About Connections: Love it or hate it, history is a map. Those who hate history think it irrelevant; many who love history think it escapism. In truth, history is the clearest road map to how we got here: America in the 21st century.
As Berkshire grows and flourishes, many reasons are suggested. Some cite culture in the country; others the recent flight to safety, or perhaps the urge to return to a simpler time. There are two cities and 30 towns and villages in the county. While some grew, others remained approximately the same as their 18th-century size. While some attracted national attention, others remained off the beaten track, unnoticed and relatively untouched. Notwithstanding Shaker Village, Hancock is one of the latter.
It was and is small in population. Today there are approximately 721 inhabitants, little more than there were when it was incorporated in July 1776. The first settlers arrived at Jericho Plantation in 1762. By August 1767 they were fed up. First came the people, then from Boston came the tax collector, and then came the battle.
“Whereas it has been represented to this Honorable Court that the inhabitants of a place called Jericho, in the county of Berkshire, have been taxed for several years past, and have met with difficulties in assessing and collecting the same and likewise are liable to many other inconveniences for want of being incorporated into a township…”
Therefore, the inhabitants of Jericho wished to incorporate and manage their own affairs.
It took the next nine years and a change in name to seal the deal. They chose a new name for their newly incorporated town: Hancock, after John Hancock. Though sparsely populated, Hancock had the distinction of being the longest incorporated village in Berkshire. Today it is also the narrowest. The reason it was narrow was because it was long. That is, of any Berkshire municipality, Hancock had the longest border with New York state. Therein was the problem.
The part of Berkshire County that bordered New York was disputed. The dispute began as soon as the British decamped. That is, as soon as there was a United States of America, there was a dispute between the states. Seemingly unresolvable, New York and Massachusetts could not agree who owned what land or where the border was. Both states kept moving the border in order to annex land. Make no mistake, it included bloody battles. It was perhaps not wise but certainly not safe to own land on that border. When you went to bed at night, you might own your farm and when you woke up, find you did not. Hard in the circumstances for Hancock to attract a growing population. Not a situation favorable for real estate sales.
The border dispute was not settled until 1855. Until that year, areas along the border were deemed to be in both states or neither. Resolution was finally insisted upon by the United States Congress. In 1855, Congress ratified an 1853 agreement between the two states. When it was resolved, Hancock was the longest township in Berkshire and also the narrowest, with much width being awarded to New York.
Not yet as narrow as it would be 79 years hence, Hancock held its first town meeting as an incorporated township. It was October 1776. They were at once self-governing and at war. The first town meeting formed a government, stockpiled 85 pounds of gunpowder, and jailed Tories, “people inimically disposed to the United States.” Finally, as other Berkshire towns did, Hancock formed a militia. It was a busy time.
It was voted that Caleb B. Gardner, a Tory, be released from jail provided he paid all the costs of his confinement, forfeited the “amount of his whole real estate,” was confined to his farm, and “suppressed all threatening language.” It was voted that others be transported to Great Barrington and jailed. The authority of Hancock was both “civil and military.”
One of the best Berkshire stories is about a farmer and Tory from Hancock named Richard Jackson. In that community of farmers, at harvest time, there was no one available to escort Jackson to jail. He was entrusted with taking himself. He did. On route, he met a man from Stockbridge and they rode together. Hearing his story, the Stockbridge man was impressed. He turned out to be the sitting judge on Jackson’s case, and he released him. As he did, he said, “This is an honest man, and honest men is what a new country needs.”
In 1778, just two years old, Hancock was still managing a Revolutionary War and the founding of a new municipality. At the behest of the General Court in Boston, $300 “be assessed and collected” in order to hire soldiers. In addition, the town “collect clothing for said soldiers.” Dressed however maybe, the new soldiers formed two companies: the upper company (where Hancock is today) and the lower company at New Lebanon. Prior to 1855, New Lebanon and the lands between were part of Hancock. From its beginnings, Hancock was at war with the British and New York state. Overall, Hancock won one and lost one.
There may be many theories about why one Berkshire town grows in size and fame while others do not. Certainly one reason was where the train tracks were laid. Probably another was that Hancock remained a farming community as the world economy moved on. Specifically, Hancock was unable to establish its border until it was rudely sliced in two pieces to resolve a border war. Its most famous residents, the Shakers, came and went. Nevertheless, Hancock, sparse and narrow, is and always was a lovely and charming part of Berkshire.
