On October 14, 1896, eighteen residents of North Adams, Massachusetts, assembled at St. John’s Parish House to complete the organization of the Fort Massachusetts Historical Society. Their meeting represented an important development in the preservation of Berkshire County’s colonial heritage. Established through the efforts of local women, particularly Jennie Lavinia Paul Goodrich, the society sought to protect the site of Fort Massachusetts, an eighteenth-century military outpost associated with the settlement and defense of the northern Berkshires. Although formally incorporated on April 9, 1896, the organization consolidated its preservation activities at the October gathering, establishing a permanent institutional commitment to safeguarding the region’s historical landscape.
Fort Massachusetts occupied a strategic location along the Hoosic River in present-day North Adams. Constructed in 1745 during King George’s War, the fort formed part of a defensive network established by the Province of Massachusetts Bay against French military operations and their Native American allies. Its position near established Indigenous travel routes reflected the contested nature of the northern colonial frontier. On August 19–20, 1746, French and Indigenous forces under François-Pierre Rigaud de Vaudreuil besieged the fort, which was defended by a small garrison commanded by Sergeant John Hawks. Following the exhaustion of their ammunition, the defenders surrendered. The attackers destroyed the fort, and surviving members of the garrison and their families were carried into captivity. Rebuilt in 1747, the fort continued serving colonial military purposes until its abandonment following the decline of the French threat.
By the nineteenth century, agricultural development had substantially altered the original site. Professor Arthur Latham Perry of Williams College investigated the fort’s location and planted a commemorative elm in 1859, subsequently known as Perry’s Elm. Although this tree identified the historic property, systematic preservation remained limited. The prospect of residential development eventually threatened the land itself. When the heirs of property owner Clement Harrison considered subdividing the tract into building lots, Goodrich organized a campaign to purchase and protect the surviving historic ground.
Goodrich’s initiative demonstrated the expanding influence of women in American historical preservation. Born in North Adams in 1843, she maintained longstanding involvement in religious, educational, and civic organizations. Her campaign attracted other local women who recognized the importance of preserving the fort’s physical location. Their efforts culminated in an innovative fundraising project involving the Hoosac Valley News. With the cooperation of newspaper proprietor Edward A. McMillin, the women produced a special twenty-four-page edition on November 23, 1895. They supplied its literary contributions, secured advertising, and arranged the publication of approximately 5,000 copies. The project generated $1,300, providing essential funds for purchasing historic land.
The society’s incorporation established broader responsibilities than property acquisition alone. Its stated purposes included preserving and improving the fort site, collecting historical books and manuscripts, and safeguarding artifacts associated with early New England. The organization subsequently acquired approximately one and one-half acres. Through public meetings, membership contributions, and additional fundraising, its supporters created a foundation for continued historical stewardship. In October 1897, the society raised a commemorative flag at the property. Lewis Perry, son of Arthur Perry, participated in the ceremony, connecting two generations of local preservation activity.
The organization also contributed to the development of North Adams’s public historical collections. In 1897, industrialist and former mayor Albert C. Houghton donated a building for the city's public library, reserving two rooms for the historical society. These accommodations housed manuscripts, portraits, maps, weapons, agricultural implements, and other materials documenting the region’s earlier inhabitants. The arrangement connected historic-site preservation with public access to documentary and material evidence.
The society’s work eventually contributed to the construction of a reconstructed fort during the Great Depression. Completed through federal work-relief labor and dedicated in 1933, the reconstruction transformed the historic property into a public memorial and educational attraction. The replica subsequently disappeared, but the site survived. In 2017, the property returned to municipal ownership, continuing the preservation objective established in 1896.
The Fort Massachusetts Historical Society’s October 14 organization therefore holds significance beyond commemorating an eighteenth-century military installation. It illustrates the influence of women’s civic leadership, the importance of local fundraising, and the development of institutional historical preservation in western Massachusetts. Its legacy also invites a fuller understanding of the frontier, including the experiences of Indigenous peoples whose homelands became contested colonial territory. Through the society’s work, North Adams preserved a physical connection to the region’s military, settlement, and community history.
References / More Knowledge:
Colonial Society of Massachusetts. (1897). April Meeting, 1897. Publications of the Colonial Society of Massachusetts. https://www.colonialsociety.org/node/241
Cooke, Rollin Hillyer, ed. (1906). Historic Homes and Institutions and Genealogical and Personal Memoirs of Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Vol. 1. Lewis Publishing Company. https://archive.org/details/historichomesins01cook
Friends of Fort Massachusetts. (2018). Fort Massachusetts Memorialized. Compiled and edited by C. A. Chicoine. https://sites.google.com/site/friendsoffortmassachusetts/perry-s-elm
Friends of Fort Massachusetts. The Siege and Captivity of 1746. https://sites.google.com/site/friendsoffortmassachusetts/history/the-siege-and-captivity-of-1746
Perry, Arthur Latham. (1894). Origins in Williamstown. Charles Scribner's Sons. https://archive.org/search?query=Arthur+Latham+Perry+Origins+in+Williamstown+1894
Spear, W. E. (1885). History of North Adams, Mass., 1749–1885: Reminiscences of Early Settlers, Extracts from Old Town Records, Its Public Institutions, Industries and Prominent Citizens. Hoosac Valley News Printing House. https://www.berkshirecountyhistory.com/northadams/na/004.html
Stockbridge-Munsee Community Band of Mohican Indians. (2023). Mã’eekana’keek. Historical interpretation of Mohican lands and Fort Massachusetts. https://www.mohican.com/mt-content/uploads/2023/11/smc-in-williamstown-booklet-version-2-final-1.pdf