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Stockbridge, Massachusetts | |
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 Location inBerkshire County and the state ofMassachusetts. | |
| Coordinates:42°17′15″N73°19′15″W / 42.28750°N 73.32083°W /42.28750; -73.32083 | |
| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Berkshire |
| Settled | 1734 |
| Incorporated | 1739 |
| Government | |
| • Type | Open town meeting |
| Area | |
• Total | 23.7 sq mi (61.3 km2) |
| • Land | 22.7 sq mi (58.9 km2) |
| • Water | 0.93 sq mi (2.4 km2) |
| Elevation | 843 ft (257 m) |
| Population (2020) | |
• Total | 2,018 |
| • Density | 88.7/sq mi (34.3/km2) |
| Time zone | UTC−5 (Eastern) |
| • Summer (DST) | UTC−4 (Eastern) |
| ZIP Codes | |
| Area code | 413 |
| FIPS code | 25-67595 |
| GNIS feature ID | 0618274 |
| Website | www |
Stockbridge is atown inBerkshire County inWestern Massachusetts, United States. It is part of thePittsfield,Massachusetts,Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 2,018 at the 2020 census.[1] A year-roundresort area, Stockbridge is home to theNorman Rockwell Museum,Naumkeag, a public garden and historic house, theAusten Riggs Center (a psychiatric treatment center), andChesterwood, home and studio of sculptorDaniel Chester French.
Stockbridge was settled by British missionaries in 1734, who established it as apraying town for theStockbridge Indians, anindigenousMohican tribe. The township was set aside for the tribe by Massachusetts colonists as a reward for their assistance against theFrench in theFrench and Indian Wars. The Rev.John Sergeant, fromNewark, New Jersey, was their firstmissionary. Sergeant was succeeded in this post byJonathan Edwards, a Christian theologian associated with theFirst Great Awakening.
First chartered as Indian Town in 1737, the village was incorporated on June 22, 1739, as Stockbridge. The missionaries named it afterStockbridge inHampshire, England. Although theMassachusetts General Court had assured the Stockbridge Indians that their land would never be sold, the agreement was rescinded. Despite the aid by the Tribe to theAmerican Patriots during theRevolutionary War, their lands in Stockbridge were stolen by white townspeople. The Tribe was forced to relocate west, first toNew York and then toWisconsin. The village was taken over byEuropean American settlers.
With the arrival of therailroad in 1850, Stockbridge developed as a summer resort for the wealthy of Boston and other major cities. Many large houses, calledBerkshire Cottages, were built in the area beforeWorld War I and the advent of theincome tax. Stockbridge was home to several cottages, includingNaumkeag.
Since 1853, Stockbridge has benefited from the presence of theLaurel Hill Association, a village beautification society. The Stockbridge Bowl Association maintains and preserves the natural beauty of Stockbridge Bowl and the surrounding Bullard Woods.
Stockbridge was the home ofElizabeth Freeman, a freed slave, late in her life. The former slave engaged the attorneyTheodore Sedgwick to file afreedom suit on her behalf, based on the statements in the new state constitution in 1780. In the case with a slave named Brom, the county court ruled that they were both free under the constitution. Their case served as precedent to a later case before the State Supreme Court, effectively ending slavery in Massachusetts. Freeman transferred as a free woman to work in the household of Sedgwick, who became a state judge. Also working in the household wasAgrippa Hull, a free black veteran of the war, who became the largest black landowner in Stockbridge. Freeman was buried in the Sedgwick family plot at the Stockbridge Cemetery.
Catharine Maria Sedgwick, a daughter of Theodore and his wife, became a renowned 19th-century literary figure. She was born in Stockbridge in 1789. She is the author of six novels, including her most famous,Hope Leslie (1827).
In theCurtisville area, now known as the Interlaken part of Stockbridge,Albrecht Pagenstecher, an immigrant fromSaxony, established thefirst wood-based newsprint paper mill in the United States, in March 1867. Pagenstecher later went on to found "numerous pulp and paper mills throughout the Northeast and Canada" and serve on the board of directors of theInternational Paper Company.[2]
The town has a tradition as anart colony. The sculptorDaniel Chester French lived and worked at his home and studio calledChesterwood.Norman Rockwell painted many of his works in Stockbridge, which is now home to theNorman Rockwell Museum.
