1897 Map of Sandisfield

About this map

The West Branch Farmington River and the Clam River converge in this late 19th-century landscape, anchoring a series of manufacturing and mill settlements through the Berkshire hills. Sandisfield and its satellite villages, such as Montville and New Boston, show a distribution of community centers tied to the valley floors. Further north, the expansive Otis Reservoir and Benton Lake dominate the drainage basin, while peaks like Hunger Mt and Seymour Mt define the upland topography. The map illustrates the interstate connection between Berkshire County and Litchfield County, showing how early roads followed the contours of Silver Brook and Rawson Brook to link Tyringham, Monterey, and North Colebrook. This survey, executed by W.H. Lovell and Willard D. Johnson, documents the transition of the region from an intensive industrial and agricultural hub toward the water-management and recreational character it would later adopt.