Indians were collected from Stockbridge and Sheffield, somewhere in this town, for the purpose of receiving instruction more conveniently from the missionary and schoolmaster sent among them, previous to the final establishment of the mission in Stockbridge. They may have been collected at the Great Wigwam, but were probably further north.

The following circumstance is related by Dr. Dwight as having occurred at the great bridge in this town. It is too remarkable not to be introduced here.

"A Mr. Van Rensselaer, a young gentleman from Albany, came one evening into an inn, kept by a Mr. Root, just at the eastern end of the bridge. The inn-keeper, who knew him, asked him where he had crossed the river. He answered, On the bridge.' Mr. Root replied, that that was impossible, because it had been raised that very day, and that not a plank had been laid on it. Mr. Van Rensselaer said that it could not be true, because his horse had come over without any difficulty or reluctance; that the night was indeed so profoundly dark as to prevent him from seeing anything distinctly; but that it was incredible, if his horse could see sufficiently well to keep his footing anywhere, that he should not discern the danger, and impossible for him to pass over the bridge in that condition. Each went to bed dissatisfied, neither believ ing the story of the other. In the morning, Mr. Van Rensselaer went, at the solicitation of his host, to view the bridge, and, finding it a naked frame, gazed for a moment with astonishment, and fainted."

HANCOCK.

THE first and principal grant in this town was made by the legislature, in 1760, to Asa Douglass, Esq., and Timothy Hurlburt, of Canaan, Con., Col. John Ashley of Sheffield, and Josiah Dean. The first grantee became a settler in April 1762, with whom were soon associated John Clothier, Jesse Squire, Amasa and Martin Johnson, Benjamin Davis, Samuel Grippen, David Sprague, Samuel Hand, Esq., Capt. Caleb Gardner, David Vaughan, Reuben Ely, Henry Hazard and Jonathan Hazard, Esq. They were mostly from Connecticut and Rhode Island, and settled about the north village, and northward towards Williamstown.

In 1761, Charles Goodrich, Esq., of Pittsfield, obtained a grant of land on the south end of the town, and in 1764 his nephew Daniel Goodrich settled upon it; and the following year Benjamin Goodrich, the father of Daniel, settled there, with all his other sons, viz. Benjamin, Samuel, Nathan, David, Ezekiel, Isaiah, Hezekiah, Jeremiah, and Enoch. Jeremiah and Hezekiah Osborn, father and son, and Israel Talcot, settled there about the same time. The Goodriches and Osborns were from Ridgfield-Talcot from Wethersfield, Con. Soon after the grant to Charles Goodrich, small grants were made in the north part of the town to Dea. Samuel Brown, of Stockbridge, and Col. Farrington. The remainder of the town was sold by a committee of the general court to the actual settlers in 1789, at different prices per acre, according to the quality. The place was first called Jericho, on account of the high natural walls on each side, that is, the mountains. At the time of its incorporation in 1776, it was named Hancock in honor of John Hancock, then president of the continental congress, and afterwards governor of the state. The township is nearly 16 miles in length, and about two in breadth. It was formerly wider, but when the line was finally established between Massachusetts and New York, in 1787, a tier of fine lots, upward of half a mile in length, were thrown into the latter state. A narrow valley extends south about 7 miles from the line of Williamstown to the north village of Hancock, along which is a succession of good farms extending from the valley to the right and left on to the sides of the mountains. For several miles south from this village, the township is so broken and mountainous that no highway has been cut through it.

The Shakers have a village in the south-east part of the town,

which extends into the edge of Pittsfield. They sprung up in this town about 1780. Some persons about that time began to visit mother Ann and the elders at Escuania, near Albany. Approving of the tenents of the Shakers, they immediately set up their meetings according to the customs of that sect. They built their meeting-house in 1784.