According to theUnited States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 23.7 sq mi (61.3 km2), of which 22.7 sq mi (58.9 km2) is land and 0.93 sq mi (2.4 km2), or 3.97%, is water.[3] Stockbridge is bordered byRichmond to the northwest,Lenox to the north and northeast,Lee to the east,Great Barrington to the south, andWest Stockbridge to the west. The town is located 13.5 miles (21.7 km) south ofPittsfield, 35 miles (56 km) southeast ofAlbany, New York, 45 miles (72 km) west-northwest ofSpringfield, and 130 miles (210 km) west ofBoston.
Set among theBerkshire Mountains, Stockbridge is drained by theHousatonic River, which runs through the center of town. The river is fed by several marshy brooks and lakes, including Mohawk Lake to the west, Agawam Lake to the south, Lake Averic in the northwest, andLake Mahkeenac, also known as the Stockbridge Bowl, to the north. Stockbridge Bowl is the site of a town beach, a boating club, and a summer camp, Camp Mah-Kee-Nac. North of the bowl lies parts ofTanglewood. To either side of the bowl lie West Stockbridge Mountain and Rattlesnake Hill. To the south, Monument Mountain peaks on the Great Barrington town line, and Beartown Mountain peaks to the east, closer to the Lee town line.
The town is nearly bisected byInterstate 90, theMassachusetts Turnpike. There are exits in neighboring West Stockbridge and Lee. Several state routes, includingRoute 102,Route 183 andU.S. Route 7 all pass through town, with Routes 102 and 7 sharing a short stretch in downtown Stockbridge, and Routes 102 and 183 meeting in the village of Larrywaug. In this village are theBerkshire Botanical Gardens and theNorman Rockwell Museum. South of there, in the village ofGlendale, Massachusetts lies Chesterwood.
TheHousatonic Railroad, the main rail line between Pittsfield and Great Barrington, passes through the town and lies mostly on the southern bank of the river. (The rail line is used for freight; there is no passenger service.) The town lies along aBerkshire Regional Transit Authority (BRTA) bus line, which provides service between Pittsfield and Great Barrington. Pittsfield is also the site of the nearest regional bus service, as well as regionalAmtrak service. There are local airports (for private and charter planes) in Pittsfield and Great Barrington. The nearest national air service is located atAlbany International Airport in New York.
| Climate data for Stockbridge, Massachusetts (1981–2010 normals) | |||||||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Month | Jan | Feb | Mar | Apr | May | Jun | Jul | Aug | Sep | Oct | Nov | Dec | Year |
| Mean daily maximum °F (°C) | 32.5 (0.3) | 35.8 (2.1) | 45.1 (7.3) | 57.6 (14.2) | 69.6 (20.9) | 77.4 (25.2) | 81.3 (27.4) | 79.3 (26.3) | 71.2 (21.8) | 60.1 (15.6) | 48.4 (9.1) | 36.6 (2.6) | 57.9 (14.4) |
| Mean daily minimum °F (°C) | 12.7 (−10.7) | 14.3 (−9.8) | 23.3 (−4.8) | 33.5 (0.8) | 43.4 (6.3) | 51.8 (11.0) | 56.9 (13.8) | 55.6 (13.1) | 47.6 (8.7) | 36.9 (2.7) | 29.5 (−1.4) | 18.9 (−7.3) | 35.4 (1.9) |
| Averageprecipitation inches (mm) | 3.67 (93) | 2.87 (73) | 3.82 (97) | 3.71 (94) | 4.31 (109) | 4.02 (102) | 4.13 (105) | 4.56 (116) | 3.93 (100) | 3.99 (101) | 3.85 (98) | 3.74 (95) | 46.60 (1,184) |
| Average snowfall inches (cm) | 16.2 (41) | 16.1 (41) | 11.4 (29) | 3.6 (9.1) | .1 (0.25) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 0 (0) | 4.7 (12) | 12.8 (33) | 64.9 (165) |
| Average precipitation days | 10 | 9 | 11 | 12 | 12 | 11 | 11 | 11 | 10 | 9 | 11 | 10 | 127 |
| Source:[4] | |||||||||||||
| Year | Pop. | ±% |
|---|---|---|
| 1850 | 1,941 | — |
| 1860 | 2,136 | +10.0% |
| 1870 | 2,003 | −6.2% |
