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Great Barrington is a mountain town located in rural Berkshire County, Massachusetts. As of the 2000 census, the town had a total population of 7,527. It is the home of Simon's Rock College of Bard.
For geographic and demographic information on specific parts of Great Barrington, please see the articles on Great Barrington (CDP) and Housatonic.
History
Great Barrington was first settled in 1726 and was officially incorporated in 1761.
Geography
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 118.4 km² (45.7 mi²). 117.0 km² (45.2 mi²) of it is land and 1.3 km² (0.5 mi²) of it is water. The total area is 1.12% water.
The town is located in the Berkshire Hills and is known for its scenic beauty and natural environment. This location is largely wooded and is part of the Appalachian Trail. Opportunities abound for hiking, mountain biking, paddling, and rock climbing. For skiing, there's Butternut Basin near town, and Berkshire East is an easy drive.
Food and Entertainment
Being a tourist town, Great Barrington has a lot of restaurants and overpriced stores, but there are some cheaper places if you know where to look. La Choza has the biggest burritos in town (or the state, for that matter), starting at $3, while Baba Louie's serves organic sourdough pizza, sandwiches and pasta. There is good sushi at Bizen, a mid-priced Thai restaurant called Siam Square, and several other Asian restaurants of varying quality. For bar-and-grille type establishments the standout is Barrington Brewery, which brews its own beer on the premises. For groceries, options are Big Y, Price Chopper, Guido's Fresh Marketplace (a gourmet foods market, kind of a farmer's market/Trader Joe's hybrid), the Berkshire Food Co-Op, a Latin market, and a few other small food stores. There is a farmer's market downtown every Saturday morning between May and October.
Great Barrington, while still a relatively small town, has more options for nightlife, shopping, and entertainment than any other South County town. The Triplex is a small but pleasant theater that generally shows non-Hollywood movies and documentaries. Helsinki is a beautifully decorated, upscale tea house/cafe/bar/club. Cove Lanes is a ten-pin bowling alley open until 1 AM that has numerous leagues and a pro shop. Also in town are a photo store, a few outdoor equipment stores, two record shops (White Knight and Tune Street), multiple banks (Lee Bank, BankNorth, Berkshire Bank, and Greylock Federal Credit Union), and a few coffee shops (Berkshire Roasting Company, Woggafer's, and Uncommon Grounds). In addition there is a Chef Shop and several clothing stores. There are several bookstores, including used books at Yellow House Books and a Bookloft at the Price Chopper/K-Mart complex. Other stores include Threds, a vintage/alternative clothing store with various head shop supplies and a few left-wing books. There are plenty of bars in town as well; in addition to Club Helsinki, there are upscale establishments like Pearl's and Due, as well as less costly bars at Bogie's Restaurant, the River Front in Housatonic, and the Cove Lanes bar.
Local Projects
One of the very nice things about Great Barrington is the Railroad Street Youth Project (http://www.rsyp.org/), which is a youth center run by local residents, most in their teens or twenties, and provides a spot for youth to go hang out, have meetings, and work on projects. They just finished a huge graffiti mural in the center of town all about W. E. B. DuBois and his life; it's a project by some local teen artists. Railroad Street also hosts meetings for a local teen GLBT group, Narcotics Anonymous, some other teen groups, and BADD (Berkshire Alliance for Direct Democracy, a local anti-authoritarian group). In 2004 RSYP launched a community dance initiative in cooperation with Jacob's Pillow.
Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there are 7,527 people, 3,008 households, and 1,825 families residing in the town. The population density is 64.3/km² (166.6/mi²). There are 3,352 housing units at an average density of 28.6 persons/km² (74.2 persons/mi²). The racial makeup of the town is 94.74% White, 2.09% African American, 0.16% Native American, 1.25% Asian, 0.03% Pacific Islander, 0.70% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. 2.07% of the population are Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There are 3,008 households out of which 27.3% have children under the age of 18 living with them, 45.8% are married couples living together, 11.5% have a woman whose husband does not live with her, and 39.3% are non-families. 32.6% of all households are made up of individuals and 13.3% have someone living alone who is 65 years of age or older. The average household size is 2.28 and the average family size is 2.89.
In the town the population is spread out with 22.6% under the age of 18, 9.0% from 18 to 24, 23.5% from 25 to 44, 26.2% from 45 to 64, and 18.8% who are 65 years of age or older. The median age is 42 years. For every 100 females there are 87.2 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there are 83.8 males.
The median income for a household in the town is $45,490, and the median income for a family is $53,135. Males have a median income of $38,163 versus $29,474 for females. The per capita income for the town is $22,655. 7.2% of the population and 3.4% of families are below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 6.6% are under the age of 18 and 4.5% are 65 or older.
Notable people born in Great Barrington
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