The above is a view of some of the principal buildings in the Shaker village, which is 4 miles from Pittsfield, 7 from Lenox, and 5 from New Lebanon Springs. The large three-story building seen in the central part of the engraving is constructed of brick, is 102 feet long, and 53 feet wide. There are six families, as they are termed, in the settlement, containing in the whole about 130 or 40 persons. The circular stone barn seen in the engraving in distance, a short distance southerly from the threestory building, was built in 1826, and is something of a curiosity. "It is 270 feet in compass, with walls laid in lime, rising 21 feet above the underpinning, and from three and a half to two and a half feet in thickness. The mast and rafters are 53 feet in length, and united together at the top. On the lower floor, immediately within the walls, are stables, 8 feet high, occupying 12 feet in length, with the manger, which is inwards, and into which convenient places are left for throwing hay and feed from above. In these stables, which open to and from several yards, a span of horses and 52 horned cattle may be stabled. The covering of the stables forms the barn floor, on to which from an offset there is but one large doorway for teams, which make the circuit of the floor, and pass out at the same place. Eight or ten can occupy the floor at the same time; and the hay is thrown into the large area in the center. For simply laying the stone of this building the masons were paid 500 dollars and boarded."

Most of the inhabitants of the town have ever been of the Baptist denomination. A congregation was early formed, which held

their meetings for a time in a log house about a mile and a quarter above the north village. Their present meeting-house was built in 1797. Elder Clark Rogers, from R. I., was their first minister, and was settled over them in about 1770. The town is 15 miles N. by W. of Lenox, and 129 W. of Boston. Population, 975. Agriculture is the principal business of the inhabitants.

HINSDALE.

THE settlement of this town was commenced about the close of the second French war, probably in the year 1762. The first who settled in the town were Francis, David, and Thomas 'Miller, brothers, from Middlebury. Francis Miller was a man of considerable note. He was employed as a surveyor by the government, and surveyed the road from Boston to Albany, and run the line between Massachusetts and New York. Other of the first settlers were Nathan and Wilson Torrey, from Rhode Island, and Joseph Watkins and 5 sons from Hopkinton. About 1771, Nathan Fisk, who was among the first settlers, built a grist and saw mill, for which he received a premium from the government of 250 acres of land. In 1774 and 75 Nathaniel Tracy, Abner Bixbe, James Wing, and two families by the name of Frost, settled in the town. In 1781 Richard Starr, from Groton, Con., came into the town, and was of great service to the religious interests of the people.

This town originally belonged to Peru on the east and Dalton on the west. In 1795 they were incorporated as a parish, by the name of the west parish of Partridgefield (now Peru), and in 1804 they were invested with town privileges and incorporated by the name of Hinsdale. In the year first mentioned the Rev. Theodore Hinsdale, after whom the town was named, (came from Windsor, Con.) and settled in the part of the town which then belonged to Dalton, and was very active, in connection with Dea. Starr, in gathering and organizing a Congregational church. This church was formed in Dec. of that year, consisting of 23 members. In 1797 a Baptist church was formed, of which Elder Eleazer Smith was the first minister. They have a meeting-house, built in 1818. There are 3 churches in the center of the town, 1 Congregational, 1 Baptist, and 1 Methodist.

This township is situated on the west side of the Green mountain range, and is 7 miles in length, and from 3 to 4 in breadth. It is 15 miles N. N. E. of Lenox and 124 W. of Boston. Population 832. In 1837 there were 2 woollen mills, which consumed 57,000 lbs. of wool; 25,000 yards of cloth were manufactured, valued at $74,000. There were 2,000 Saxony and 8,920 merino sheep, and the value of the wool produced in the town was $19,266.

