Destination:
The Berkshires
of Western Massachusetts

Savoy & Sheffield

Savoy, Northern Berkshire Township No. 6, was auctioned in 1765 to Able Lawrence. Five years later it was again auctioned because he had not deeded it to any other parties. It was finally made a grant to Colonel William Bullock. One of the earliest settlers was a man named Robinett in about 1777. Captain Lemuel Hathaway followed with 34 other families by 1787.

An Atlas of Berkshire County (Beers, F. W.: 1876) indicates at that time 145 dwellings, 7 schools, 9 saw mills, 1 blacksmith shop, and 2 stores existed. A prosperous mountain town in the early 19th century, its population fell from 955 in 1850 to 467 in 1975. Donald Smith noted in Berkshire County Landmarks, in reference to Savoy, that "the works of man have been less fully developed and less fully preserved in the mountains of Berkshire County".

In the Area:
Savoy Mountain State Forest

Northern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce
57 Main Street
North Adams, MA 01247
(413) 663-3735
Fax: (413) 664.1049
Email: info@nbershirechamber.com

The first English settler to cross the "hideous howling wilderness" into Berkshire County was Matthew Noble of Westfield, who arrived in 1725. The following spring, he returned to Westfield and brought his 16-year-old daughter, Hannah, to keep house for him. The township had been purchased from Chief Konkapot and other Stockbridge Indians in 1724. Purchase price was 460 Pounds, 3 barrels of cider, and 30 quarts of rum. It covered an area 18 miles by 12 miles centered on the Housatonic River.

Proprietor's records and a survey were taken by Captain John Ashley, Ebenezer Pomeroy, and Thomas Ingersoll. This Committee was to advance the settlement of the town by selecting persons who would become permanent residents. Home lots were drawn in three divisions, and the town was incorporated in 1733. The town had some of the best land in the county and as a result had a population that, for the first half of the 19th century, was the largest in the county, save Pittsfield.

In the Area:
Barrington Stage Company on Berkshire School Road
Berkshire Choral Festival

The Southern Berkshire Chamber of Commerce
362 Main Street
Great Barrington, MA 01230
(413) 528-1510
Fax: (413) 528-6062