Lanesborough, Massachusetts facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Lanesborough, Massachusetts
Town
Lanesborough Town Hall
Seal
Nickname(s):  New Framingham (former official name)
Motto(s):  Liberté Toute Entière (French) "Liberty Unfettered"
Location in Berkshire County and the state of Massachusetts.
Country	United States
State	Massachusetts
County	Berkshire
Settled	1753
Incorporated	1765
Government
• Type	Open town meeting
Area
• Total	76.6 km2 (29.6 sq mi)
• Land	74.7 km2 (28.8 sq mi)
• Water	1.9 km2 (0.7 sq mi)
Elevation	344 m (1,130 ft)
Population  (2020)
• Total	3,038
• Density	39.66/km2 (102.72/sq mi)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (Eastern)
ZIP Code	01237
Area code(s)	413
FIPS code	25-34340
GNIS feature ID	0618267

Lanesborough is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, in the United States. It's part of the larger Pittsfield area. In 2020, about 3,038 people lived here.

History of Lanesborough

Lanesborough was one of the first places settled in the Berkshire area. It was first called "New Framingham." People started settling here in 1753. The town officially became a town on January 21, 1765.

It was renamed Lanesborough after the Countess of Lanesborough. She was a friend of Governor Francis Bernard, who helped make the town official. In the early 1800s, the town grew with small businesses, mostly along Town Brook.

A fun place called Berkshire Pleasure Park was popular around 1900. It was a "trolley park," which means people could get there easily by trolley car. Today, Lanesborough has many small businesses. However, most people who live in Lanesborough work in nearby towns.

One of the town's most famous residents was Josh Billings. His real name was Henry Wheeler Shaw. He was a very popular writer who made people laugh in the 1800s. He was as famous as Mark Twain at the time!

A cool old building is the Old Stone School. It's a special stone one-room schoolhouse built in 1832. It was used as a school until 1950. Now, it's a photography gallery and a guesthouse.

Geography and Nature

Lanesborough covers about 76.6 square kilometers (about 29.6 square miles). Most of this area is land, with a small part being water.

The town is surrounded by other towns. To the north is New Ashford. To the east are Cheshire and Dalton. Pittsfield is to the south, and Hancock is to the west. Lanesborough is about 5 miles (8 km) north of Pittsfield. It's also about 140 miles (225 km) west of Boston.

Lanesborough sits in two valleys. Town Brook flows south through the middle valley into Pontoosuc Lake. The Cheshire Reservoir, which is where the Hoosic River starts, flows north through the eastern valley.

The famous Mount Greylock begins in Lanesborough. You can find the auto road and visitors' center here. Rockwell Road leads up Mount Greylock to the top in Adams. Sperry Road, which branches off Rockwell, has a campground and picnic area.

A big part of Pittsfield State Forest is also in Lanesborough. Its main attraction is Balance Rock, a huge rock that looks like it's balancing. To the west, you'll find Jiminy Peak and Sheeps Heaven Mountain. Jiminy Peak is a ski area, and its main lodge is in Lanesborough.

You can also see the very large Massachusetts Champion Elm tree on Summer Street. It's a huge and old elm tree! Lanesborough is also where you can start the Ashuwillticook Rail Trail. This is a fun bike path that used to be a railway.

Getting Around Lanesborough

U.S. Route 7 is the main road through Lanesborough. It goes north from Pittsfield towards Williamstown and Vermont. Massachusetts Route 8 also passes through the town. You can catch a bus along Route 8. For longer trips, you can find bus and air services in Pittsfield. The closest airport with national flights is Albany International Airport.

• 

  The entrance to Rockwell Road, which leads to Mount Greylock

• 

  The Champion Elm

Population Facts

In 2000, there were about 2,990 people living in Lanesborough. This made it the eleventh largest town in Berkshire County. About 1,203 households were in the town. Many households (32.8%) had children under 18 living with them. The average age of people in Lanesborough was 40 years old.

Education in Lanesborough

Lanesborough is part of the Mount Greylock Regional School District. This district also includes Hancock, New Ashford, and Williamstown. The district has a middle school and a high school.

Younger students, from pre-kindergarten to sixth grade, go to Pontoosuc Regional Elementary School. This school also serves students from New Ashford. After sixth grade, students attend Mount Greylock Regional High School in Williamstown. There are also other types of schools nearby, like private schools.

For higher education, the closest community college is Berkshire Community College in Pittsfield. The nearest state college is Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams. The closest university is the University of Massachusetts Amherst. Williams College in Williamstown is a nearby private college.

Famous People from Lanesborough

• Josh Billings, a famous humorist, was born here.
• Henry Shaw Briggs, a brigadier general during the American Civil War, was born here.
• Bette Davis, a famous actress, went to school here for three years.
• Guy H. Preston, a U.S. Army brigadier general, grew up in Lanesborough.
• Ethan Zuckerman, a writer and internet expert.

Sister City

Lanesborough has a "sister city" relationship with another town. This means they share a special bond and often learn from each other.

• Lanesborough, County Longford, Ireland

See also

In Spanish: Lanesborough (Massachusetts) para niños