Frank J. Sprague was credited with the invention of the electric trolley but a Stockbridge man, Stephen Dudley Field, actually invented the electric trolley in 1874 – almost a decade earlier than Sprague.
Stockbridge — with the accent on “bridge” — has had more bridges over the Housatonic River than any of its neighbors, a remarkable 20 highway, foot, trolley and railroad spans. That’s as many as many as Great Barrington and Sheffield combined. Ten of Stockbridge’s bridges are still in use.
