RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Massachusetts >> Berkshire County >> Great Barrington >> Genealogy HelperIndex...










Learn About
The Commemorative
Quarter for
Massachusetts

The Commemorative Quarter for Massachusetts





Our Genealogy Helper

Introduction ...

We have a couple of goals for our Gazetteer:

  • That it be a tool which helps us with planning our trips.
  • We're trying to shape our Gazetteer as a tool to help us understand the community in which our ancestors lived, the community that was part of their daily lives.
  • On our trips, we try to visit those places where our ancestors left their footprints.

By learning about Great Barrington (and the surrounding area) during the time that our ancestors lived, we hope to have a better understanding of both their community and its relationship to their lifes. We hope that this tool helps to give us an insight into their world.

As we add data and organize our Gazetteer to help with our family research, we will be adding to this our Genealogical Helper for Great Barrington. While we don't have information that is specific to any given person or family, we intend to expand our understanding about where and how people lived.

A Few Details for Great Barrington ...

While it's still very early in our research, we found that:

  • Great Barrington was settled in 1726.
  • It was incorporated in 1761.

Neighboring Counties ...

When searching for family records, we have frequently made the mistake of not checking the neighboring counties.

For example, we have great-grandparents who lived in the southwest corner of their home county. During their lives, most hospitals and doctors were in the next county to the west. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the south.

So when searching for records, we had our best success by looking in neighboring counties instead of the county in which they lived:  their home county contained property and probate records; the county to the west contained birth and death records; the county to the south contained their burial records. If we hadn't included the neighboring counties, we would have missed many valuable sources of information.

If you're in a similar situation, we hope that the following information helps.

Great Barrington is located in Berkshire County.

To see how the shape of Massachusetts' counties have changed over time, we recommend the Atlas of Historical County Boundaries.

The following counties adjoin and form the boundaries of Berkshire County: Litchfield (CT), Franklin, Hampden, Hampshire, Columbia (NY), Rensselaer (NY) & Bennington (VT).

Below are the counties that are near Great Barrington. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Great Barrington:

  • Berkshire County     (The home county of Great Barrington)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Great Barrington, with the one closest to Great Barrington listed first.
    • Van Deusenville
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the north)
    • Egremont Plain
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the west)
    • Alford
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the northwest)
    • South Egremont
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for South Egremont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for South Egremont
      • South Egremont is located in Berkshire County
    • North Egremont
      (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Egremont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Egremont
      • North Egremont is located in Berkshire County
    • Housatonic
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Egremont
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Egremont have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Egremont
      • Egremont is located in Berkshire County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,202 people
    • Hartsville
      (5 miles [8 km] to the southeast)
    • Glendale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glendale have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
      • Glendale is located in Berkshire County
    • Rockdale Mills
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Stockbridge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Sheffield
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
    • Mill River
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
  • Hampden County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Great Barrington, with the one closest to Great Barrington listed first.
    • North Blandford
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the east)
    • Tolland
      (19 miles [30.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tolland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Tolland
      • Tolland is located in Hampden County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 506 people
    • Chester
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chester have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chester
      • Chester is located in Hampden County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,365 people
    • Blandford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blandford have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Blandford
      • Blandford is located in Hampden County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,249 people
    • West Granville
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Chester Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • North Chester
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Russell
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
    • Granville
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Granville have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Granville
      • Granville is located in Hampden County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,606 people
    • Woronoco
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the east)
    • Montgomery
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montgomery have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Montgomery
      • Montgomery is located in Hampden County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 863 people
  • Hampshire County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Great Barrington, with the one closest to Great Barrington listed first.
    • Middlefield
      (20 miles [32.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middlefield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Middlefield
      • Middlefield is located in Hampshire County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 538 people
    • Huntington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huntington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Huntington
      • Huntington is located in Hampshire County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,159 people
    • Worthington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Worthington have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Worthington
      • Worthington is located in Hampshire County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,176 people
    • Worthington Corners
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the northeast)
    • West Chesterfield
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Chesterfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chesterfield
      • West Chesterfield is located in Hampshire County
    • Chesterfield
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chesterfield have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chesterfield
      • Chesterfield is located in Hampshire County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,250 people
    • Westhampton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
    • Cummington
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Swift River
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
  • Hartford County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Great Barrington, with the one closest to Great Barrington listed first.
    • Hartland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
      • Hartland is located in Hartford County (CT)
    • West Hartland
      (23 miles [37 km] to the southeast)
    • Hartland
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hartland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hartland
      • Hartland is located in Hartford County (CT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 2,113 people
    • East Hartland
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Hartland have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Hartland
      • East Hartland is located in Hartford County (CT)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Hartland <3>
    • North Granby
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Granby have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Granby
      • North Granby is located in Hartford County (CT)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for North Granby <3>
  • Litchfield County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Great Barrington, with the one closest to Great Barrington listed first.
    • Canaan
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Clayton
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Clayton. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<1>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
      • Clayton is located in Litchfield County (CT)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clayton
      • From Great Barrington to Clayton
    • Taconic
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
    • Wangum Village
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wangum Village have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wangum Village
      • Wangum Village is located in Litchfield County (CT)
    • North Canaan
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Canaan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for North Canaan
      • North Canaan is located in Litchfield County (CT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,235 people
    • Twin Lakes
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the south)
    • East Canaan
      (13 miles [20.9 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Canaan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for East Canaan
      • East Canaan is located in Litchfield County (CT)
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for East Canaan <3>
    • Salisbury
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salisbury have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Salisbury
      • Salisbury is located in Litchfield County (CT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,584 people
    • Salisbury
      (14 miles [22.5 km] to the south)
    • Amesville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Canaan
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Canaan have been provided by the GNIS.<2> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Canaan
      • Canaan is located in Litchfield County (CT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,051 people
    • Falls Village
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
    • Lakeville
      (16 miles [25.7 km] to the south)
  • Albany County (NY)
  • Columbia County (NY)
  • Dutchess County (NY)
  • Greene County (NY)
  • Rensselaer County (NY)
  • Ulster County (NY)

