Collections of the
Historical address, June
1st, 1907
I have found it
rather difficult to select from my voluminous material of the history of the
town, which dates back to the first settlers in 1692, such part as would be of
the most interest to those who have so kindly gathered here to help us take
some notice of an important event in our history, the one hundred and fiftieth
anniversary of the organization of the township under the New England plan and
the declaration of independence from the tenantry system of New York which for
two generations had been maintained here by Robert Livingston.
Many of you have
doubtless heard of the anti-rent wars of
This declaration
of independence as it were one hundred and fifty years ago by the rightful
purchasers of the Indians, was not accomplished by smooth sailing by any means.
Six years of previous contest were followed by ten more before their rights were
fully secured and not until 1787 was the state boundary fully established. The
town was first settled in 1691 or 1692, by Dutch tenants of Robert Livingston from
Finding themselves
to be east of the generally understood boundary between Massachusetts and New
York, beyond which the grant of the New York Governor to Robert Livingston in 1714 could not extend, but which he claimed
here, they presented a petition to the General Court of Massachusetts sometime
in 1751, headed by William Bull,
their physician of Sheffield, who died May 28, 1758 and Is buried in the
Sheffield Village Cemetery.
This petition in
Volume six, page thirty-two of the State Archives says: “There is a tract of land west of
In answer to this
petition is the following report in Volume one hundred sixteen, page thirty-six
of the Archives: “Pursuant to the order
of the Honorable House of Representatives of Oct. 11, 1751 I have reviewed the
lands mentioned in the petition of Wm
Bull & others and conferred with the inhabitants living on sd lands who
are chiefly Dutchmen who inform me that they were encouraged to settle sd land
many years since by Mr. Livingston to whome they have paid great rents from
year to year but he never gave a leave to any one of them but refused to do it
they further inform me that upon examination they find that they have not
settled within sd Livingstons Patent thereupon divers of them the last year
have refused to pay him any rent & that he declares that he will send them
all to gaol very soon if they do not pay their rents they appear very selicitous
to be taken under the protection of this government. As to the quality of the
lands some of them appear very good they lie on a small river or brook which
heads in Taucaunnuck’s mountain runs northerly and southerly some miles. The
most valuable lands are in possession of about twenty families. More than half
of the lands mentioned in sd petition are upon the great Tauconnuck mountain
which is very high and impassible many miles together the other lands except
what is under improvement as above sd are chiefly White Oak Rock Oak Hills.
Some of them are pretty good other of them mean and poor.” – O V Partridge
Following this
report is one from the following committee: Joseph Dwight, Colonel Bradford and Captain Livermore (Volume forty-six, page three hundred seven)
giving the names of forty-four men
owning thirty-two houses, having nine hundred and sixty-six acres
fenced, seven hundred and seventy-two improved and making forty-nine barrels of
“Syder” with the years occupied by each and their predecessors. Among the
largest are Christopher and Henry Brasee, John Hallenbeck, Abraham
and Richard Spoor, sixty years, and Eph Race, fifty.
This doubtless one
of the earliest statistical papers of any town of western
From this time for
many years afterwards the history of this town was exciting and interesting in
its contests between Robert Livingston
backed by the governor of New York and the inhabitants of Massachusetts, and
doubtless had much to do with securing to Massachusetts the western part of
Berkshire County as the contentions of the Green Mountain boys the State of
Vermont.