| 1880 | 2,357 | +17.7% |
| 1890 | 2,132 | −9.5% |
| 1900 | 2,081 | −2.4% |
| 1910 | 1,933 | −7.1% |
| 1920 | 1,764 | −8.7% |
| 1930 | 1,762 | −0.1% |
| 1940 | 1,815 | +3.0% |
| 1950 | 2,311 | +27.3% |
| 1960 | 2,161 | −6.5% |
| 1970 | 2,312 | +7.0% |
| 1980 | 2,328 | +0.7% |
| 1990 | 2,408 | +3.4% |
| 2000 | 2,276 | −5.5% |
| 2010 | 1,947 | −14.5% |
| 2020 | 2,018 | +3.6% |
| 2022* | 1,998 | −1.0% |
| * = population estimate. Source:United States census records andPopulation Estimates Program data.[5][6][7][8][9][10][11][12][13][14][15] | ||
As of thecensus[16] of 2000, there were 2,276 people, 991 households, and 567 families residing in the town. By population, Stockbridge ranks twelfth out of the 32 cities and towns in Berkshire County, and 285th out of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts. The population density was 99.2 inhabitants per square mile (38.3/km2), which ranks 12th in the county and 281st in the Commonwealth. There were 1,571 housing units at an average density of 68.5 per square mile (26.4/km2). The racial makeup of the town was 96.92%White, 1.23%African American, 0.04%Native American, 0.44%Asian, 0.04%Pacific Islander, 0.97% fromother races, and 0.35% from two or more races.Hispanic orLatino of any race were 2.90% of the population.
There were 991 households, out of which 18.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 47.4% weremarried couples living together, 6.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.7% were non-families. Of all households 36.7% were made up of individuals, and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.06 and the average family size was 2.67.
In the town, the population was spread out, with 15.2% under the age of 18, 6.3% from 18 to 24, 22.5% from 25 to 44, 33.5% from 45 to 64, and 22.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 49 years. For every 100 females, there were 91.3 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 87.5 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $48,571, and the median income for a family was $59,556. Males had a median income of $32,500 versus $27,969 for females. Theper capita income for the town was $32,499. About 1.7% of families and 8.5% of the population were below thepoverty line, including 1.2% of those under age 18 and 4.1% of those age 65 or over.
Stockbridge is governed byopen town meeting, held annually on the third Monday in May, and by an elected three-member Board of Selectmen.[17] The town operates its own police, fire and public works departments, with three fire stations and two post offices. The town's library, located in the central village, is connected to the regional library network. The nearest hospital, Fairview Hospital, is located in neighboring Great Barrington.
On the state level, Stockbridge is represented in theMassachusetts House of Representatives by the Fourth Berkshire district, which covers southern Berkshire County, as well as the westernmost towns in Hampden County. In theMassachusetts Senate, the town is represented by the Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin district, which includes all of Berkshire County and western Hampshire and Franklin counties.[18] The town is patrolled by the First (Lee) Station of Barracks "B" of theMassachusetts State Police.[19]
On the national level, Stockbridge is represented in theUnited States House of Representatives as part ofMassachusetts's 1st congressional district, and has been represented byRichard Neal ofSpringfield since January 2013. Massachusetts is currently represented in theUnited States Senate by senior SenatorElizabeth Warren and junior SenatorEd Markey.
