History of Adams, Massachusetts, USA

1762 - Adams is settled

Massachusetts City and Town Incorporation and Settlement Dates

1778 - Adams is incorporated
October 15, 1778, Adams established as a town.
Massachusetts City and Town Incorporation and Settlement Dates

1839 - Adams
Adams, Massachusetts
Berkshire county. This is a flourishing agricultural and manufacturing township comprising two villages, north and south, whose trade goes to New York. It is 40 miles E. of Troy, N.Y., 120 W.N.W. of Boston, 29 N. of Lenox, and 7 miles S.E. of Williamstown college. The Hoosack river passes through this town, and affords great water power. There are in this town 19 cotton mills, 4 satinet factories, and 2 calico printing establishments. There are also in this town large machine shops, 4 tanneries, 3 air and cupola furnaces, and manufactories of shovels, spades, hoes, forks, chairs and cabinet ware. The total value of the manufactures of this place in the year ending April 1, 1837, amounted to $1,045,417.
Between the years 1746 and 1756, this town was the scene of much Indian warfare. Traces of old Fort Massachusetts are still found. Saddle Mountain, the summit of which is called Gray lock [Mount Greylock], the highest of Massachusetts mountains, lies chiefly in... Read MORE...

1839 - Flourishing
A letter from a manufacturer in Adams, Mass., to a gentleman in this city, says that the business men of that very flourishing place (second only to Lowell) now go to Pittsfield, and thence to West Stockbridge, where they take the railroad to Hudson, and so go to New York. That there is but 14 miles land carriage for freight, and that they can go in one day and night to New York. - Albany Daily Adv.
genealogybank.com
North American
Pennsylvania
October 25, 1839

1845 - ADAMS. [Pop. 3,703. Inc. 1778.]
It was called East Hoosick or Hoosack, until it was incorporated, and named after the patriot Samuel Adams.

Adams was settled from Connecticut and Rhode Island, and many of the early settlers were Friends or Quakers.

The natural bridge of rock over Hudson's Brook is a great curiosity.

Saddle Mountain, probably the highest land in the State, is remarkable for being a single mountain with two peaks, running between the great ranges on each side of it.

During the French wars, Fort Massachusetts, in this town, was repeatedly attacked by the French and Indians.

Adams is situated on the Hoosick River, and is the greatest manufacturing town in the county, having numerous cotton and woollen mills, and calico-printing works.

Distance from Lenox, 27 miles ; from Boston, 120.
An Elementary Geography for Massachusetts Children by William Bentley Fowle and Asa Fitz, 1845
Get it HERE!

1854 - Adams
Adams, a post-township of Berkshire county, Massachusetts, 120 miles W. N. W. of Boston comprising two villages, North and South Adams, is intersected by the Hoosack river, and Pittsfield and N. Adams railroad. This township is noted for its great number of mills and factories, and is also remarkable as containing Saddle Mountain and a natural bridge on Hudson's brook, a description of which will be found under the head of Massachusetts. Population 6172.
A New and Complete Gazetteer of the United States: Giving a Full and Comprehensive Review of the Present Condition, Industry, and Resources of the American Confederacy ... Thomas Baldwin (of Philadelphia.) Joseph Thomas January 1, 1854 Philadelphia : Lippincott, Grambo & Company 1854.

1859
ADAMS, a town of Massachusetts, U.S., 20 m. N of Pittsfield, 40 E of Albany, on the Hoosack rivers. Pop. in 1840, 3,703; in 1850, 6,172. There is a natural bridge of rock, in a body of white marble or limestone, over the Hudson's brook near this town, 12 ft. long, 10 ft. wide, and 60 ft. above the surface of the stream. Saddleback mountain in the vicinity has an alt. of 3,600 ft. above sea-level.
A Gazetteer of the World: Or, Dictionary of Geographical Knowledge, Publisher A. Fullarton, 1859

1878 - Town Split
April 16, 1878, part of Adams established as North Adams.

ma-vitalrecords.org/ MA/ Berkshire/index.shtml#Adams

Adams, Massachusetts, 1890
Adams (so named in honor of the patriot Samuel Adams) is an important and flourishing agricultural and manufacturing town on the Hoosac River, in the northern part of Berkshire County, about 140 miles northwest of Boston. It is connected with the Fitchburg Railroad at the village of North Adams, and with the Boston and Albany at Pittsfield by a direct line between those two places; the principal stations in the town being Adams and Maple Grove. Its postal villages are Adams and Zylonite. Other villages are Arnoldsville, Howland and Renfrew. North Adams (formerly a part of this town) bounds it on the north; Savoy, on the east; Cheshire, on the south; and New Ashford on the west. Its area is 11,900 acres, aside from highways and water surfaces. Of this, there are 5,203 acres of woodland.

The surface is hilly, rising at the southwest to the eminence known as Saddle Ball, and at the northwest, to the noted and lofty summit of Graylock, 3,505 feet above the sea; being the highest peak... Read MORE...

1895 - Adams
Adams, a post-village of Berkshire co, Mass., in Adams township, on the Pittsfield & North Adams Railroad, 15 miles N.N.E. of Pittsfield, and 5 miles S. of North Adams, It has 2 national banks, 3 newspaper offices, from one of which a German paper is issued, 7 churches, 2 paper-mills, 2 woollen-mills, and manufactures of gingham and cotton warp. Pop. about 7500.
Lippincott's Gazetteer of the World: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World Containing Notices of Over One Hundred and Twenty-five Thousand Places ... Joseph Thomas January 1, 1895 J.B. Lippincott

1895 - The Biggest in America - A Mill to Be Erected in Adams, Mass., to Employ 1000 People.
North Adams, Mass., June 22. - The biggest cotton mill in America is to be built at once in Adams. This was decided at a meeting of capitalists last night.

