Historical Perspective
Brown Settlement Cemetery (Hunt, 2011)
Berkshire wasn't always known as the town of
Berkshire. Like most of the United States, the land was occupied by Native
Americans before there became states or even towns (Clark S., 2012). In order
for Massachusetts and New York to get the land that they wanted, they had
to form and sign a treaty with the local Native Americans (Kingman, 2012). Once
it was settled, the people set forth on their journey to explore the state of
New York, mainly the Tioga County area (Hunt & Stoughton, 2009). Berkshire
was first founded in 1791 and was given the name Brown's Settlement which was
named after Issac and Abraham Brown (Hunt & Stoughton, 2011). Before it
bought by Samuel Brown and became Brown's Settlement, it was owned by
Massachusetts as part of the Boston Purchase (Hunt & Stoughton, 2011). It
wasn't until 1808 that its name became the Town of Berkshire (Hunt &
Stoughton, 2011).
The Town of Berkshire was named after the Berkshire hills that are located in Massachusetts (Hunt & Stoughton, 2009). The hills reminded Samuel Brown and the other members of the Boston Purchase Company, who came to explore the land, of home (Hunt & Stoughton, 2009). The town of Berkshire was broken up into different sub areas East Berkshire, and South Berkshire (Clark S., 2012). In the late 1700’s and early1800’s, Berkshire was one of the biggest towns in Tioga County (Hunt & Stoughton, 2011). That all changed in 1828 and 1831 when the left side of Berkshire became Richford and the right side became Newark Valley; this made Berkshire become one of the many small towns in New York (Hunt & Stoughton, 2011).
There are also a lot of historical landmarks in Berkshire and some of them still stand today. There is a cemetery that was first created by the settlers and there is other ones that followed and are still preserved today (Clark S., 2012). There is also a train station that was used for transporting goods and people (Clark A., 2012). Today, a train still passes through; however, the station is no longer being used. The train station building still stands today (Clark S., 2012). Another historical landmark is the Berkshire Free Library and it, too, is still open to the public to this day (Hunt & Stoughton, 2011).
The landmarks in Berkshire, compared to those in Concord, North Carolina, are a little different. Concord has a really old cemetery that looks more like a garden then a cemetery and it’s called the Memorial Garden (A bicentennial history, 1996). Other landmarks that are different from Berkshire are the courthouse and the old textile mills. Berkshire wasn’t big enough for a courthouse (A bicentennial history, 1996). If they needed justice done, they had to travel fifteen to twenty minutes to get it, all the way in Owego, New York (Clark S., 2012). Landmarks that are similar between these two places are the old colonial houses and both Concord and Berkshire had a historical library.
The importance of education also played in the history of Berkshire. The first Berkshire school was called Berkshire High School and was built in 1888 (Hunt & Stoughton, 2009). It held grades first through eighth. It wasn’t until 1902, that this school added grades ninth through twelfth (Hunt & Stoughton, 2009). The first graduating class of Berkshire was in 1906 and it only consisted of four students (Hunt & Stoughton, 2009). Berkshire had a total of 8 different schools (Hunt & Stoughton, 2009). There was the Smith Hill High School, the South Berkshire School, the East Berkshire School, the Ford Hill School, the Lottie Muzzy’s School, the Son’s Hall (which is a private school), Rawson Hollow School, and Edward R. Eastman Elementary school (Hunt & Stoughton, 2011). These schools were later made to go to Newark Valley for high school and eventually had to go to Newark Valley Elementary School as well.
The Town of Berkshire started out as a place without a name. It wasn’t until settlers, from Massachusetts, came that its name became known. The history of Berkshire is all in the landmarks; they are what tell people the story about the different eras that lived on the land (Clark S., 2012). Today some of those landmarks still stand to represent the past, and people drive by them every day (Clark S., 2012).
The Town of Berkshire was named after the Berkshire hills that are located in Massachusetts (Hunt & Stoughton, 2009). The hills reminded Samuel Brown and the other members of the Boston Purchase Company, who came to explore the land, of home (Hunt & Stoughton, 2009). The town of Berkshire was broken up into different sub areas East Berkshire, and South Berkshire (Clark S., 2012). In the late 1700’s and early1800’s, Berkshire was one of the biggest towns in Tioga County (Hunt & Stoughton, 2011). That all changed in 1828 and 1831 when the left side of Berkshire became Richford and the right side became Newark Valley; this made Berkshire become one of the many small towns in New York (Hunt & Stoughton, 2011).
There are also a lot of historical landmarks in Berkshire and some of them still stand today. There is a cemetery that was first created by the settlers and there is other ones that followed and are still preserved today (Clark S., 2012). There is also a train station that was used for transporting goods and people (Clark A., 2012). Today, a train still passes through; however, the station is no longer being used. The train station building still stands today (Clark S., 2012). Another historical landmark is the Berkshire Free Library and it, too, is still open to the public to this day (Hunt & Stoughton, 2011).
The landmarks in Berkshire, compared to those in Concord, North Carolina, are a little different. Concord has a really old cemetery that looks more like a garden then a cemetery and it’s called the Memorial Garden (A bicentennial history, 1996). Other landmarks that are different from Berkshire are the courthouse and the old textile mills. Berkshire wasn’t big enough for a courthouse (A bicentennial history, 1996). If they needed justice done, they had to travel fifteen to twenty minutes to get it, all the way in Owego, New York (Clark S., 2012). Landmarks that are similar between these two places are the old colonial houses and both Concord and Berkshire had a historical library.
The importance of education also played in the history of Berkshire. The first Berkshire school was called Berkshire High School and was built in 1888 (Hunt & Stoughton, 2009). It held grades first through eighth. It wasn’t until 1902, that this school added grades ninth through twelfth (Hunt & Stoughton, 2009). The first graduating class of Berkshire was in 1906 and it only consisted of four students (Hunt & Stoughton, 2009). Berkshire had a total of 8 different schools (Hunt & Stoughton, 2009). There was the Smith Hill High School, the South Berkshire School, the East Berkshire School, the Ford Hill School, the Lottie Muzzy’s School, the Son’s Hall (which is a private school), Rawson Hollow School, and Edward R. Eastman Elementary school (Hunt & Stoughton, 2011). These schools were later made to go to Newark Valley for high school and eventually had to go to Newark Valley Elementary School as well.
The Town of Berkshire started out as a place without a name. It wasn’t until settlers, from Massachusetts, came that its name became known. The history of Berkshire is all in the landmarks; they are what tell people the story about the different eras that lived on the land (Clark S., 2012). Today some of those landmarks still stand to represent the past, and people drive by them every day (Clark S., 2012).
(Hunt, 2009)
(Hunt, 2011)
