Housatonic Artist Community

Housatonic is located on Route 183 just north of Great Barrington, and about 12 miles south of Lenox. Housatonic originated as a mill village, a small complex of worker's housing growing up around the numerous mills that were located on that spot on the Housatonic River. At one time all of the mill buildings were part of a concern called "Monument Mills", a textile manufacturing company. Monument Mills flourished from the 1890's, until the late 1950's. Many of the local Polish, and Italian residents either worked in the mills or were related to people that worked there. After the mills closed the industrial buildings were abandoned for many years and at one time provided a vast and complex playground for teenagers whose graffiti from the seventies can still be seen atop the water tower in the center of the village. This water tower is considered a symbol of the village; an indicator of its past industrial heritage, and its present visual artistic life.