Living in Massachusetts Cities and Towns Alford, Massachusetts

Alford is an extremely small town located in Southwestern Massachusetts, bordered by West Stockbridge on the north, Great Barrington on the east, Egremont on the south, and Hillsdale and Austerlitz, New York on the west. It is 24 miles south of Pittsfield and 140 miles west of Boston.

Alford is an extremely small town located in Southwestern Massachusetts, bordered by West Stockbridge on the north, Great Barrington on the east, Egremont on the south, and Hillsdale and Austerlitz, New York on the west. It is 24 miles south of Pittsfield and 140 miles west of Boston.

Alford was first settled in 1740 and was officially incorporated in 1773. The small town of Alford has no stores, no motels or hotels, and not even a single gas station. The Main Street in town has a church, a town hall and a one room school house. All buildings are historic. The population in Alford is approximately 400 people. The landscape consists of beautiful trees, brooks and mountains.

There are no hospitals, Hospices, nursing homes or rest homes in Alford.

Form of Government includes:

• Board of Selectmen
• Open Town meeting

Transportation and Access

Public roads and highways meet the requirements of modern transportation. The principal highway is State Route 71 that connects Alford to Great Barrington. There is no passenger or freight rail service. The network of intermodal facilities serving Massachusetts and New York is easily accessible. Alford is not affiliated with any regional transit authority.

Alford Valley is a unique rural area of Berkshire County which adjoins the regional center of South Berkshire and Great Barrington. It is relatively isolated and very much decidedly rural in nature.

Early settlers in Alford, Massachusetts worked in agriculture. Alford, Massachusetts also has two sawmills, two grist mills, a forge with trip hammer, a furnace for casting hollow ware, and a tannery. Marble was its major export in the early 19th century.

The old-fashioned and easygoing Alford, Massachusetts is not so far off the main traveled routes through Berkshire that it is a backwoods village. The few scattered historical houses, white church and little school are all built on a narrow shelf of land extending a quarter of a mile along the eastern side of the platter-shaped valley.

Just to the south of Alford, Massachusetts is Mt. Everett, which is one of the highest mountains in Berkshire at 2,624 feet above sea level.

Monument Mt Reg High School is near Alford, Massachusetts on Route 7, Great Barrington.

There are no notable or famous people born or living in Alford, Massachusetts.


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© 2007 Connie Limon All Rights Reserved

Written by Connie Limon For more information about the history of, living, working and visiting Massachusetts, visit http://smalldogs2.com/VisitingMassachusetts For a variety of FREE reprint articles and a special section of articles on U.S. History and the Kennedy Family, visit http://www.camelotarticles.com