The Railroad Solved A Problem / The Railroad Changed Everything

Before rail service, textile mills in the valley relied on cotton hauled by oxcart over or around the Taconic Hills to Hudson River ports, and finished sheeting traveled back the same way to market, an inefficient system that led to frequent bankruptcies. Seeking a solution, North Berkshire businessmen recognized the potential of the Boston and Albany line, which crossed Massachusetts through Pittsfield, and negotiated for a trunk line north by guaranteeing profits with a $20,000 fund. In 1846, the Pittsfield-North Adams Railroad was completed, solving the transportation problem and launching seven decades of steady economic expansion. With faster connections to raw materials and markets, six new mills were built in seven years, property values tripled, and travel between Adams and Boston became far easier. The railroad also brought immigrant mill workers from Ireland, introducing the first of many waves of immigration that reshaped the town, and later helped support tourism tied to skiing on Mount Greylock, including a ski trail built by the Civilian Conservation Corps in 1934 and races that drew international attention by 1938.

Adams, Massachusetts · United States