The Encyclopedia Americana (1920)/Great Barrington

GREAT BARRINGTON, Mass., town in Berkshire County, on the New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad and on the Housatonic River, 40 miles west of Holyoke. In the town are three villages: Great Barrington, Housatooic and Van Deusen. It was settled in 1725, but formed a part of Sheffield until 1761. William Cullen Bryant was town clerk for several years and the thoughts in many of his poems were suggested by the beautiful Berkshire scenery. The town has two public libraries, the Hopkins Memorial Manse, the Sedgwick Institute and a number of good elementary schools. The manufactures are cotton goods, electrical apparatus and paper. Owing to the picturesque scenery of the vicinity it is a popular summer resort. The government is carried on by annual town meetings. Pop. 5,926. See Taylor, &lsquo;History of Great Barrington&rsquo; (Great Barrington 1882).