Great Barrington, Massachusetts
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| Great Barrington, Massachusetts | |
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| Coordinates: | |
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| Country | United States |
| State | Massachusetts |
| County | Berkshire County |
| Settled | 1726 |
| Incorporated | 1761 |
| Government | |
| - Type | Open town meeting |
| Area | |
| - Town | 45.7 sq mi (118.4 km²) |
| - Land | 45.2 sq mi (117.0 km²) |
| - Water | 0.5 sq mi (1.3 km²) |
| Elevation | 721 ft (220 m) |
| Population (2000) | |
| - Town | 7,527 |
| - Density | 166.6/sq mi (64.3/km²) |
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) |
| - Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) |
| ZIP code | 01230 |
| Area code(s) | 413 |
Great Barrington is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 7,527 at the 2000 census.
For geographic and demographic information on specific parts of Great Barrington, please see the articles on Great Barrington (CDP) and Housatonic.
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[edit] History
Great Barrington was first settled in 1726 and was officially incorporated in 1761. It is named after the village of Great Barrington in Gloucestershire, England.
In the winter of 1776 Henry Knox passed through Great Barrington while transporting the cannon from Fort Ticonderoga to the Siege of Boston.
In March of 1886, the water mill at Great Barrington was the site of an experiment that first used water to drive an alternating current generator. A transformer was used to increase the voltage and the current was transmitted over a mile away to the nearest town to power street lights. It was the first time electrical power had been transmitted a considerable distance away from its generating station.
Arlo Guthrie's 18-minute-long song "Alice's Restaurant" is based on true-life events that occurred near Great Barrington in Stockbridge, Massachusetts
[edit] Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 118.4 km² (45.7 mi²). 117.0 km² (45.2 mi²) of it is land and 1.3 km² (0.5 mi²) of it (1.12%) is water.
[edit] Demographics
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 7,527 people, 3,008 households, and 1,825 families residing in the town. The population density was 64.3/km² (166.6/mi²). There were 3,352 housing units at an average density of 28.6/km² (74.2/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 94.74% White, 2.09% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 1.25% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.70% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 2.07% of the population.
There were 3,008 households out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% were married couples living together, 11.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.3% were non-families. 32.6% of all households were made up of individuals and 13.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.89.
In the town the population was spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 42 years. For every 100 females there were 87.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $45,490, and the median income for a family was $53,135. Males had a median income of $38,163 versus $29,474 for females. The per capita income for the town was $22,655. About 3.4% of families and 7.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 6.6% of those under age 18 and 4.5% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Education
Great Barrington has three public schools, Monument Mountain Regional High School, Monument Valley Regional Middle School, and Muddy Brook Regional Elementary School. Private schools include a Rudolf Steiner School and Great Barrington Waldorf High School. It is also the home of Simon's Rock College of Bard and the John Dewey Academy.
[edit] Notable residents
[edit] External links
- Berkshire Visitor's Bureau
- Berkshireweb
- Berkshire Business Resources
- Berkshire Community Radio Alliance - WBCR-LP 97.7 FM
- WBCR-LP A Blog (not affiliated with WBCR-LP)
- The Berkshire Eagle
- BerkshireRecordDotCom (not affiliated with the Berkshire Record)
- BerkshireEagleDotNetwork (not affiliated with the Berkshire Eagle)
- Berkshire Blog (not affiliated with the Berkshire Eagle)
- Berkshire Chamber of Commerce
- WAMC Northeast Public Radio Network
