History of Williamsburg, Massachusetts, USA

Williamsburgh, Massachusetts
Hampshire county. The surface of this town is elevated and uneven; but it is pleasant, and has a warm and fertile soil. It is watered by a good stream which meets the Connecticut at Northampton. It lies 8 miles N.W. from Northampton and 100 W. from Boston. Incorporated in 1771. Population, 1837, 1,345.

The manufactures of the town consist of woolen cloth, (3 mills,) boots, shoes, leather, hats, iron castings, axes, gimlets, screw drivers, augers, punches, bitts and bitt stocks, flexible and japan buttons, stocking yarn, and lather boxes; annual value, about $200,000.—The value of buttons, manufactured the year ending April 1, 1837, was $102,500.

In 1837, there were 2,815 sheep sheared in this town, whose fleeces weighed 8,362 pounds, and sold for $5,017.

This town was once the west part of Hatfield, and was granted to heirs of volunteers against those Indians who destroyed Deerfield in 1704.

Williamsburg is watered by the same stream that runs through Northampton into the Connecticut, affording fine sites for factories.

The chief manufactures are woollen goods, buttons, axes and other tools.

Distance from Northampton, 8 miles; from Boston, 103.

Williamsburg, a post-village in Hampshire co., Massachusetts, 95 miles WY. by N. from Boston. It contains 3 or 4 churches, and several manufactories. Population of the township, 1537.

FOUR VILLAGES ALMOST DEMOLISHED !!
NEARLY 200 LIVES LOST !!
ABOUT $2,000,000 WORTH OF PROPERTY DESTROYED !!

Northampton, Mass., May 16. - Not far from eight o'clock this morning the peaceful residents of Williamsburg were startled by the appearance of a horse dashing madly through the streets, while his rider shouted to the people to escape for their lives, for the reservoir had given way and the waters were coming down upon them.

Scarcely comprehending the dreadful tidings, but with the instinct of self-preservation strong within them, the people began to rush from their homes, while the foam-flecked animal that had so gallantly brought the messenger sunk to the ground, utterly exhausted. Another horse was quickly secured, and the messenger was borne to other villages but the alarm was so sudden that all did not hear it, and scores were caught by the swiftly rolling waters and grand dames, innocent children and strong men were alike overwhelmed by the flood or crushed beneath ...

Williamsburg is a hilly town, devoted to farming and manufactures, in the northern border of the west section of Hampshire County, 103 miles west of Boston. The New Haven and Northampton Railroad extends into the town, and has stations at Haydenville, in the southeast, and at Williamsburg (centre),—which are the post-offices. The other villages are Searsville and Skinnerville.

The boundaries are Conway and Whately on the north; the latter and Hatfield on the east; Northampton and Westhampton on the south; and Chesterfield and Goshen on the west. The assessed area is 15,168 acres; and of this, 3,413 acres are forest land. The rock-bed of this town is calciferous mica-schist and granite. The land is generally-elevated and quite mountainous. High Ridge, in the northeastern corner, has an altitude of 1,480 feet, and was a station in the Trigonometrical Survey of the State. Other noted elevations are Walnut Hill, Day's Hill and Shingle Hill in the eastern, and Miller's Hill in the...

Williamsburg, a post-village in Williamsburg town ship, Hampshire co, Mass., on Mill River and the New Haven & Northampton Railroad, 8 miles N.W. of Northampton. It has 3 churches, and is surrounded by hilly and picturesque scenery. It was ruined by the bursting of a dam in May, 1874. The township contains a village named Haydenville. Pop. of the township in 1890, 2057.