ADAMS, MASSACHUSETTS

'Adams' is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 8,809 at the 2000 census. The ZIP Code is 01220.
For geographic and demographic information on the census-designated place Adams, please see the article Adams (CDP), Massachusetts.

Contents

History

Geography

Points of interest

Demographics

Notable residents

References

External links

History

Adams was first settled in 1762, after Nathan Jones purchased the township of East Hoosac at auction from the state, for £3,200. The area was officially incorporated as Adams in 1778 after much of it had been subdivided into 100-acre and 200-acre lots. These were mostly farms with frontage on the Hoosic River; later the same river would help attract woolen, cotton, lumber and plastic mills. The town was named in honor of Samuel Adams, a leader in the American Revolution, recently a signer of the Declaration of Independence, and later governor of Massachusetts.
The city of North Adams, which was first settled in 1737, was part of Adams until the town was split in 1878. Although there has never been a town of South Adams, the name was used prior to 1878 to specify the southern part of the town, that had long had two primary centers, and survives in the name of the South Adams Savings Bank, which was incorporated in 1869.
Among the town's first settlers in the 1760s were a group of Quakers, many of whom came together from Smithfield, Rhode Island. The American civil rights leader (abolitionist / suffragist) and Quaker Susan B. Anthony was born in Adams on February 15 1820; her childhood home (67 East Road) still stands.
While the town's population declined from 1810 to 1820, as farmers moved west for better soil, the War of 1812, which kept British textiles out of the US, allowed the textile industry to gain a foothold in the US, with the Adams South Village Cotton Manufacture Company opening in 1814. With the opening of a number of mills on the Hoosic River, Adams' population more than doubled to 4,000 in the 15 years to 1835. Growth in both halves of Adams was further propelled by the opening of the Hoosac Tunnel in 1875.
William McKinley made two visits to Adams as President, one to dedicate the town's library. McKinley was a friend of the Plunkett brothers, founders of the Berkshire Cotton Manufacturing Company in 1889, and of the textile industry generally. In 1903 the assassinated President was honored with a larger-than-life statue beside the town library. Berkshire Cotton later became a major part of Berkshire Hathaway, whose large Adams operation was closed in 1958 (the 1,000 lost jobs were not the fault of Warren Buffett, who did not take over the firm until 1965). The town's only major remaining mill, Specialty Minerals, mines and processes limestone for calcium carbonate, used in antacids and food supplements, as well as paper whiteners and other industrial purposes.
The town's more recent move toward tourism, part of a broader trend in the Berkshires, is primarily centered on its natural beauty and outdoor activities, and on its proximity to the galleries, museums and colleges of North Adams and Williamstown.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 59.4 km² (22.9 mi²), all land (the town has no significant ponds, but the Hoosic River does run through it). Adams includes the summit of Mount Greylock, at 3,491 feet the highest point in Massachusetts, a waypoint on the Appalachian Trail, and inspiration to Herman Melville, among other 19th Century writers. The town has many trails besides the Appalachian Trail, including the paved Ashuwillticook Rail Trail.
Adams is bordered to the north by N. Adams, to the east by Florida and Savoy, to the south by Savoy and Cheshire, and to the west by New Ashford and Williamstown.

Points of interest

★ The Berkshire Visitors Bureau, at 3 Hoosac Street, offers maps, pamphlets and personal help to visitors throughout the region.

★ The Quaker Meeting House, dating from 1782, is open Sundays from Memorial Day to Labor Day.

★ Adams celebrates Susan B. Anthony with a festival in late July.

★ The Adams Agricultural Fair is held in early August.

★ The Fall Run Weekend and Motorcycle Ride, which benefits the Shriners Children's Hospital in Springfield, is held each September.

★ The Mount Greylock Ramble attracts crowds of hikers to the summit each Columbus Day; this is also generally the end of the season for driving to the summit, and for using the Massachusetts Veterans Memorial tower and Bascom Lodge at the summit. (The summit roads are closed to autos, for repaving and improvements, for 2007-2008.)

★ The Western Mass Athletic Club runs numerous road, trail and snowshoe races along Adams streets and at the Greylock Glen area at the foot of Mount Greylock.

Demographics

As of the census² of 2000, there were 8,809 people, 3,992 households, and 2,431 families residing in the town. The population density was 148.3/km² (384.1/mi²). There were 4,362 housing units at an average density of 73.4/km² (190.2/mi²), albeit packed in to a fairly small portion of lower-lying land. The racial makeup of the town was 98.02% White, 0.36% Black or African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population.
There were 3,992 households out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.0% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.81.
In the town the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $32,161, and the median income for a family was $40,559. Males had a median income of $34,110 versus $23,556 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,572. About 7.0% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.7% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.

Notable residents

★ George N. Briggs (1796-1861), born in Adams, Governor of Massachusetts^[1]

★ Susan B. Anthony (1820–1906), born and raised in Adams, women's suffragist honored on U.S. Dollar coin (minted between 1979 and 1981, and again in 1999).

★ Daniel Read Anthony (1824-1904), Susan's younger brother, a militant abolitionist and Union officer. Engaged in gun battles with rival editors while publisher of the Leavenworth Times in Kansas.

References

1. Who Was Who in America, Historical Volume, 1607-1896, , , , Marquis Who's Who, ,

External links

★ Town of Adams

★ Berkshire Visitors Bureau

★ Celebrate Adams (local events)

★ Adams Agricultural Fair

★ Gazetteer Of Berkshire County (the town's history, published in 1885)

★ Adams Historical Society

★ Quaker Meeting House

★ Ashuwillticook Rail Trail State Park Info

★ Mount Greylock State Reservation

★ Western Gateway Heritage State Park

★ North Adams Transcript (Closest newspaper)