As a result of
these petitions and reports the under mountain section of Sheffield with this
town was annexed to
March 29, 1757, a
syndicate of forty proprietors purchased the land of the Indians to be divided
into forty-eight shares, John Dibble
having five, Josiah Loomis, Jacob Loomis three and Benjamin Barney, Jr. and Ichabod Stickwell one half a right, the
others one. Following this purchase May 7th, was the culmination of
their troubles as stated in the following petition. Volume six, page two
hundred forty:
“May 30, 1757, to his Majesties’ most honorable council,
the supreme court of the House of Representatives of the
Two days
afterwards, June 1st, 1757, the purchasers organized and chose Jonathan Darby clerk, and proceeded to
survey and assign the first division lots or farms; thus beginning the
organization of the township on the New England plan under the laws of
Massachusetts. The proprietors’ records being lost, nothing is known of their
doings or troubles for ten years thereafter, when in Volume six, page three
hundred seventy-three, of the State Archives we find the following, showing
that these contests were still unsettled:
“At a legal meeting of the Proprietors of the Township of
Taughkinnick settled under the government of the Province of Massachusetts Bay
regularly notified and assembled the seventeenth day of December A D 1767,
voted that William Kellogg be and
hereby is authorized to sign a humble petition to his majesty in council,
setting forth our grievances and humbly praying that we may be continued or
retired to the jurisdiction of the said Province of Massachusetts Bay or if his
majesty should otherwise determine that the Governor of the Province of New
York may be restrained from granting any of the lands upon which we are settled
to any person or persons whatsoever and that such other relief may be afforded
us as to his majesties great wisdom shall seem meet and the said William Kellogg is like wise authorized
to substitute any person or persons in our behalf to prefer the said petition
and to represent us before his majesty in council.: - attest Jonathan Darby, Proprietors Clerk
“I do hereby certify that it being made to appear to me
that Jonathan Darby was duly chosen
clerk of the propriety of the township called Taukennick. The said Jonathan was duly sworn on the first
day of June Anno Dom 1757 to the faithful discharge of the duty of his office.” – Before me, Timothy Woodbridge, Justice Peace
Among the numerous
petitions in these troublesome times previous to and subsequent to this
declaration of independence from the Livingston tenantry system are the
following from the
Volume six, page
one hundred twenty-nine, August 19, 1753. “The
testimony of Joseph Pain of a place
called Taghkanack of lawful age testefyeth that on the 19th day of
August 1753 it being the Sabbath or the Lords Day, I being in my own house and
sick in my bed their came a man unknown to me and forced open my door and came
in to my house and sat down on a chest with a sword by his side and I sd Pain
desired my dagter to shut the door and bolt it and as she went to push the door
to the man made attempt to draw his sword and I sd Pain desited my daghther the
second time to shutt the door and bolt it and he drew his sword almost out of
his scabbard and put his foot to stay her making the door fast and imeditly Timothy Connor came in and went to my
other room and my son in law Jeebord
Eavery was in bed with one of his children and sd Connor sd git up you
devil and sd Eavery sd I wont. Stand off then sd Connor sd git up or I will run
my sword in to your ass and sd Eavery sd you will kill my child and emedetly sd
Connor took hold of him sd Eavery and pulled him out of bed by the sholders and
dragged him out of the bed room till an other mett him which took hold of sd
Eaverys sholder and imedetly the house was filled full of men with swords drawn
in their hands and some with pistels I their girdles to the number of about ten
men and dragged the sd Eavery out of doors into the yard in his shirt this is
the truth according to the best of my remembrance.” Aug 4, 1753 Joseph Pain, Sept 4, 1753 sworn to
before David Ingersoll.
