1888 Map of Sandisfield

About this map

The Otis Reservoir and the Farmington River valley dominate this late nineteenth-century landscape, illustrating the water-driven development of the southern Berkshires and the Massachusetts-Connecticut border. The area is defined by small, dispersed villages including Sandisfield, New Marlborough, and Montville, which are connected by a network of early roads following the winding river valleys. This survey, conducted under the direction of Willard D. Johnson, captures the region just before the large-scale shift toward recreational summer colonies, with places like Lake Garfield and Great Lake shown as natural and industrial focal points for the surrounding hills. Genealogists will find interest in the numerous specific settlements and hills, such as Tyringham and Southfield, as well as named peaks like Kingsbury Mt and Dry Hill that helped organize the rural property boundaries of the era.