For an expanded list of the communities that are closest to Great Barrington, see our County-by-County Page for Great Barrington.

Cemeteries Near Great Barrington ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Great Barrington.

This is a new section and is likely to have errors. If you find an error, such as a missing cemetery or we have the wrong name, please let us know. If you know of them, we would also appreciate learning about previous or alternate names.

If you need information about a burial or interment, photos, transcripts, how to contact the cemetery or local authorities, please visit our selection of Genealogy Websites (see below).

If not found below, our Cemetery List for Great Barrington covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Great Barrington, with the one closest to Great Barrington listed first.

Nearby Communities in 1895 ...

We've built the following list with information that came from an Atlas published by Rand McNally in 1895. The Atlas had details such as the population of the community (which appears to have come from the 1890 Census) and whether there was a post office and/or railroad service available. We also indicate if the community no longer exists and is now historic.<6>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Great Barrington had a population of 4,607 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Great Barrington had a population of 6,976 people.

These communities are listed based on their distance from Great Barrington, with the one closest to Great Barrington listed first.

We've also created an expanded list of communities that existed in the 1890's and were located in the area around Great Barrington. See our List of 1890's Communities around Great Barrington.

Newspapers Published in the Vicinity of Great Barrington ...

An ongoing effort between the Library of Congress and the National Endowment for the Humanities (NEH) has resulted in the National Digital Newspaper Program (NDNP).

To share their results, the partnership has created the Chronicling America website. The goal of this partnership is to assemble a database about the current and historic newspapers of the United States. This includes a growing collection of scanned images from selected papers. All of it available to the public on their website.

Using information that we've taken from the Chronicling America website, we've identified 61 newspapers that have been published in the area around Great Barrington.

We have organized these newspapers into two lists:

  • A Local Newspaper List - focusing on the papers published in the immediate area of Great Barrington. There are actually two parts to this list - papers printed in the immediate area of Great Barrington and those printed in the larger area surrounding Great Barrington.
  • An Extended Newspaper List - a longer list, sorted by paper name and containing those papers published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<7> of Great Barrington.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we first visit the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These professional and volunteer websites offer the information directly or else point to where you can find it. Their information is open to everyone.

To help you get started, the following links will take you to the pages that are relevant to Great Barrington:

Unfortunately, we don't know of a website for Great Barrington. If you can help, please contact us through our Feedback Page.

The official website for State of Massachusetts: https://www.mass.gov/

Footnotes ...

<1>An 'estimated' location is one where we have been given GPS coordinates, but are unable to verify the accuracy of those coordinates. That said, we have some confidence that we have placed the marker near the actual location. A typical reason for being unable to verify a location is that it might be on private property or maybe historic and gone without an obvious trace.
<2>The location has been supplied by the Geographic Names Information System - which is maintained by the U.S. Geological Survey (USGS). While these values should be definitive, we found that accuracy can vary and you should double-check the location if accuracy is required.
<3>While we're fans and frequent users of TripAdvisor, you should know that we're also members of the TripAdvisor affiliate program.
<4>The Find-a-Grave website is an excellent research tool with information about a cemetery's location and interments. They also offer a forum for their members which can provide additional help. More information about Find-a-Grave can be found on their website: findagrave.com.
<5>The Massachusetts Historical Commission (MHC) has created and maintains a database of historic properties that is called MACRIS (for the Massachusetts Cultural Resource Information System). More information about the MHC and MACRIS can be found on their website: mhc-macris.net.

When visiting the MACRIS website, you might encounter their page requiring the 'Acceptance of Terms'. With your acceptance, you'll be transfered to the desired page.

<6>We use the term 'Historic' broadly and it generally means that the community no longer exists. However, it can also mean that the community might still exist, but was significantly larger or had a more 'official' existence in the past than it does now. Unfortunately our sources of data have proven to be unreliable. If you can provide us with more specific information about Great Barrington, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.
<7>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores obstructions like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line drawn from Point A (ie- Great Barrington) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Great Barrington. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.1959, Longitude: -73.3612    









 

Copyright 2025
All Rights Reserved

Thank you for visiting our website.

In closing, please keep in mind that we can not guarantee the accuracy or timeliness of the information on this website, so use with care. We encourage you to double-check the information that is critical to you.

If you've found an error or have additional information that you would like to share, please don't hesitate to write: Click here to contact us.

This page was last modified/updated: 28 Apr 2025