[
59]
Berkshire is the most westerly county in the
Commonwealth.
It is bounded north by
Bennington County, Vermont; west by
Rensselaer and Columbia Counties, New York; south by
Litchfield County, Connecticut; and east by
Franklin,
Hampshire, and
Hampden Counties,
Massachusetts.
In parts it is rough and hilly, but has many beautiful and picturesque streams and valleys.
The
Housatonic and
Hoosick are its chief rivers; the former empties into
Long Island Sound, and the latter into the
Hudson River.
The
Hoosack and
Greylock, which are partly in the town of
Adams, are its chief mountains.
Under the former, a tunnel for a railroad, four miles in length, is being made; and the latter is the highest land in
Massachusetts.
Its largest towns are
Pittsfield, the county-seat; and
Adams, in which there are many large and flourishing manufactories.
The largest portion of the people, however, are agriculturists.
The Boston and Albany Railroad passes through the centre of the county, east and west, connecting it with
Boston and the
Hudson River.
There are several other railroads in the county, which centre at
Pittsfield.
There are thirty-one towns in
Berkshire, but no city.
The entire population in 1860 was 55,120, and in 1865 it was 56,960, an increase in five years of only 1,846.
The valuation in 1860 was $24,186,962, and in 1865 it was $27,937,444, being an increase in five years of $3,750,482.
According to returns made by the selectmen in 1866 from all the towns in the county, it appears that the whole number of men furnished by
Berkshire for the war was five thousand three hundred and fifty-six, which is not far from the exact