Volume six, page
one hundred twenty-eight. “The testimony
of Cathrean Hollenbach of a place
called Taghknack of lawful age testefyeth and saith that she was at the house of Mr. Michael Hollenbach of Taghknack
on the 26 day of July 1753 and there came a company of men to Michaels house
with swords and pistels from towards Josiah
Loomis and one Doct Huntt was
with me and Michael said to me and Doct Hunt come into the house and their
being a double door or in other words the door was cut in two in the middle and
Michael shut the under door towe and
when they had goten off their horses they said good morning and came towards
the door and came upon the stoop of the door and Michael said do not come any nearer to the door then they took
stones and flung against the door Michael
took a hay fork In his hand and they pleaded to be let in, Michael said they were come to take him, they said that they had
nothing against him but they , that is the sheriff, sd he wanted Loomis which was there. Michael said Loomis was not their and I said Cathrean also sd that Loomis
was not their but they said he was and insisted to come in and swore they had n
nothing against him the sd Michael
and they requested that one man might come in and search the house for Loomis and Michael at least gave liberty that one John Robson might come and no more but Robson refused to come in and went away and as Michael was standing with his fork over the door they got hold of
the fork and as they puled the fork one of the company with a sword cut Michael on the back of his hand and Michael steped behind the door &
took his gun and bid them off or else he would shute and they again pleaded to
come in but being denied the sheriff called for an ax to cut the door down and
one of them took a great stone and flung against the door which made it tremble
and they flung many great stones against the door and they not making that do
they pleaded again to come in swearing they would not medel with said Michael but search for Loomis and if he was not their they
would be contended and Michael said
if they would not take him one of them might come in and no one came to come in
he was told to climb over the under door the sheriff said that was robbery but
one of them came in and as soon as he was in he clasped Michael on the sholder seizing him as his prisoner and so they all
came n and Michaels two sons was in the chamber and one of the………… to the
stairs and went up two or three stairs and swore he would shute and cocked his
pistel and it missing fire three times & did not go off.” Sept. 4, 1753
Volume six, page
one hundred twenty-six, September 4, 1753. “The
testimony of Jacob Spoor of
Sheffield being of lawful age testefyeth and saith that on ye 19th
day of August 1753 being Sabbath or Lords Day I being at a place called
Taghnack at the house of Mr. John
Hollenbach I heard the report of guns and being told that there was a
company of men at Mr. Michael Hollenbacks
house I went to see what was the meaning of the noias and as I was in the road
I meeting with Patrick Megg, I shook
hands with him and said how do you do Patrick.
Then I said Patrick will this do you
the Sabbath day and he made answer what I asked him if he could give an account
to God for it and he said he could not help it and rid along. I did nothing to
interrupt them. I moved out of the road and one Mr. Connar came up to me with his sword in his hand and said what
have you to do to stop or exemen men on the Kings Road saying Damn you and
struck me on the head with his sword and cut through my hat and cap and cut my
head so that the blood came out and sd Connar said he would cut off my ears. I
said that was easy for him to do and I went to make my escape and then their
came a company after me with clubs and struck me with the clubs and I tried to
make my escape but was seized by some, their names I did not know, but their
was Jocob Dacker and Jacob Wheler and John Robson in the company this is the truth according to the best
of my remembrance.” Sept ye 4th 1753 Jacob Spoor. Sworn to before David
Ingersol.
Massachusetts
Archives, book forty-six page three hundred twenty, November 27, 1753. “Petition praying that your honnours in your
great wisdom and in your wonted goodness would be pleased for to setel us in
our persessions or if not for to make a grant of land to us in a place to the
east of Taghknack and to the west of Sheffield to wit in the mountain where
there is a valley of land laying between two great mountains and may contain a
few famileys even to that number as to make a small parish but it will cost a
great deal of time to make a road in to the mountain on both side or to deal
with your poor subjects as in your great wisdom and wonted goodness shall think
fitt and we your poor petitioners as in duty bound shall ever pray.” Dated
in Taghknack November ye 27 A D 1753.
Location
Name
Hughes Farm Joseph Loomis
Jacob
Loomis
Sky Farm George Robinson
O C Whitbeck’s Joseph Orlcutt
Taconic Farm John Hollenbach
Michael Hollenbach
This was the first
petition for incorporation as a town.
Volume six, page
one hundred ninety-one, April 14, 1753. “To
the Honl Spencer Phips Esq. Lieut. Gov. & commander in chief of the Honl
his Maj Council &House of Rep in
Volume six, page
two hundred twenty-four, Nov. 22, 1765. “To
the Honorable Spencer Phips Esq. Leutenant Governor and commander in chief of
his majestys
Following these
petitions and testimony is this petition in January 1774 for incorporation:
Volume one hundred
eighteen, page eight hundred thirty-five. “To
his Excellency Thomas Hutchinson Esq Captin Genl and Governor in Chief in and
over his Majesty’s Province of the Massachusetts Bay the Honble his Majesty’s
Council and House of Representatives in General Court Assembled.
