 |
Great Barrington, Massachusetts | |
| Although it is certainly not a city, Great Barrington is the largest town in the southern Berkshire Hills, a major crossroads and commercial center. Supplies and services that you might not find in Stockbridge or Lenox you'll find here. | ||
|
by Tom Brosnahan |
|
Great Barrington (population 7500) is famous for its plethora of antique shops. If you like looking at, and perhaps buying, old stuff, you'll want to spend some time here and in nearby South Egremont. The dining is also good in Great Barrington, with more and varied restaurants than you would imagine for a town its size. Nearby inns are also good places for fine dining. Great Barrington has the largest concentration of hotels and motels in the southern Berkshires. More... The Berkshire Fringe and other innovative theater performances are held at Bard College at Simon's Rock in summer in Great Barrington. More... Besides these urban pleasures, Great Barrington is good for outdoor activities. More... In the 19th century Mr and Mrs Edward Searles became the town's benefactors, establishing many public buildings and constructing for themselves Searles Castle, an immense mansion in a 100-acre (40-hectare) park which nudges right into the center of town. The Searles property is now a private school (John Dewey Academy) and unfortunately not open to visitors. Great Barrington was an important town even before the American Revolution. The citizenry, angered at Britain's denial of the colonials' rights, prevented the king's judges from convening in the courthouse here in 1774.
|
|
Searles Castle, now the John
Dewey Academy, a private school, in Great
Barrington MA. |
