Great Barrington, New England town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts.
Great Barrington is a community in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, set within the Housatonic River valley and surrounded by forested hillsides. The town center features 19th-century brick buildings along Main Street, with residential neighborhoods extending into the nearby countryside.
The area was settled in 1724 when European colonists acquired the land from the Mahican people and established farming communities. William Stanley Jr. demonstrated a working alternating current transformer here in 1885, changing how electricity could be distributed.
The Mahaiwe Performing Arts Center presents concerts, films, and performances while local galleries showcase regional artists throughout the year.
The town center is accessible via Route 7 and Route 23, with parking available near Main Street and at trailheads for nearby walking paths. Several local trails connect to the Appalachian Trail, which passes through the wider region.
The town is considered the birthplace of the first African American newspaper in the state, The Berkshire Star, published in the 1820s. This early publication was one of the first Black-owned periodicals in New England.
Location: Berkshire County
Elevation above the sea: 221 m
Shares border with: Alford, Egremont, West Stockbridge, Stockbridge, Lee, Tyringham, Monterey, New Marlborough, Sheffield
Website: http://townofgb.org/Pages/index
GPS coordinates: 42.19580,-73.36250
Latest update: December 13, 2025 16:31
Searles Castle
434 m
W.E.B. Du Bois Boyhood Homesite
3.2 km
Mahaiwe Block
213 m
Clinton African Methodist Episcopal Zion Church
103 m
South Egremont Village Historic District
5.8 km
Dwight-Henderson House
552 m
Taconic and West Avenues Historic District
718 m
Wheeler Family Farmstead
1.9 kmBerle Pond
5.2 kmBattlesite Monument
5.7 kmLong Pond
4.6 kmNaked Lady
2.3 kmSRIT Land Resources, Water Resources II
1.7 kmNewsboy Statue
1.6 kmWyantenuck Country Club
3.2 kmLiebowitz Letter
2.4 kmSRIT The Forest for the Trees
1.9 kmSRIT Back to Civilization?
1.9 kmSRIT Stone and Ice
2.1 kmSimon's Rock
1.6 kmOrchard City Millage Sign
1.6 kmSRIT Water in and upon the Earth
2.2 kmSRIT Land Resources, Water Resources I
1.7 kmView
5.2 kmScenic viewpoint
2.6 kmView west
1.3 kmScenic viewpoint
2 kmWaterfall
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