Meet the Housatonic

“In the earlier days. . . this valley must have been a magnificent sight. The beautiful mountains on either side, thickly covered with massive trees, and in the midst of it all, the Housatonic River rolling in great flood.”  -W.E.B. Dubois, “The Housatonic River,” 1930

The Housatonic River springs from the confluence of its East and West Branches in thickly wooded mountains near Pittsfield, seat of Berkshire County, Massachusetts. At its headwaters, the river is a smooth and gentle waterway, hugged by grassy banks overhung with sugar maple, beech, yellow birch, white pine, and hemlock. Rhododendron and mountain laurel, blood wort and trillium, emerge from the forest floor, while raspberry and blackberry, milkweed and goldenrod, Joe Pye weed, aster, and goldenrod bloom in more open spaces. 

The forests on the Housatonic are home to astonishing array of wildlife—fox, porcupine, skunk, bobcat, black bear, deer, moose, chipmunks, voles, and many other species of mammals along with more than 200 species of birds. Adjacent wetlands and vernal ponds support duck, beaver, mink, ermine, otter, the great blue heron, and endangered species such as bog and wood turtles and yellow spotted salamanders. Bass, yellow perch, brown trout, and bluegill navigate the river’s glassy waters while the rare northern leopard frog observes from the shore.

Coursing south through Berkshire County, the Housatonic River winds through steep farmland, forests, and state parks, many traversed by paths preserved as part of the Appalachian Trail. A view of the river from Main Street is common to all of the small towns of the Housatonic—Lenox Dale, Lee, Stockbridge, Great Barrington, and Sheffield, all founded in the early 18^th century by English settlers because of food, water, power, and transportation that the river afforded. 

Long before the English, Indigenous peoples had lived on the Housatonic River for more than 10,000 years. Mohicans living to the west of the river, in present-day New York, came regularly to the Housatonic Valley to hunt and fish. They called the area “usi-a-di-en-uk” or “the place beyond the mountain”—in other words, the “Housatonic.”  In the 17^th century, Mohicans fleeing conflict with the Mohawks settled near present-day Stockbridge, where they mingled with the Muncie branch of the Lenape tribe already established in the region. One hundred years later, men from these tribes formed the Stockbridge Militia, the first Native American group to fight on the American side during the Revolutionary War. Despite their loyalty, the tribes were eventually forced to leave Stockbridge after English settlers stole their land and only recently have returned.By the 1880s, the hills surrounding the Housatonic River were a favored destination for New York and Boston elites seeking to escape hot urban summers. The temperate days and cool evenings attracted many families equipped with names such as Vanderbilt, Westinghouse, Carnegie, and Morgan, who built luxurious “cottages” staffed by local residents. Many of these grand houses had fallen into disrepair or even been deserted in the years after the Great Depression and World War II.

English colonists who settled on the banks of the Housatonic were mainly missionaries or impoverished subsistence farmers. For many years, the area remained a backwater. The land was too rocky for large-scale farming and too far removed from the ports at Boston or New York to make the sale of furs economically viable.

But in the 19^th century, the Housatonic River Valley became an industrial powerhouse. Berkshire County’s earliest industry was paper produced in mills in and near Pittsfield powered by the river. In 1804, Zenas Crane built a paper mill on the Housatonic near Dalton, which later became Crane Paper, producer of all paper currency and the leading manufacturer of fine stationer in the U.S. The Town of Lee developed into the main paper town in the entire United States, with 25 paper mills by 1857. America’s first fine broadcloth, made from merino wool, was produced in a mill on the Housatonic River.The forests on the Housatonic are home to astonishing array of wildlife—fox, porcupine, skunk, bobcat, black bear, deer, moose, chipmunks, voles, and many other species of mammals along with more than 200 species of birds. Adjacent wetlands and vernal ponds support duck, beaver, mink, ermine, otter, the great blue heron, and endangered species such as bog and wood turtles and yellow spotted salamanders. Bass, yellow perch, brown trout, and bluegill navigate the river’s glassy waters while the rare northern leopard frog observes from the shore.

The marble from the Berkshire Mountains was also a top source of income during the 19^th century.  Lee’s first marble quarry opened in 1852. The pure color and fine quality of Lee marble ensured that it adorned the US Capital, Boston Public Library, St. Patrick’s Cathedral and Grant’s Tomb in New York City, and Philadelphia’s City Hall. Fifteen years later, more than 100 quarries were operating throughout the Berkshires. The industry attracted many recent immigrants to the US, notably from Italy and Ireland, whose descendants still live in the region today.

African-American first came to Berkshire County as enslaved servants of English families.  But area became known as supportive of racial freedom with Elizabeth Freeman’s successful suit for freedom to the state supreme court in 1781. Berkshire County was home to the 54^th Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry Regiment, the legendary “Glory” regiment of Black men famed for their bravery at battles in Charleston and elsewhere during the Civil War.

By the 1880s, the hills surrounding the Housatonic River were a favored destination for New York and Boston elites seeking to escape hot urban summers. The temperate days and cool evenings attracted many families equipped with names such as Vanderbilt, Westinghouse, Carnegie, and Morgan, who built luxurious “cottages” staffed by local residents. Many of these grand houses had fallen into disrepair or even been deserted in the years after the Great Depression and World War II.

About the same time, the industries that had put Berkshire County on the map—paper, marble, and textiles—were also in decline. Reduced demand, the depletion of resources, and changes in technology contributed to businesses’ decisions to move elsewhere or close down. Many residents of Lee were thrown out of work. When the Eagle Mill, for example, closed in 2008 after operating for 200 years. over 350 jobs were lost in a town of about 6,000 people.  The mill is now being redeveloped as affordable housing.

Berkshire County today has a population of about 135,000 people, according to the 2020 census. The largely White population is of Italian, Irish, French, English, Polish, and German heritage. Small Black, Native American, and Latino populations are also present.   

With a population of 5,788 in 2020, Lee is the 7thn largest town in Berkshire County…