Town Trivia  ~ Becket

• In 2004, Becket celebrated the 200th anniversary of Eliza R. Snow's birth in the town on January 21, 1804. She was one of the most celebrated female Latter-day Saints of the 19th century and wrote hymn texts and poetry.

• The first settlement in Becket was 1755.

• In 1798, Congregational residents of Becket formed a Congregational Church Society to solve the problem of having to support a church and minister using mandated tax monies. The Society depended entirely upon voluntary contributions of its members to support its church. This funding structure is now in use throughout the United States.

• The state owns 3,832 acres of land in Becket.

• Modern dance pioneer Ted Shawn founded America's first dance festival in Becket in 1932. Today, Jacob’s Pillow is world-renowned.

• In 1801, Johnny Appleseed hiked to the top of the Jacob's Ladder trail.

• Paul Revere made the Congregation Church's bell in 1780.

• The average commuting time for Becket workers is 29 minutes, one of the longest in Berkshire county.

Town Trivia ~ Dalton

• After women were granted the right to vote, the first registration session was held on August 26, 1920. Ninety-one women, ages 21 thru 78, registered to vote that day. The oldest registrant was Sarah (Hall) Smith, a Dalton native born in 1842.

• During the late 1700s, Dalton settlers owned their property outright and others carried the equivalent of a mortgage to a 'gentleman' or an ‘esquire’.

• In the early Dalton days, 'yeoman' would raise grain and flax, while the ‘husbandman’ would raise sheep, cattle and horses and other livestock. Judging from late 1700’s Town meeting minutes, Dalton ‘husbandmen’ had a lot of pigs.

• The townspeople could not, for many years, agree on a place 'to sit a meetinghouse'. They argued at the Town Meetings for a decade before they finally built the first meeting house. Consultants from neighboring Cheshire and Lanesborough made recommendations on the location. The first meeting house opened in 1795.

Town Trivia ~ Hinsdale

• Hinsdale celebrated their Bicentennial year in July 2004.

• The town encompasses approximately 21.7 square miles.

• Hinsdale's largest employers are summer camps.

• Hinsdale has two lakes. Lake Ashmere and Plunkett Lake.

• The Hinsdale Public Library built in 1855-56 was designed by Leopold Eidlitz (1823-1908) of New York City. Eidlitz was one of the leading church and civic building architects in the United States during the post-Civil War era.

• Named for Reverend Theodore Hinsdale, members of the Hinsdale family ran a woolen mill from 1836 – 1930.

Town Trivia ~ Otis

• Otis has eight of the larger lakes and ponds (some shared by neighboring towns) in Berkshire County: Big Pond, Hayes Pond, Hayden Pond, Otis Reservoir, Parish or Benton Pond, Shaw Pond, The Creek, and White Lily Pond. The lakes cover over 1,439 acres.

• In 1890, the town was named after Harrison Gray Otis.

• Otis' population tripled since 1950.

Town Trivia ~ Peru

• Northern Berkshire Township No. 2, Partridgefield, was purchased by Governor Francis Bernard, Oliver Partridge and Elisha Jones as land speculation in 1762.

• Partridgefield was divided into 63 settling lots and incorporated in 1771. In 1805 the name Peru was selected.

• A church was designed and built in 1808 by Shadrack Pierce. This Federal building was rebuilt in 1848 and replaced in the late 19th century.

Town Trivia ~ Sandisfield

• Sandisfield is 53 square miles and is the largest town in area in Berkshire County.

• In the 1800's, the busy town had many small factories, shops and at one time annually produced 300,000 pounds of cheese. It is also the largest shipper of maple syrup in the state.

• The Sandisfield Historical Society restored its headquarters, the Osborn House. The House was built around 1860.

• In 1902, a tailor from New York, named Solomon Pollack, led a back-to-the-land movement that brought 35 Jewish families from the city to Sandisfield as settlers.

• Dr. Edmund Hamilton Sears, born in Sandisfield on April 6, 1810, wrote the song, “It Came Upon a Midnight Clear.”

Town Trivia ~ Washington

• The mountainous area had a stage coach road before the Pontoosuc Turnpike was built on the east side of town in 1830.

• The town's lakes serve as the water supply for the city of Pittsfield.

• Until it was taken over by the state in 1915, October Mountain State Park was a private game preserve owned by William C. Whitney, secretary of the Navy under President Grover Cleveland. Whitney stocked the park with buffalo, moose, elk and employed 55 people to take care of it.

Town Trivia ~ Windsor

• On June 30,1868, Windsor voted 34 against licensing open bars for the sale of intoxicating liquors in town and one vote for it. There was a unanimous vote to prohibit the sale of all strong beer, porter lager beer and ale within the limits of the town on May 2, 1871. It was voted on March 7, 1870, to instruct the Windsor selectmen to close the Town Hall against dancing.

• In 1929, the town hall was wired for electricity by J.R. Adams. This was a big improvement over the large round chandelier which held many kerosene lamps in the middle of the ceiling. It was quite a task for the people who filled and cleaned the chimneys on these lamps and the other lamps throughout the Town Hall.

• More than half the houses in Windsor were built between 1970 and 1990.