Berkshire County, Massachusetts GenWeb Project

TOWN OF BECKET, BERKSHIRE COUNTY, MASSACHUSETTS

INCORPORATED 1765
Town Hall - 557 Main Street - (413)-623-8934
Open - 8:30 AM - 4:00 PM
Annual Town Meeting - Second Saturday in May
Selectmen's Meeting Dates, Time & Place
Every Wednesday - 7 PM - New Town Hall
Becket is a fine grazing town on the Hoosac branch of the Green Mountain range, on the easterly side of Berkshire County, 118 miles west from Boston. Its boundaries are Washington and Middlefield on the north, Chester on the east, Otis on the south, and Tyringham, Lee and Washington on the west.

Much of the surface is broken, and not available for cultivation. Benton Hill, in the north, is a commanding eminence; and Becket Mountain, in the west, a station in the Trigonometrical Survey, has an elevation of 2,194 feet above sea-level. Wadsworth Hill, in the centre, is the water-shed of Westfield and Farmington rivers; while a tributary of the Housatonic River rises in the western part of the town. The scenery is further diversified by several beautiful sheets of clear water, - Centre Lake, of 163 acres; Rudd Pond, 96 acres; Yokum Pond, 118 acres, and the smaller Shaw and Ward ponds. The climate is cool and bracing, and the people are noted for longevity; there being in 1885, out of a population of 938, 19 persons over 80 years, and two over 90 years of age.

The surface rocks are chiefly granite. The soil is variously sand, loam and clay. There are about 150 farms and 245 dwellings. The dairies yielded, in 1885, $21,917; the crop of cereals was valued at $2,662; fruits, berries, and nuts at $4,010; vegetables, $8,388; meat and game, $7,481; wood products, $9,784; liquors and beverages, $1,016; the aggregate being $98,095. The number of neat cattle was 1,249, sheep 1,058, and of fruit trees, 6,470. At the same time the manufactured goods amounted to $109,877 in value; consisting of lumber, wooden braid and baskets, paper, woollen goods, boots and shoes, quarried stone, liquors, and several other articles. The valuation of the town in 1888 was $401,285, with $18 on $61,000 as the rate of taxation. The area is 26,975 acres, exclusive of highways and water surfaces; with 8,447 acres of woodland, consisting of beech, birch, maple, spruce and hemlock. A noticeable feature is the size and variety of the trees along the public ways,- many being 50 and 60 years old. The Boston and Albany Railroad runs along the northeastern border, the stations being Becket and Middlefield. The villages are Becket, West Becket and Becket Centre. All are post-offices. Becket has a high school and a graded system, with nine public school-houses, valued, with appurtenances, at $5,000. There is also a private school - the Claflin School, established in 1866. There are three Sunday-school libraries, having about 1,000 volumes in the aggregate. The public library - Becket Atheneum - was established early in 1889. Becket was patriotic in the Revolution; and she also sent 110 soldiers into the late war, of whom nine deaths are recorded.

This town, called in its early period "Number Four," was originally settled in 1755, and was incorporated June 21, 1765. Jabez Wadsworth was the first white person born here. The first church was organized December 28, 1758; and the Rev. Ebenezer Martin was ordained pastor on February 23 of the following year. The Baptist church was formed in September, 1764; Rev. Robert Nesbit was the first pastor. The church at North Becket (Congregational) was organized September 25, 1849, and the meeting-house dedicated November 21, 1860. There is also a Roman Catholic congregation in the town, and a mission of the New Church (Swedenborgian).

pp. 136-137 in Nason and Varney's Massachusetts Gazetteer, 1890

RESOURCE
CONTRIBUTOR
 
Courtesy of Claire Smith and Laurel O'Donnell
Courtesy of Claire Smith and Laurel O'Donnell
Courtesy of Claire Smith and Laurel O'Donnell
CEMETERIES
Becket Center Cemetery
Harris Burial Ground aka Old Harris Cemetery
North Becket Cemetery see North Cemetery
North Cemetery aka North Becket Cemetery
Old Harris Cemetery see Harris Burial Ground
Riverside Cemetery
West Becket Cemetery
Yokum Cemetery aka Yokum Pond Cemetery
Courtesy of Ray Brown
MAPS
   
MILITARY
Resource Needed!
Please submit your Becket-related photos for posting!
Early Postmasters of Town of Becket
 
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