IN January, 1741, Samuel Jackson, with seventy-five others, inhabitants of Framingham, Middlesex Co., petitioned the general court to grant them a tract of wilderness land, situated near an Indian town on the Housatonic river. The grant was made, and they were authorized to survey and locate a township, which was done the same year. The settlement was commenced about 1754 or 5, by Capt. Samuel Martin and two other families, which were driven off by the Indians in the second French war. Of these, Capt. Martin was the only one who returned. Among the earliest settlers were Nathaniel Williams, Samuel Tyrrell, John, Ephraim, Elijah and Miles Powel (brothers), Lieut. Andrew Squier, James Loomis and Ambrose Hall, William Bradley, James Goodrich, Thaddeus Curtiss, Ebenezer Squier, Benjamin and Joseph Farnum. They all settled here as early as 1760. A fort was built for the protection of the settlement from Indian assaults. On the approach of the Indians, on one occasion, the settlers fled to Pittsfield. A scout was sent after them from Massachusetts fort, who, following tracks which they found, discovered two Indian chiefs, who were stooping down, tying their moccasons. Each of the scouts selected one, and both chiefs were killed on the spot. The scouts escaped to the fort, though closely pursued by the Indians. A party shortly after set out from the fort in search of the bodies of the slain chiefs, who found them buried in their war costume. town was incorporated on the 20th of June, 1765, and then comprehended a large part of the present town of Cheshire. The present length of the town is 6 miles, and the average breadth about 5 miles. There are beds of iron ore in the town, and several extensive quarries of valuable marble.

The

The above shows the appearance of the village of Lanesborough as it is entered from the south. It is situated on the eastern side

of a branch of the Housatonic, which passes through the central part of the town, and runs through Lanesborough Pond, which lies partly in this town and Pittsfield. The meadows on this stream are luxuriant and beautiful. There are 3 churches: 1 Congregational, 1 Baptist, and 1 Episcopal. The Congregational church is the one seen in the central part of the engraving; the Baptist is the one standing a little south. The Episcopal church, a Gothic building, stands about three fourths of a mile northward.

The Congregational church in this town was organized March 28th, 1764, by Rev. Samuel Hopkins, of Great Barrington, and Rev. Stephen West, of Stockbridge. It consisted at first of eight members. Their first pastor, Rev. Daniel Collins, was ordained April 17, 1764. He was a native of Guilford, Con., and a graduate of Yale College in 1760. The Episcopal church (called St. Luke's church) was instituted by the Rev. Samuel Andrews, of Wallingford, Con., Oct. 2, 1767, and their first house of worship was built in 1783. The Baptist church was formed in 1818, with 12 members. Elder Augustus C. Beach was their minister. Their meeting-house was built in 1828. This town is 11 miles N. of Lenox, and 125 W. by N. of Boston. Number of inhabitants, 1,090. The following is from the "Statistical Tables," 1837, published by the state: "Saxony sheep, 7,814; merino sheep, 4,235; other kinds of sheep, 284; Saxony wool produced, 28,193 pounds; merino wool, 13,510 pounds; other kinds of wool, 786 pounds; average weight of fleece, 3 pounds; value of wool, $26,100; capital invested, $335,500."

LEE.

THIS town was incorporated in the year 1777. The eastern part was taken from the town of Washington, called Hartwood; the south-western, called Hopland, was taken from Great Barrington; the remainder was made up of certain provincial grants, as Glassworks grant, Williams grant, &c. The town was named in honor of General Lee, then an active officer in the army of the Revolution. The first white man who settled in the town was Mr. Isaac Davis, in the year 1760, in quite the south part of the town, on the side of Hop brook. Most of the early inhabitants were from Tolland, in Con., and from Barnstable, Sandwich, Falmouth, and Great Barrington, in Mass. One of the first settlers, Mr. Jesse Bradley, came from New Haven, Con., another, Mr. Jonathan Foot, from Colchester. The Congregational church in this town was organized on the 25th of May, 1780, by the Rev. Daniel Collins, of Lanesborough, consisting of 30 members. For the basis of their union, they adopted the same confession of faith which is acknowledged by the church at the present time. On the 3d of July, 1783, Mr. Elisha Parmelee, of Goshen, Con., a graduate of Harvard College, was ordained their pastor.