With the completion of St. Francis of Assisi Church, members of the church, under the leadership Rev. Charles Burke, focused on a new goal of building a parish school. On September 6, 1886, the new school came to fruition under the direction and…

Like the city of North Adams itself, the Richmond Theater suffered its up and downs. It opened in 1900 and had most successful years during the first and second decades of the 20th century. It held its own during the Great Depression and it survived…

S.B. Dibble arrived in North Adams in 1871 when he accepted a position with E.J. Cary, a lumber dealer based in this city. Three years later in 1874, Mr. Dibble purchased half interest in this business and within one year became its sole proprietor,…

When the old school was built in 1890, it was called the Church Street School. The name was changed to Mark Hopkins sometime between 1896 and 1897. It cost $20,500 to build under the direction of the superintendent of schools Anson D. Miner. The…

It was a sad day when the Transcript announced that Molly’s Bakery, an Eagle Street landmark since 1937, was closing its doors on March 29, 2008. The business began in 1931 by John, Sam and Joseph Mazza where the store was located at 165 State…

On August 30, 1890, the Sisters of Ste. Anne arrived at Notre Dame du Sacre Coeur parish. They came at the request of Father Louis LeDuc for the purpose of teaching the children of the parish. At that time, there were about 500 families who were…

John Dwight Chesbro was born in North Adams on June 5, 1874 and grew up at 177 Bracewell Avenue. His personality was such that he was dubbed “Happy Jack” at an early age. As he matured his interests turned to the game of baseball, specifically the…

The notice for the discontinuance of trolley cars in the Northern Berkshire area came officially on April 9, 1930, although many people in the area already knew this was an inevitable fate. Successful bus routes had already taken over some of the…

The first newspaper published in North Adams was called The Socialist founded and edited by Dr. Ara Green and it began publishing on May 21, 1828.  It was printed on an old Franklin hand press in a building on North Church Street which was known as…

In the early summer months of 1947, North Adams’ first radio station, WKOB, went on the air. The idea was devised by three World War II veterans who arrived in this city during the winter of 1946. Their names were Everard Cureton, George W. Fisher…