History of Otis, Massachusetts, USA

The cannons were captured from the British at Fort Ticonderoga and Crown Point. They were transported from Lake Champlain to Dorchester Heights, Massachusetts and used by George Washington's army on March 17, 1776 (Evacuation Day) to free Boston from British control during the American Revolutionary War.

General Henry Knox Trail - Historic Marker reads:
"Through this place passed General Henry Knox in the winter of 1775-1776 to deliver to General George Washington at Cambridge the train of artillery from Fort Ticonderoga used to force the British army to evacuate Boston."

Otis, Massachusetts
Berkshire county. This township is on high ground, and is the source of some of the head waters of Farmington and Westfield rivers. These streams flow from several very handsome ponds. The surface of the town is uneven but the soil is productive, particularly of good pasturage. The manufactures consist of leather, boots, shoes, chairs, cabinet ware, lumber, &c. It lies 130 miles W. by S. from Boston and 15 S.E. from Lenox. Population, 1837, 1,077. Incorporated, 1793.

This town was called Loudon till 1810, when it was named Otis, in honor of Harrison Gray Otis, a distinguished citizen of Boston, then Speaker of the House of Representatives. In 1809, part of a district, called Bethlehem, was annexed to this town.

Otis lies among the Green Mountains, and is watered by sources of the Housatonic and Farmington. The ground is rough, and sq rocky, as to render cultivation difficult.

Distance from Lenox, 15 miles; from Boston, 120.

Otis, a post-township in Berkshire co., Massachusetts, 115 miles W. by S. from Boston. Population, 1224.

Otis is a picturesque, sparsely inhabited town of the highlands, situated in the northeastern part of the southern half of Berkshire County, 128 miles west of Boston. ts nearest railway station is on the Boston and Albany Railroad, in Becket, which bounds it on the north. Blandford forms the eastern boundary, Tolland and Sandisfield the southern, and Monterey and Tyringham the western. The assessed area is 21,312 acres, including 8,916 acres of forests, composed chiefly of beech, maple and pine. Except in the northeast, there are few extended areas unbroken by hills; and a large part of the open land is too rough for tillage, but excellent for pasturage. Tilley's Mountain, somewhat north of Otis centre, is the highest elevation. The principal rock is calcareous gneiss. The soil is generally a dark loam. Farmington River runs medially through the town southeastward, affording, with its tributaries, numerous small powers. There are many beautiful lakes dispersed over the town. Great...

Otis, a post-hamlet in Otis township, Berkshire co, Mass., about 22 miles S.S.E. of Pittsfield. It has 2 churches. Pop. of the township, 855.