Humbly shews the subscribers, inhabitants of a tract of
land lying on Taconnocg mountain so called in the County of Berkshire which was
granted by the Great and General Court at their last sessions to your
petitioners that they are so situated that it is and ever will be extremely
inconvenient for your petitioners to have communication or connection with any
town or district adjoining to said tract of land and that they have increased
in number so as to render it not only convenient but necessary that the said
tract of land & the inhabitants thereof should be erected into a separate
& distinct town or district & be invested with all the priviledges and
immunities that other towns and district in this province enjoy wherefore they
pray that they may be incorporated accordingly or otherwise to do and act
thereon as to your Excellency and Honor shall recommend. As in duty bound shall
ever pray.
Nathan Benjamin Charles Patterson Daniel Dibble
Benjamin Osborn Abraham Grimes Allen Sage
Elnathan Hall John
King Michel
Palmer
John Dibell John
Woodin John
Wright
Jonas Osborn Peter
Woodin Abner Woodin
Philip Roff (Race) Daniel Mead John
Barber
Samuel Dibell Gilbert
Murray William
Campbell
Thomas Jones Andrew
Patterson
This was passed in
the House to be engrossed June 15th, and the Council concurred on
the 17th, but the sudden dissolution of the Assembly on that
eventful day prevented its enactment.
In August, 1776,
another attempt to procure an act of incorporation was made as follows:
Archives, Volume
one hundred eighty-two, page two hundred twenty-one. “To the Honlble the Council and House of Representatives of the State
of Massachusetts Bay humbly sheweth the petitioners inhabitants of a new
plantation called Tauconnuck mountain lying west of Sheffield in the county of
Berkshire that your petitioners have a great charge and expense made a
settlement in said new plantation that the same is situate on the height of a
great mountain and that it is separated from Egremont and Sheffield the only
towns to which it joins by a very long and steep precipice and that the roads
communicating between said new plantation and said Sheffield and Egremont are
at all times extremely rugged and at some seasons almost wholly impassible that
the number of inhabitants are now so great and their circumstances such as to
enable them to maintain the expenses attending their incorporation as a town or
district that at present they are debarred the enjoyment of many privileges
attending that state your petitioners therefore humbly pray your honors that
said plantation bounding south on the line of the state of Connecticut west on
the line of the state of New York. East on the line of said Sheffield and north
on the line of said Egremont may be incorporated into a town of district and as
in duty bound shall pray.”
John King John
Wright Nathan
Benjamin
John Dibell Abraham Grimes Gilbert Murray
Samuel Dibell Peter Wooden Thomas Cade
William Cogswell Allen
Sage Jacob
Hatt
John Woodin Charles
Patterson Samuel
Nickerson
Amos Woodin Elnathan Hall Christopher
Grimes
Jesse Mead Daniel
Dibell Phillip Ruff (Race)
William Palmer Allen Sage Jr Ephraim Race
Asa Sparks Sebah Sage John
Race
John Wright Jr William
Campbell Abijah Woodard
Solomon
How Thomas
Jones Philip Ruff (Race) Jr.
Joseph Robinson Daniel Porter John Ruff (Race)
Stephen Bangs Daniel or Samuel Whitmarsh Charles Owens
Moses Buck Daniel Mead
On the
twenty-ninth of August this petition was referred to a committee of the House,
reported and read the second time, but no further action taken. The following
spring, March 15, 1777, still another application was made in a petition by
John King and thirty others, “in behalf
of themselves and forty-five families, which alleges that they with others
purchased the lands in question of the natives some years since, by and with
the consent and advice of a committee of the General Assembly.” Charged with
the duty of settling some affairs relative to the lands west of Sheffield; that
they had improved the lands, and built roads on to the mountain and from house
to house: moreover that they had, “for some years past paid a province rate of
support government.” And raised their full quota of men for the army, and that
they were willing to continue to do their “proportion both of men and money,”
in case they should be incorporated into a district or town with power to
accomplish their objects, and to lay out and repair highways. “and also to take proper care of some persons
among us that are unfriendly to the
This petition was
referred March 25, 1777, to a committee of the House, but no further action
taken.