| Year | Democratic | Republican | Third parties | Total Votes | Margin |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 2020 | 80.63%1,099 | 17.39%237 | 1.98%27 | 1,363 | 63.24% |
| 2016 | 74.69%965 | 19.50%252 | 5.80%75 | 1,292 | 55.19% |
| 2012 | 78.10%945 | 18.68%226 | 3.22%39 | 1,210 | 59.42% |
| 2008 | 80.10%998 | 17.17%214 | 2.73%34 | 1,246 | 62.92% |
| 2004 | 78.75%982 | 19.81%247 | 1.44%18 | 1,247 | 58.94% |
| 2000 | 63.37%794 | 23.30%292 | 13.33%167 | 1,253 | 40.06% |
| 1996 | 68.54%867 | 20.87%264 | 10.59%134 | 1,265 | 47.67% |
| 1992 | 63.02%893 | 20.18%286 | 16.80%238 | 1,417 | 42.84% |
| 1988 | 66.74%947 | 32.21%457 | 1.06%15 | 1,419 | 34.53% |
| 1984 | 54.90%801 | 44.21%645 | 0.89%13 | 1,459 | 10.69% |
| 1980 | 39.29%552 | 36.94%519 | 23.77%334 | 1,405 | 2.35% |
| 1976 | 48.31%686 | 46.55%661 | 5.14%73 | 1,420 | 1.76% |
| 1972 | 50.70%689 | 48.20%655 | 1.10%15 | 1,359 | 2.50% |
| 1968 | 49.95%553 | 45.53%504 | 4.52%50 | 1,107 | 4.43% |
| 1964 | 73.32%805 | 25.87%284 | 0.82%9 | 1,098 | 47.45% |
| 1960 | 46.95%546 | 52.45%610 | 0.60%7 | 1,163 | 5.50% |
| 1956 | 28.95%319 | 70.78%780 | 0.27%3 | 1,102 | 41.83% |
| 1952 | 29.29%340 | 70.46%818 | 0.26%3 | 1,161 | 41.17% |
| 1948 | 31.95%277 | 65.28%566 | 2.77%24 | 867 | 33.33% |
| 1944 | 39.21%338 | 60.56%522 | 0.23%2 | 862 | 21.35% |
| 1940 | 33.93%305 | 65.52%589 | 0.56%5 | 899 | 31.59% |
The first school in Stockbridge was opened in 1737 under the direction ofJohn Sergeant, a missionary to the localMohican Indians. It served as a school for the Christian education of Indian children. During the pre-American Revolutionary War years, several small schools were established to serve the children of new settlers scattered further outside the village.[21] The founding of the semi-private Academy after the Revolutionary War marked the beginning of a more structured commitment to secondary education in the town. Three of the four students in the first graduating class ofWilliams College in 1795 were alumni of the Academy.
In the early and mid-1800s Stockbridge schools earned the distinction of educating threeAssociate Justices of theSupreme Court of the United States who served on the high court at the same time. All educated in Stockbridge,Stephen Johnson Field,[22]Henry Billings Brown[23] andDavid Josiah Brewer[24] served together as Associate Justices from 1891 to 1897.
Students from Stockbridge, its small villages ofInterlaken, Glendale and Larrywaug, and from the nearby town ofWest Stockbridge attended the town'sWilliams High School, established in 1872. In April 1968 the school closed after nearly a decade of contentious school regionalization debates and failed ballot measures. After the state refused in 1964 to help fund a new high school building, Stockbridge voters approved a regionalization plan to join Great Barrington and West Stockbridge in a consolidated school district.[25] In 1968 Stockbridge students joined those from Great Barrington'sSearles High School in transferring to a new regional high school located in Great Barrington.[26]
The building of the former Stockbridge Plain School, completed in 1914, was shared by the elementary school and Williams High School, until the opening ofMonument Mountain Regional High School in 1968. Stockbridge Plain School for several years then became one of theelementary schools in the newBerkshire Hills Regional School District. A renovation of the building was completed in 2008, and it now serves as the new town offices.
Today, Stockbridge, along with West Stockbridge and Great Barrington, remain members of the Berkshire Hills Regional School District. All students in the district attend school in Great Barrington, with elementary students attending Muddy Brook Regional Elementary School, middle school students attending Monument Valley Regional Middle School, and high school students attending Monument Mountain Regional High School.[27] In addition to public schools, there are private and religious schools located in the neighboring towns.
The nearestcommunity college is the South County branch ofBerkshire Community College in Great Barrington. The nearest state college isMassachusetts College of Liberal Arts inNorth Adams, and the nearest state university is theUniversity of Massachusetts Amherst. The nearest private college isBard College at Simon's Rock, also in Great Barrington. Less than an hour's drive away, inAlbany, New York, is a state university,University at Albany, SUNY, and also several private colleges.
Stockbridge was the location ofAlice's Restaurant in the song of the same name byArlo Guthrie which describes the town as having "three stop signs, two police officers, and one police car".[30] The site of the restaurant is marked on the street; the site of Alice's home is now the communityGuthrie Center. A "red VW microbus"[30] is parked outside, and may be the original.
Stockbridge is mentioned in one verse ofJames Taylor's "Sweet Baby James".[31]
The last movement of Charles Ives' "Three Places in New England" takes place on the Housatonic River in Stockbridge.
Prospect St, Stockbridge is the first overpass seen in the ending credits ofGood Will Hunting.
Municipalities and communities ofBerkshire County, Massachusetts,United States | ||
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