The mill will employ over 1000 people, will have 80,000 spindles, and 2100 looms and will cost $1,000,000. It will be 425 feet long and 116 feet wide, with an ell, and will be five stories high.

The enterprise is brought to Adams by the Plunkett Brothers, and some of the heaviest capitalists in the country are interested in it. The officers are: President, Edward N. Gibbs of Norwich, Conn.; treasurer, W. B. Plunkett of Adams; clerk, C. T. Plunkett of Adams.

Directors: Edward N. Gibbs of Norwich, Conn.; Theodore A. Havemeyer of New York; Hon. David A. Wells of Norwich, Conn.; Hon. William A. Halle of Springfield; Gardiner Hall, Jr., of South Willington, Conn.; Hon. W. L. Draper of Hopedale; W. B. Plunkett and C. T. Plunkett of Adams.
Lewiston Sunday Journal
Lewiston, Maine
June 22, 1895

1899 - VACATION AT AN END. The President and Party Leave Adams, Mass., for the Nation's Capitol.
ADAMS, Mass., June 26. - The vacation which President and Mrs. McKinley have been enjoying here as the guests of Hon. and Mrs. W. B. Plunkett, is at an end, and to-night, the presidential train bore them towards the nation's capitol. The President returned to his executive labors in remarkably fine health, but Mrs. McKinley is quite poorly, and ti was on her account that the present stay was curtailed by two days. The closing day of the visit was made notable tot he people of this town and of the sister city of North Adams, by an number of pleasant incidents. Twice the president spoke to the people of Berkshire of the pleasure attending his visit, and earlier in the day he had assisted in the ceremony of laying the corner stone of what is to be the largest cotton mill in western Massachusetts.

The morning hours of the day were spent quietly by the party in Mr. Plunkett's house. Just before noon the President and Mr. Plunkett and several members of the party went to the site of the... Read MORE...

1902 - Wind Storm
Adams, Mass., March 20. - A high wind which had prevailed all Tuesday night suddenly assumed cyclone proportions yesterday and considerable damage resulted. Covered vehicles were overturned in the streets, chimneys were demolished, trees were uprooted and the spire and belfry on the First Congregational church was wrenched off. In falling the spite took with it two large cupolas and a portion of the roof from the parish house which adjoined the church. The damage to the church property is estimated at about $3,000. The high wind was accompanied by snow.
Naugatuck Daily News
Naugatuck, Connecticut
March 20, 1902

1905 - MAKING PAPER BY HAND
The Only Plant for That Work in the United States Is in Adams of the Berkshires - The Difference Between the Processes

Up in the little town of Adams, in the Berkshire Hills, is the only plant in America for making hand-made paper. There is a great demand for these papers for drawing, water-color painting, correspondence and special book editions and the miss in Adams are working at full speed to meet it. Until 1816 paper making in this country was entirely by hand, and the process was so slow that it required the labor of five persons to make three reams a day. With machinery for forming rag pulp into sheet paper, the hand-made process was abandoned, and skilled-artisans who could give the "old-time shake" to the mold forming a sheet of paper, became almost unknown. In 1879 the L. L. Brown Paper Company of Adams sent a practical man to England to purchase the necessary equipment and engage workers, and in 1880 it commenced the manufacture of handmade paper.

The difference in... Read MORE...

1916
Adams, a banking post-village and township (town) of Berkshire co., Mass., on the Boston and Albany R., 5 miles S. of North Adams. It has machine-shops and manufactures of cotton, wool, iron, paper, etc. Greylook, or Saddle Mountain (3535 feet), the highest point of the state, is in the town. Pop. of the town in 1900, 11,134.- It includes the villages of Renfrew, Maplegrove, and Zylonite.
Lippincotts New Gazetteer: A Complete Pronouncing Gazetteer Or Geographical Dictionary of the World, Containing the Most Recent and Authentic Information Respecting the Countries, Cities, Towns, Resorts, Islands, Rivers, Mountains, Seas, Lakes, Etc., in Every Portion of the Globe, Part 1 Angelo Heilprin Louis Heilprin - January 1, 1916 J.B. Lippincott - Publisher

1943 - Boy Drowns At Adams
Herman Olekskiewicz, jr. son of Mr. and Mrs. Herman Olekskiewicz, of Adams, Mass., was drowned Tuesday, his second birthday, in a small pond near his home.

He is believed to have wandered away from home and fallen off a dam. Following the discovery of the body by Eugene Roulier, and overseer at the nearby Berkshire Mills, police and firemen unsuccessfully attempted to revive the child.
Troy Record
Troy, New York
June 11, 1943

2023 - Whether you're a nature enthusiast, history buff, or art lover, Adams has something for everyone. Here's a list:
1. Mount Greylock State Reservation:

Adams is home to Mount Greylock, the highest peak in Massachusetts. You can hike to the summit, where you'll find stunning panoramic views, a War Memorial Tower, and Bascom Lodge. The trails vary in difficulty, making it accessible for hikers of all levels.

2. Western Gateway Heritage State Park:

This park offers an excellent introduction to the history and culture of Adams. Explore the Visitors' Center, which houses a museum with exhibits showcasing the town's industrial past and the life of Susan B. Anthony, a famous suffragette who was born in Adams.

3. Susan B. Anthony Birthplace Museum:

Dive deeper into the life and achievements of Susan B. Anthony by visiting her birthplace. The museum features artifacts and exhibits related to her life and her tireless advocacy for women's rights.

4. Thunderbolt Ski Trail:

If you're visiting Adams during the winter, you can enjoy some outdoor fun on Thunderbolt Ski Trail. This... Read MORE...