Berkshire

Formed April 24, 1761 (11^th county)

Berkshire County (129,036), Pittsfield (43,935)

The 1871 masonry Neo-Classical courthouse for Berkshire County is located on Wendell Street south of East Street.  East Street is United States Highway 7 in the town.  Louis Wesbein is the architect.  There is a 1928 District Courthouse supporting the county and an 1875 Probate and Family Courthouse augmenting the county courthouse.  Great Barrington and North Adams have supporting courthouses.  There was a 1792 courthouse in Lenox and Pittsfield became county seat in 1871.  The county is named for Berkshire, England.  Pittsfield is named for Englishman William Pitt.  Berkshire County was the birthplace of 3 Massachusetts Governors, George N. Briggs, Winthrop M. Crane, and Jane M. Swift.  Berkshire County was established on April 24, 1761 from Hampshire County as the 11^th county. 

Berkshire County doesn’t have a unified government as each township governs.  Three District Court Judges and Two Probate/Juvenile Court Judges serve Berkshire County.  It borders New York, Vermont, and Connecticut.  Berkshire County doesn’t have a unified government although it does have a sheriff.  The county is in western Massachusetts.  Boston, Massachusetts is east and Albany, New York is northwest of the county.  The county center is 13.6 miles South-Southeast of Pittsfield nearer Lee.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Vermont and Franklin, Hampshire, and Hampden counties and Connecticut and New York. 

The area of the county is 931 square miles.  It is 2 out of 14 in the state.  It ranks 11 out of 14 in population in the state.  It has a density of 138.6 persons per square mile making it 13 out of 14 in the state.  Berkshire County has 44.5% of its population in its incorporated areas.  Interstate Highway 90 travels east to west in the county from Hampden County to New York.  United States Highway 7 goes north to south from Vermont to Connecticut.  United States Highway 20 parallels Interstate Highway 90 from Hampden County to New York.  The highest point in Massachusetts, Mount Greylock, is in this county.  The county’s overall shape is rectangular.  Pittsfield is slightly north and west of city center in the county.  Pittsfield is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 44.1% of the county population.  The county is pronounced BERK-SHUR.  This county is in the Pittsfield Metropolitan Statistical Area.