It will be noticed
that these petitions of August 1776 and March 1777 are t the Honorable Council
and House of Representatives of the State of Massachusetts, instead of to a
captain general or Governor of a province, and that the latter seeks to honor
the name of Washington nearly a month previous to the incorporation of our
other Washington, east of Pittsfield.
Adams, Hancock and
Lee, incorporated during the Revolution, bear distinguished names of that
period during which no less than eleven towns in
Owing to the loss
of the town records previous to 1792, but little information is to be had of
its action from its incorporation in 1779 to 1792, including the Revolution, except
that in the petition for incorporation in 1777, the State War records and the
following item in the Sheffield records of December 25, 1780: “Voted that the assessors procure a list of
real and personal estate of Mount Washington (reconsidered) Mr. Robert Campbell and Mr. Jesse Royce having appeared in the
meeting and engaged on the part of the town of Mount Washington, of which they
are the selectmen and impowered that the said town shall raise two men and 3100
pounds weight of beef towards the men and beef required by the general court of
the town which proportion is acceded to and the said selectmen have engaged on
the part of sd Mount Washington in case sd men and beef on the settlement of
the next valuation shall appear to be less than their proportion of men &
beef compared with the sd town of Sheffield that they will pay immediately on
demand the balance into the treasury of sd Sheffield and John Fellows and Theo
Sedgwick Esq. have engaged on the part of Sheffield that if she sd men and
beef shall by sd valuation appear to be more than the proportion of sd Mount
Washington that they sd Fellows &
Sedgwick will immediately on notice thereof pay the balance into the
treasury of sd Mount Washington which agreement is ratified by the town.”
Among the state
lists of Revolutionary soldiers which are uncertain as to localities. I find at
least twenty-five who went from this town or one-tenth of the total population
at the time, also the following interesting receipt:
Volume nine, page
one hundred twenty-two. “I Nicholas Louke hereby acknowledge that
I have received of William Campbell committee
man of the town of Mount Washington the sum of sixty three pounds hard money as
an encouragement and inducement to me to enter into the Continental Service for
the term of three years to be under the Continental officers that is or shall
be appointed. I say received by me this 26 Day of February A D 1780 in
presents. – Nicholas Louke. Robert Haxton, George Campbell,
witness”
The town paid the
state in 1782, one hundred and five pounds towards war expense.
RELIGIOUS HISTORY
Its religious
history is somewhat unique and interesting from its location as a border town
and with a mixture of the early Dutch tenants of
In 1791, Rev. John Culver, licensed in 1790, and
appointed to the Dutchess circuit, visited and preached here frequently,
followed by Lorenzo Dow in 1801, and
Billy Hibbard in 1804-5. Earlier
than 1789 it is quite probable that the Rev.
Simon Dakin, living in the adjoining town of North East in 1773 and
previous to John King’s removal to
Mount Washington from America, a near neighbor and preacher there was invited
by King in the early years of his
ministry, which he began in 1754-5, to preach in Mount Washington some years
earlier than we have any record. John
King born in 1730 and a contributor to the building of a union church in
America for the Congregationalists and Methodists, was probably a Methodist
convert previous to his removal in 1757, and must have invited his neighbor Dakin to preach here soon after his
removal, and the further fact that he sold his first lot to Joshua Dakin, a son of Simon, in 1779, who with his brother Simon Dakin, Jr., became large land
owners here soon after.
John King’s house, destroyed a few years ago, stood on the east
side of the road to Bear Rock, about on e-half mile south of the present church.
He gave the land for the center cemetery and is buried there. His descendants,
own and conduct the Fort Edward Methodist boarding-school and Rev. James M King, another, is or was
lately a prominent Methodist clergyman of New York City, and Major King, recently in command of the
fortifications of New York harbor, was of that family.
