North Adams Historical Society to Observe Fort Massachusetts Anniversary
 The replica of Fort Massachusetts is dedicated in 1933. The museum later became a restaurant until being demolished in the 1960s to make way for the Price Chopper supermarket. |
NORTH ADAMS, Mass. — The 270th anniversary of the building of Fort Massachusetts occurs this year.
The Barracks Room replica of the 1745 fort is on the third floor of the North Adams Museum of History and Science in Building 5A at Western Gateway Heritage State Park. The room is open any time during regular museum hours: Thursday, Friday and Saturday from 10 to 4 and Sunday 1 to 4.
A nine-minute audio by Park Ranger Robert Campanile narrates the details of the Aug. 19-20, 1746, siege; three models of the fort made and donated by local artisans are on display as are pictures of the 1933 replica; excerpts from the diary of the Rev. John Norton, an eyewitness, are posted; and docents are on hand to answer questions.
The site of Fort Massachusetts can be found in the northeast corner of the Price Chopper parking lot on Route 2. The chimney from the replica built in 1933 is still standing there with a historical marker provided by Berkshire Regional Planning Commission and a plaque installed by the Daughters of the American Revolution on the commemorative stone. Price Chopper employees faithfully spruce up the site.
During the War of the Austrian Succession, better known in the Americas as King George's War, some 900 French and Indians of the St. François tribe under the command of General Pierre Rigaud de Vaudreuil on Aug. 19-20, 1746, besieged Fort Massachusetts, a frontier outpost in East Hoosuck (now North Adams). The 45 colonists surrendered the next day.
The fort was burned to the ground and the prisoners marched off to Canada, including Mary Smead and her infant daughter, Captivity, who were carried all the way by caring warriors. The survivors, less than half, were ransomed in a prisoner exchange and returned to Boston the following year. This is a significant part of the local history since many area communities never had the flag of France flying over them as North Adams did.
This year, the society is concentrating the fort's construction; next year, it will observe the 270th anniversary of the siege itself.
Local historian Paul W. Marino will share facts about the building of the fort in the Barracks Room on Saturday, Aug. 22, at 11 a.m. Recordings of "Chester," the unofficial anthem of the colonies, and the Fort Massachusetts Suite composed for the 75th anniversary of the Drury Band will be played.
Light refreshments will be served. The Rev. Norton's complete account of his ordeal and Michael Coe's "The Line of Forts" about the region's frontier forts are available in the museum gift shop. Museum admission is free as is entry to this special commemoration.
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