The mid to late 1890’s was a banner time for the North Adams School System. Between 1896 and 1897, three new schools were built, Houghton, Brayton and Johnson Schools. Houghton stood tall in the east end of the city on land purchased from the…

John J. Fachini was the master of many Big Band shows during the age of the Depression. He promoted dances in the upstairs ballroom of the Wellington Hotel under the name of Johnny’s Dance Palace. On one such night 2,000 people showed up to see Rudy…

In Stan Pasierbiak junior and senior year, between 1937-1938, he was considered one of the best high school pitchers in Western Massachusetts. During that span, he won 17 games while losing only one. His 2-year winning record stands to this day at…

President William McKinley visited this area in the fall of 1897 arriving at the home of W.B. Plunkett approximately at 9:45 AM after traveling by train through Williamstown and North Adams. “The arrival of the presidential party was an event…

Lloyd’s Bakery was one of the first successful bakeries in North Adams. It was opened in 1912 by Ralph and Harold Lloyd on the corner of River and Houghton Streets. By 1916, business was so brisk that the brothers realized they had to update their…

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…

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…

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…

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…