RoadsideThoughts
A Gazetteer for the United States and Canada
Home >> State of Massachusetts >> Berkshire County >> Richmond >> 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 Richmond (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 Richmond. 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 Richmond ...

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

  • Richmond was settled in 1760.
  • It was incorporated in 1765.

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 northeast corner of their home county. During their lives, most doctors were in the next county to the east. Almost all of the nearby churches and cemeteries were in the county to the north.

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 east contained birth and death records; the county to the north 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.

Richmond 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 Richmond. For each of these counties, we show a sample of those communities that are closest to Richmond:

  • Berkshire County     (The home county of Richmond)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Richmond, with the one closest to Richmond listed first.
    • Stevens Corner
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the northeast)
    • West Stockbridge
      (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
    • Lenox
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
    • Shaker Village
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
      • Shaker Village is located in Berkshire County
    • Rockdale Mills
      (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
    • Lenox Dale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Lenox Station
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)
    • Glendale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glendale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
      • Glendale is located in Berkshire County
    • Stockbridge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Pittsfield
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Lee
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the southeast)
    • Housatonic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the south)
  • Franklin County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Richmond, with the one closest to Richmond listed first.
    • Hawley
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Hawley have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Hawley
      • Hawley is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 335 people
    • Charlemont
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
    • Monroe
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Monroe have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Monroe
      • Monroe is located in Franklin County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 115 people
  • Hampden County
    • The following are listed by their distance from Richmond, with the one closest to Richmond listed first.
    • 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.<1> 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
    • North Chester
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • North Blandford
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the southeast)
    • Chester Center
      (23 miles [37 km] to the east)
    • Blandford
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Blandford have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
    • Tolland
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the southeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Tolland have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
    • Russell
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the southeast)
    • West Granville
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Montgomery
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Montgomery have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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 Richmond, with the one closest to Richmond listed first.
    • Middlefield
      (18 miles [29 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Middlefield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
    • Worthington
      (21 miles [33.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Worthington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
      (22 miles [35.4 km] to the east)
    • Cummington
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the east)
    • West Chesterfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Chesterfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Chesterfield
      • West Chesterfield is located in Hampshire County
    • Plainfield
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the northeast)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Plainfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Plainfield
      • Plainfield is located in Hampshire County
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 663 people
    • Chesterfield
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chesterfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
    • Huntington
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Huntington have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
    • Swift River
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the east)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Swift River. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Swift River
      • Swift River is located in Hampshire County
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Swift River
      • From Richmond to Swift River
    • Goshen
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the east)
    • Westhampton
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the east)
  • Litchfield County (CT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Richmond, with the one closest to Richmond listed first.
    • Clayton
      (22 miles [35.4 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.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Clayton
      • Clayton is located in Litchfield County (CT)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Clayton
      • From Richmond to Clayton
    • Taconic
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
    • Wangum Village
      (23 miles [37 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Wangum Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Wangum Village
      • Wangum Village is located in Litchfield County (CT)
    • Canaan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • North Canaan
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for North Canaan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
      (24 miles [38.6 km] to the south)
    • East Canaan
      (25 miles [40.2 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for East Canaan have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
      (26 miles [41.8 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Salisbury have been provided by the GNIS.<1> 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
    • Norfolk
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • Salisbury
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the south)
    • North Colebrook
      (27 miles [43.5 km] to the southeast)
    • Amesville
      (28 miles [45.1 km] to the south)
  • Albany County (NY)
  • Columbia County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Richmond, with the one closest to Richmond listed first.
    • Canaan
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
    • Canaan Center
      (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
    • Austerlitz
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
    • Red Rock
      (7 miles [11.3 km] to the west)
    • New Britain ‑ Historic
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the northwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for New Britain. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Britain
      • New Britain is located in Columbia County (NY)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to New Britain
      • From Richmond to New Britain
    • New Concord
      (8 miles [12.9 km] to the west)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for New Concord. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Concord
      • New Concord is located in Columbia County (NY)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to New Concord
      • From Richmond to New Concord
    • Green River
      (9 miles [14.5 km] to the southwest)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Green River. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Green River
      • Green River is located in Columbia County (NY)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Green River
      • From Richmond to Green River
    • Moorhouse Corner
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
    • Rock City
      (10 miles [16.1 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Rock City have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Rock City
      • Rock City is located in Columbia County (NY)
    • Chatham
      (11 miles [17.7 km] to the west)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Chatham have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Chatham
      • Chatham is located in Columbia County (NY)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 1,623 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Chatham <3>
    • Riders Mills
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the northwest)
    • Chatham Center
      (12 miles [19.3 km] to the west)
  • Dutchess County (NY)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Richmond, with the one closest to Richmond listed first.
    • Irondale
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: We haven't been able to verify our GPS coordinates for Irondale. Although the coordinates have been estimated, they should be in the vicinity.<2>
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Irondale
      • Irondale is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Google driving directions:
      • From your current location to Irondale
      • From Richmond to Irondale
    • Millerton
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Millerton have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Millerton
      • Millerton is located in Dutchess County (NY)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 911 people
      • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for Millerton <3>
    • Pine Plains
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the southwest)
  • Greene County (NY)
  • Rensselaer County (NY)
  • Bennington County (VT)
    • The following are listed by their distance from Richmond, with the one closest to Richmond listed first.
    • Pownal
      (29 miles [46.7 km] to the north)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Pownal have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Pownal
      • Pownal is located in Bennington County (VT)
      • Population from the 2020 Census: 3,386 people
    • Pownal Center
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the north)
    • Stamford
      (30 miles [48.3 km] to the northeast)

