In 1735, the General Assembly of the Province of Massachusetts Bay
granted a tract of land six miles square, north of Greenfield to the
officers and soldiers (or their descendants) who had participated in: "Falls
Fight" of 1676. This was an important battle with Indians which took
place in the vicinity of Turners Falls. The community was originally known
as the Falls Fight Township, was later changed to "Fall Town"
until the town was incorporated in 1762 as Bernardston.
The name Bernardston was given to the town in honor of Sir Francis
Bernard, provincial governor of Massachusetts under George III.
Settlement of the town started in 1738 and the first four houses
according to an old history, belonged to Major John Burk, Samuel Connable, Lt.
Ebenezer Sheldon, and Deacon Sheldon. These houses served as both
residences and forts. It is said they were built of hewn logs and had "port
holes" in the outside walls through which the occupants could fire in
case of attack.
About 1775, during the last French and Indian War, the settlers
suffered severely. During this war, many of the townspeople lived in Burk's
fort. Every man who was capable of doing so bore arms, and on some occasions
the women did, too, in defense of their homes.
Many Bernardston men served with distinction as officers and soldiers
during the French and Indian War and during the Revoluntionary War.
The town has a rich agricultural history. In 1828 it was estimated
that the town produced 8,000 bushels of rye and as much corn, and also
5,000 barrels of cider. In 1862, John Sanderson sent to the New York
market his famous ox, known as "Constitution", and "Hero,"
which at the time was said to be the largest beef creature ever dressed
there. His dressed weight was 2,473 pounds.
Bernardston inhabitants were also among the first to make maple
products to a great extent. The October, 1765 edition of "Dodsley's
Register," states that a "method of making sugar...from the sap
of a certain tree called the maple, common in the New England colonies,
has just been discovered and put in practice at several portions of New
England, but especially at Bernardston, about 20 miles from Athol." |
