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Becket, Massachusetts

Becket, Massachusetts
Town
Becket Arts Center, 2005
Becket Arts Center, 2005
Official seal of Becket, Massachusetts
Seal
Location in Berkshire County and the state of Massachusetts.
Location in Berkshire County and the state of Massachusetts.
Coordinates: 42°19′55″N 73°05′00″W / 42.33194°N 73.08333°W / 42.33194; -73.08333Coordinates: 42°19′55″N 73°05′00″W / 42.33194°N 73.08333°W / 42.33194; -73.08333
Country United States
State Massachusetts
County Berkshire
Settled 1740
Incorporated 1765
Government
 • Type Open town meeting
Area
 • Total 47.8 sq mi (123.8 km2)
 • Land 46.1 sq mi (119.3 km2)
 • Water 1.7 sq mi (4.5 km2)
Elevation 1,200 ft (366 m)
Population (2010)
 • Total 1,779
 • Density 39/sq mi (14.9/km2)
Time zone Eastern (UTC-5)
 • Summer (DST) Eastern (UTC-4)
ZIP code 01223
Area code(s) 413
FIPS code 25-04545
GNIS feature ID 0619416
Website www.townofbecket.org

Becket is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 1,779 at the 2010 census.

Becket was first settled in 1740 and was officially incorporated in 1765.

The original "Beckett" for which the town of Becket was named is an estate or "tithing" that once belonged to the Admiral Lord Barrington (the namesake of "Great Barrington, Massachusetts"). It is located in Shrivenham, formerly in Berkshire, England, about five miles east of the important railroad town of Swindon.

Sir Francis Bernard, the Royal Governor of Massachusetts in 1765, was a close friend of Lord Barrington and was himself a native of Berkshire, England. It is said that he often went on holiday in the beautiful surroundings of Beckett, and that these pleasant memories influenced him in 1765 to give the name Becket to Township Number Four when he approved its incorporation.

In 1811, 16 men from Becket traveled to the Western Reserve and founded the village of Windham, Ohio.

The early town was the site of an experiment in the late eighteenth century involving the local church. Seeing the problems involved with communities who supported congregational churches, the town established its own church society, where local citizens supported the church without any tax monies. It was one of the first frontier communities to employ this model of supporting churches.

From its earliest days, Becket was involved in the woodland industries of lumber and quarries. As time went on, dairy production, basketry and silk also were products of the town. After a flood in the early twentieth century, most of the industries died out, and today Becket is mostly known as a resort town with an artists' community surrounding the Jacob's Pillow Company.


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