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

Cemeteries Near Richmond ...

Below are cemeteries that are in the vicinity of Richmond.

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 Richmond covers a larger area, with the cemeteries listed in alphabetical order.

The following cemeteries are listed based on their distance from Richmond, with the one closest to Richmond 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.<8>

The Rand McNally Atlas shows that Richmond had a population of 496 people in 1895 with a post office and railroad service. In 2020, Richmond had a population of 1,410 people.

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

  • Richmond Furnace
    (Less than 2 miles to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Richmond Furnace have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Richmond Furnace
    • Richmond Furnace is located in Berkshire County
  • State Line
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the southwest)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for State Line have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for State Line
    • State Line is located in Berkshire County
  • West Stockbridge
    (2 miles [3.2 km] to the south)
  • Flatbrook
    (3 miles [4.8 km] to the west)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Flatbrook have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Flatbrook
    • Flatbrook is located in Columbia County (NY)
  • Lenox
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the east)
  • West Pittsfield
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northeast)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for West Pittsfield have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for West Pittsfield
    • West Pittsfield is located in Berkshire County
  • Shaker Village
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Shaker Village have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Shaker Village
    • Shaker Village is located in Berkshire County
  • Canaan
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the northwest)
  • Canaan Center
    (4 miles [6.4 km] to the west)
  • Rockdale Mills
    (5 miles [8 km] to the south)
  • Austerlitz
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southwest)
  • New Lebanon
    (6 miles [9.7 km] to the north)
    • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for New Lebanon have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
    • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for New Lebanon
    • New Lebanon is located in Columbia County (NY)
    • Jump to TripAdvisor's Tourism page for New Lebanon <3>
  • Continue List   (15 more) ...
    • Glendale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the south)
      • Note: The GPS coordinates that we are using for Glendale have been provided by the GNIS.<1> The coordinates still need to be verified.
      • Jump to our Gazetteer entry for Glendale
      • Glendale is located in Berkshire County
    • Stockbridge
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the southeast)
    • Lenox Dale
      (6 miles [9.7 km] to the east)

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

Newspapers Published in Richmond ...

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 76 newspapers that have been published in the area around Richmond.

Although we're unaware of any newspapers that were published in the immediate area of Richmond, there are papers which were published within 17 miles [27.4 km]<6>. A list of those papers, sorted by paper name, can be found on the Extended Newspaper List for Richmond.

Websites to Help With Your Genealogy Research ...

When we do our genealogical research, we like to start with the websites from Cyndi's List, FamilySearch and Genealogy Trails. These 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 Richmond:

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

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

Footnotes ...

<1>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.
<2>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.
<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 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.

<5>To help visualize the location of the cemetery, we've drawn a straight line between the communities of Pittsfield and Richmond. The cemetery can be found near that line and roughly halfway between the two communities. Remember that this is just an approximate location.
<6>Our distances are not driving distances, but are calculated as a 'straight-line' distance. A straight line distance ignores things like rivers, canyons, lakes, et cetera - it's truly a line from Point A (ie- Richmond) to Point B.Our distance measurements begin at a specific point in Richmond. The point we use is located at these GPS coordinates - Latitude: 42.3735, Longitude: -73.3679    
<7>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.
<8>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 Richmond, please let us know so that we can improve our accuracy.




 

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