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Adams, Massachusetts

Adams, Massachusetts
Town
Hoosic River
Official seal of Adams, Massachusetts
Seal
Location in Berkshire County and the state of Massachusetts.
Location in Berkshire County and the state of Massachusetts.
Coordinates: 42°37′27″N 73°07′05″W / 42.62417°N 73.11806°W / 42.62417; -73.11806Coordinates: 42°37′27″N 73°07′05″W / 42.62417°N 73.11806°W / 42.62417; -73.11806
Country United States
State Massachusetts
County Berkshire
Settled 1762
Incorporated 1778
Government
 • Type Board of Selectmen Representative town meeting
Area
 • Total 23.0 sq mi (59.5 km2)
 • Land 22.9 sq mi (59.3 km2)
 • Water 0.08 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation 799 ft (244 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 8,485
 • Density 371/sq mi (143.1/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 town.adams.ma.us

Adams is a town in northern Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 8,485 at the 2010 census.

Nathan Jones purchased the township of East Hoosac at auction in 1762 from the state for £3,200. In 1778, the town was officially incorporated as Adams, named in honor of Samuel Adams, a revolutionary leader and signer of the Declaration of Independence. Much of the land had been subdivided into 100-acre (0.40 km2) and 200-acre (0.81 km2) 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 1745, 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.


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