Berkshire County, Massachusetts
The Berkshire County is a county located in the U.S. state of Massachusetts. The administrative headquarters ( County Seat) is Pittsfield. After the abolition of county government in 2000, the County exists only as a historical geographic region and serves some administrative purposes.
Government
As a small majority of counties in Massachusetts, Berkshire County now has no county government more. All previous tasks of the county were taken over by state authorities in 2000. The sheriff and some other regional officials with specific duties are still elected locally to perform tasks within the county. The communities now have greater autonomy and can conclude regional treaties in order to offer services together.
Geography
The county has an area of 2451 square kilometers, of which 39 square kilometers are water surface. It is bordered clockwise to the following counties: Bennington County ( Vermont), Franklin County, Hampshire County, Hampden County, Litchfield County ( Connecticut ), Columbia County (New York) and Rensselaer County ( New York).
History
Berkshire County was formed in 1761 from parts of Hampshire County.
Demography
According to the census in 2000 lived in Berkshire County 134 953 inhabitants in 56 006 households and 35 115 families. The population was made up of 95.02 percent White, 1.99 percent African American, 0.99 percent Asian, and 0.15 percent Native American. 1.69 percent of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. The per capita income was 21,807 dollars; 6.5 percent of families and 9.5 percent of the population lived below the poverty line.
Cities and Towns
- Adams
- Alford
- Becket
- Cheshire
- Clarksburg
- Dalton
- Egremont
- Florida
- Great Barrington
- Hancock
- Hinsdale
- Lanesborough
- Lee
- Lenox
- Monterey
- Mount Washington
- New Ashford
- New Marlborough
- North Adams
- Otis
- Peru
- Pittsfield
- Richmond
- Sandisfield
- Savoy
- Sheffield
- Stockbridge
- Tyringham
- Washington
- West Stockbridge
- Williamstown
- Windsor