SHAKERISM
Ann Lee, the Mother of Shakerism in this country, held some of
her first meeting in 1781, at the house of Benjamin
Osborn, now owned by Mrs. Spurr
and remodeled last year. Her biography says: “Though quite unexpected deceived. Benjamin,
and several of his sons with their wives, and some others in that place and its
vicinity, had already embraced the testimony. On hearing of Mother Ann’s
arrival, the believers in the neighborhood, also from
Baptist meetings
were early held at the house of Charles
Patterson, now owned by F B Schutt,
a grandson, and shared with the Universalists, Presbyterians and Methodists in
the use of the church and the income from the lease of the minister’s lot in
the early part of the last century as follows:
1806 voted to
build a meeting house and that said house be free for all religious sects not
intruding upon each other’s appointments. 1818 voted that the minister lot
funds due this spring be expended as follows: $1.50 for one discourse or $2,00
for two discourses delivered in one day at the meeting house on the Sabbath or
Lord’s Day of every denomination that is requested to preach and chose Capt. Isaac Lamson, Jeremiah Dibble and
Comfort Sparks to be a committee to
see to the expenditures.
1819 voted to pay
the same as last year for preaching and to divide it as follows: 1st
Sabbath in each month to the Methodists: 2nd to be the
Presbyterians: 3rd to the Baptists; 4th to the
Universalists, beginning the 1st Sabbath in May. The residue of the
year Methodists 1st Sabbath in Nov. Presbyterians 3rd,
Baptists 1st in Dec. Universalists 3rd on every other
Sabbath through the year.
I find no record of
any Baptist or Presbyterian or Universalist church organization. There was a
Congregational church organized October 31, 1831, at the old meeting house
which stood at the west end of the cross-road leading west from the present
church by the Rev. Sylvester Bart of
Great Barrington. Rev. James Bradford
of
After the tearing
down of the old church sometime previous to 1850, services were held in the
center school house which stood on the ground recently added to the center
cemetery.
About 1866,
efforts were begun by Rev. Winthrop H
Phelps, then preaching here and at Egremont, which resulted in the erection
and dedication of the present church building. November 24, 1869 at a cost of
two thousand seven hundred dollars by the people of the town and their friends
elsewhere. Rev. Nahum Gale of Lee
furnished the pulpit and had the church painted, and Mr. Van Dyke, assistant United States Treasurer, a boarder, gave
the bell. At the dedication almost the entire population of the town were
present, coming in sleighs. Dr. Gale
preached the sermon and Mr. Phelps made the prayer.
December 11th,
1874 the present church was organized with thirteen members and is still in a
flourishing condition. At times when preachers could be obtained having
services through the year, but of late, with a small population, only for five
or six months paying our pastors fourteen dollars per sermon instead of one
dollar and a half.
MILLS AND
MANUFACTURES
Mount Washington
early had the grist and saw mill necessary to the building and maintenance of a
town, having two or more of each about 1760, and possibly a third grist mill at
Bashbish Falls.
Abner Woodin of Mount Washington, probably a son of Peter Woodin the first owner of the
city grist mill, made the first iron at
During the war of
1812-15, _______ Way of Hillsdale, had a tannery on the Bashbish brook, and William Murray a saw mill above the
falls about 1822, which George H Ives,
who built the Berkshire House at Great Barrington, afterwards purchased and
erected tenements and a school house about 1850, succeeded by __________ Powy,
during whose ownership a heavy freshet on the streams carried one of the houses
over the falls and ended the business there.
About 1836 a
tannery was in operation on Huckleberry brook and at the city, but the
culmination of manufacturing in
CELEBRATION ON
July 4, 1824, one
of the most enjoyable celebrations ever held in
Norman Hicox, a noted wit and public speaker of
Among those who
attended and spoke of it as one of the most enjoyable celebrations they ever
attended was the last Ralph Taylor
of Great Barrington, who went on horseback with General Ives and gave me the above account. It was probably
intended to commemorate the fiftieth anniversary of their incorporation which
as before stated required only the signature of the Colonial Governor.
Source: Berkshire Geology, James D Dana, 1886,
Collections of the
Berkshire Anthenaeum, Family History Dept,