillery ", was accomplished in the dead of winter, 1775–1776. The Berkshires is also home to Hancock Shaker Village , which is the oldest continuously working farm in the Berkshires of Western Massachusetts. Hancock Shaker Village

7134-445: The year 2020 collectively had 828,188 residents, a population greater than that of any one of the six smallest U.S. states. The population amounted to approximately 12.84% of the 2000 population of the entire state of Massachusetts, which was 6,349,097. Its average population density is 293.07 inhabitants per square mile (113.16/km ), compared to 422.34/km (1,093.87/sq mi) for the rest of Massachusetts, and 312.68/km (809.83/sq mi) for

7221-473: Was $ 21,807. About 6.50% of families and 9.50% of the population were below the poverty line , including 12.30% of those under age 18 and 7.20% of those age 65 or over. At the 2010 census , there were 131,219 people, 56,091 households, and 33,618 families in the county. The population density was 141.6 inhabitants per square mile (54.7/km). There were 68,508 housing units at an average density of 73.9 per square mile (28.5/km). The racial makeup of

7308-486: Was 2.23 and the average family size was 2.82. The median age was 44.7 years. The median household income was $ 48,907 and the median family income was $ 64,783. Males had a median income of $ 47,401 versus $ 35,964 for females. The per capita income for the county was $ 28,300. About 7.9% of families and 11.6% of the population were below the poverty line , including 15.5% of those under age 18 and 7.3% of those age 65 or over. The ranking of unincorporated communities included on

7395-552: Was called Agawam Plantation , and administered by the Connecticut Colony . (Springfield lies only 4 miles north of Connecticut; however, Agawam included lands as far south as Windsor Locks , as far north as Holyoke , and as far west as Westfield . ) In 1640, Springfield voted to separate from the Connecticut Colony following a series of contentious incidents and, after a brief period of independence, decided to align with

7482-761: Was completed in early 2014, connecting public institutions throughout central and western Massachusetts, but also providing a fiber-optic backbone to allow for further expansion in these regions. Building off of that project, the Commonwealth launched a 'Last Mile' initiative targeting 54 communities that were unserved or under-served by broadband. That program has invested in municipal fiber-to-the-home networks, which are also supported by municipal bonds; private provider projects; and advanced wireless projects to connect homes and businesses in these communities. Small, rural towns such as Mount Washington, Mass., now have access to internet speeds that reach 500 megabit per second (Mbps) symmetrical service. In recent years there has been

7569-486: Was formed as a governmental unit in 1761. It includes the western extremity of the state, with its western boundary bordering New York and its eastern boundary roughly paralleling the watershed divide separating the Connecticut River watershed from the Housatonic River and Hoosic River watersheds. However, like most other counties in Massachusetts, the active governmental role of Berkshire County has been abolished, so has no legal or governmental function. Culturally,

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