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Adams, Massachusetts
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| Adams, Massachusetts | |||
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| Coordinates: | |||
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| Country | United States | ||
| State | Massachusetts | ||
| County | Berkshire | ||
| Settled | 1762 | ||
| Incorporated | 1778 | ||
| Government | |||
| - Type | Representative town meeting | ||
| Area | |||
| - Total | 22.9 sq mi (59.4 km²) | ||
| - Land | 22.9 sq mi (59.4 km²) | ||
| - Water | 0.0 sq mi (0.0 km²) | ||
| Elevation | 799 ft (244 m) | ||
| Population (2000) | |||
| - Total | 8,809 | ||
| - Density | 384.1/sq mi (148.3/km²) | ||
| Time zone | Eastern (UTC-5) | ||
| - Summer (DST) | Eastern (UTC-4) | ||
| ZIP code | 01220 | ||
| Area code(s) | 413 | ||
| FIPS code | 25-00555 | ||
| GNIS feature ID | 0619415 | ||
| Website: http://www.town.adams.ma.us/ | |||
Adams is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 8,809 at the 2000 census. Adams is home to the annual Adams Agricultural Fair.
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Nathan Jones purchased the township of East Hoosac at auction from the state for £3,200. First settled in 1762, it was officially incorporated in 1778 as Adams, named in honor of Samuel Adams, revolutionary leader, governor and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Much of the land had been subdivided into 100-acre and 200-acre lots. These were mostly farms with frontage on the Hoosic River, which over time would provide water power for woolen, cotton, lumber and plastic mills.
First settled in 1737, North Adams was originally part of Adams until the town split in 1878. Although there has never been a town of South Adams, the name was used prior to 1878 to specify the southern part of the town that had long had two primary centers, and survives in the name of the South Adams Savings Bank, which was incorporated in 1869.
Early settlers in the 1760s included a group of Quakers, many of whom came together from Smithfield, Rhode Island. The Quaker civil rights leader, abolitionist and suffragist Susan B. Anthony was born in Adams, and her childhood home is today a museum.
The town's population declined from 1810 to 1820 as farmers moved west for better soil. But the War of 1812 allowed the textile industry to gain a foothold in the United States because British textiles were no longer available. In 1814, the Adams South Village Cotton Manufacture Company opened. With the establishment of a number of mills on the Hoosic River, Adams' population more than doubled to 4,000 between 1820 and 1835. Growth in both halves of Adams was further propelled by the opening of the Hoosac Tunnel in 1875.
President William McKinley made two visits to the town, the second in 1897 to lay the cornerstone of the Adams Free Library. He was a friend of the Plunkett brothers, founders in 1889 of the Berkshire Cotton Manufacturing Company, and of the textile industry generally. In 1903, the assassinated president was honored with a larger-than-life statue beside the library. Berkshire Cotton later became a major part of Berkshire Hathaway, whose large factory in Adams was closed in 1958 (the 1,000 lost jobs were not the fault of Warren Buffett, who did not take over the firm until 1965). The mill town's only major remaining mill, Specialty Minerals, mines and processes limestone for calcium carbonate, used in antacids and food supplements, as well as paper whiteners and other industrial purposes.
The town's more recent move toward tourism, part of a broader trend in the Berkshires, is primarily centered on its natural beauty and outdoor activities, and on its proximity to the galleries, museums and colleges of North Adams and Williamstown.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 22.9 square miles (59.4 km²), all land (the town has no significant ponds, but the Hoosic River does run through it). Set between the Taconic Range to the west and Berkshires to the east, Adams includes the summit of Mount Greylock, elevation 3,491 feet (1,064 meters) above sea level. The mountain is the highest point in Massachusetts, a waypoint on the Appalachian Trail, and in the 19th-century inspired writers including Herman Melville.
Adams is bordered to the north by North Adams, to the east by Florida and Savoy, to the south by Savoy and Cheshire, and to the west by New Ashford and Williamstown.
See also: Adams (CDP), Massachusetts
As of the census2 of 2000, there were 8,809 people, 3,992 households, and 2,431 families residing in the town. The population density was 384.1 people per square mile (148.3/km²). There were 4,362 housing units at an average density of 190.2/sq mi (73.4/km²), albeit packed in to a fairly small portion of lower-lying land. The racial makeup of the town was 98.02% White, 0.36% Black or African American, 0.08% Native American, 0.24% Asian, 0.05% Pacific Islander, 0.27% from other races, and 0.98% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.82% of the population.
There were 3,992 households out of which 26.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.0% were married couples living together, 11.9% had a female householder with no husband present, and 39.1% were non-families. 34.8% of all households were made up of individuals and 17.7% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.20 and the average family size was 2.81.
In the town the population was spread out with 22.4% under the age of 18, 6.6% from 18 to 24, 26.9% from 25 to 44, 23.6% from 45 to 64, and 20.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 41 years. For every 100 females there were 89.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 85.0 males.
The median income for a household in the town was $32,161, and the median income for a family was $40,559. Males had a median income of $34,110 versus $23,556 for females. The per capita income for the town was $18,572. About 7.0% of families and 10.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 12.7% of those under age 18 and 12.9% of those age 65 or over.
- Ashuwillticook Rail Trail
- Adams Agricultural Fair
- Adams Historical Society
- Susan B. Anthony Birthplace & Museum
- Mount Greylock State Reservation
- Quaker Meeting House (1782)
- Daniel Read Anthony, publisher & abolitionist
- Susan B. Anthony, suffragist
- George N. Briggs, governor
- George P. Lawrence, congressman
- Town of Adams, Massachusetts
- Berkshire Visitors Bureau
- Celebrate Adams (local events)
- North Adams Transcript (closest newspaper)
