| Official Name: | Hancock, Massachusetts |
| Mapsize: | 260px |
| Subdivision Type: | Country |
| Subdivision Name: | United States |
| Subdivision Type1: | State |
| Subdivision Name1: | Massachusetts |
| Subdivision Type2: | County |
| Subdivision Name2: | Berkshire |
| Established Title: | Settled |
| Established Date: | 1767 |
| Established Title2: | Incorporated |
| Established Date2: | 1776 |
| Government Type: | Open town meeting |
| Area Total Km2: | 92.6 |
| Area Land Km2: | 92.4 |
| Area Water Km2: | 0.2 |
| Population As Of: | 2020 |
| Settlement Type: | Town |
| Population Total: | 757 |
| Population Density Km2: | auto |
| Elevation M: | 322 |
| Elevation Ft: | 1058 |
| Timezone: | Eastern |
| Utc Offset: | -5 |
| Timezone Dst: | Eastern |
| Utc Offset Dst: | -4 |
| Coordinates: | 42.5431°N -73.3242°W |
| Website: | town.hancock.ma.us |
| Postal Code Type: | ZIP code |
| Postal Code: | 01237 (Lanesborough), 01267 (Williamstown), 01201 (Pittsfield) |
| Area Code: | 413 |
| Blank Name: | FIPS code |
| Blank Info: | 25-28180 |
| Blank1 Name: | GNIS feature ID |
| Blank1 Info: | 0619421 |
Hancock is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 757 at the 2020 census.[1]
Hancock was first settled in 1762 as the Plantation of Jericho. The town was officially incorporated in 1776, and renamed for John Hancock.
Hancock is one of only three towns in Massachusetts whose local telephone service was not provided by the former Bell System (instead it is part of the Taconic Telephone Corporation, every one of whose other exchanges is situated in neighboring New York). The other two such towns are Richmond, also in Berkshire County, and Granby, in Hampshire County.
See main article: Hancock Shaker Village. Around 1780, some families in Hancock converted to the teachings of the Shakers. By 1790, Believers in Hancock and Pittsfield established Hancock Shaker Village. The Shakers were a religious order which believed in pacifism, celibacy and communal living. Worship could take the form of singing and ecstatic dance, which is why they were called the "Shaking Quakers", or "Shakers." The utopian sect is renowned today for its plain architecture and furniture. Hancock Shaker Village is famous for its Round Stone Barn, built in 1826. In 1959, the remaining Shakers in Hancock sold the property to a non-profit museum.
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 92.6km2, of which 92.4km2 is land and 0.2km2, or 0.19%, is water.[2]
Hancock is bordered on the north by Williamstown, on the northeast by New Ashford, on the east by Lanesborough and Pittsfield, on the south by Richmond, and on the west by Canaan, New Lebanon, Stephentown and Berlin, New York.
Most of northern Hancock occupies a valley bound by the Taconic Mountains on each side. The northern half of the valley is drained by the west branch of the Green River, a tributary of the Hoosic River, and the southern half of the valley is drained by the headwaters of Kinderhook Creek, which flows southwest into New York and the Hudson River. To the west, along the New York border, stands the western escarpment of the Taconic Mountains including Misery Mountain and Rounds Mountain, while the northeastern town line is bordered by the eastern Taconic escarpment peaks of Brodie Mountain, Sheeps Heaven Mountain, and Jiminy Peak (home to a ski area of the same name). Southern Hancock, where the Shaker Village is located, is dominated by the Taconic peaks of Pittsfield State Forest, including Tower Mountain, Smith Mountain, Berry Hill, Honwee Mountain, Doll Mountain, and Shaker Mountain. Berry Pond, the highest water body in Massachusetts at over 630m (2,070feet) above sea level, sits near the summit of Berry Hill. The highest point in Hancock is a summit of Misery Mountain that reaches 814m (2,671feet) above sea level.
U.S. Route 20 passes through the southern end of town, from Pittsfield to the New York state line. Massachusetts Route 43 also passes through town, from the northern border with Williamstown, and is the main route through town, turning along Kinderhook Creek and into New York. There are no roads within the town that connect the two roads, however.
There is no rail, bus or air service within the town. The nearest services are in Pittsfield to the south, and Williamstown and North Adams to the north. The nearest airport with nationally connecting flights is Albany International Airport, approximately northwest of town.