| New
Marlborough Massachusetts, 1890
New Marlborough is a large and handsome
town in the southern part of Berkshire County, having for its
boundaries, Great Barrington on its northwest corner, Monterey
on the north, Sandisfield on the east, Sheffield on the west,
and Canaan and Norfolk in Connecticut on the south. The general
form of the town is that of a parallelogram, with its length north
and south. The assessed area is 28,569 acres; there are 9,304
acres of forest. The formative rock is ferruginous gneiss, Potsdam
and Levis limestone. From the latter large quantities of the "Hadsell
lime" have been manufactured. In the western part of the
town is a valuable bed of white porcelain clay, which is being
wrought with profit. A curiosity of the town is a rock weighing
40 or 50 tons, so nicely poised that it can easily be moved by
the hand. The scenery is diversified and romantic. There are wide
areas of moderately level land about the borders; but the centre
is hilly, the highest elevation being Woodruff Mountain. On the
line at the northwest lies Six-mile Pond, whose outlet is Mill
River. Umphachina River rises east of the centre, and meets the
first at the southwest border; both streams furnishing power.
In the southeast is East Pond; and the outlet of this also affords
power.
On
these streams and their tributaries are six saw mills and grain
mills. There is also a butter and cheese factory. The largest
manufactory is the paper-mill,.employing 25 persons, making paper
for news sheets, and using rye-straw largely. Other manufactures
are whips, carpetings, carriages and metallic goods. The value
of the aggregate product in 1885 was $83,341. There were 261 farms,
whose products amounted to $275,537. The live stock included 2,266
neat cattle, 630 sheep and 376 horses. The population was 1,661,
of whom 430 were legal voters. The valuation in 1888 was $629,118,
with a tax-rate of $13 on $1,000. The number of assessed dwelling-houses
was 361.
The
post-offices and villages are New Marlborough (north centre),
Hartsville at the northwest, Mill River in the west, Southfield
(south centre), and Clayton. The Housatonic Railroad, running
through the midst of Sheffield, on the west, affords the nearest
railway stations. The town has 12 school-houses, valued at some
$5,000. There are three Congregationalist churches, one Baptist,
one Methodist, and two Roman Catholic.
The
plantation of New Marlborough was established as a district in
1759, and the district was made a town by the general act, August
23, 1775. There have been numerous changes of boundary lines on
all sides within the State. Mr. Benjamin Wheeler, from
the original town of Marlborough, commenced the settlement of
this town in 1739. He was forbidden the use of his gun by the
Indians, lest he might kill the deer, which were numerous, and
regarded by them as their most valuable property. The first church
was organized October 31, 1744, when the Rev. Thomas Strong
was ordained pastor. The Rev. Russell S. Cook (1811-1864),
an able writer, and the founder of American colportage, was a
native of this town.
pp.
497-498 in Nason and Varney's Massachusetts Gazetteer, 1890
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