Berkley, Massachusetts, USA (Berkeley)
1899 - Berkley

BERKLEY. - This was the eleventh town formed in Bristol county, its territory formerly lying in the older towns of Dighton and Taunton, from which it was taken and incorporated on April 18, 1735. Since that date there have been several minor territorial changes. On February 26, 1799, a small part of Dighton was annexed, and on February 6, 1810, certain lands in Berkley belonging to Taunton were annexed; other Taunton lands were annexed on March 3, 1842. By act of April 1, 1879, Myricksville, or Myrick's Station, in Berkley, and a strip of land about a mile in width and two miles long, which were formerly within Taunton limits, were annexed to Berkley as a result of several urgent petitions. When the amount that this land should pay on the town debt of Taunton was fixed at $800, it was at once raised by private subscription, and the act was accepted by the town on the 12th of April, 1879.

Berkley forms a part of the Twelfth Congressional District, and with Dighton and the First and Sixth wards of Taunton, constitutes the Fifth Representative District, with 2,237 legal voters, entitling the district to one representative. The State census of 1895 gives the population as 995, and in 1897 there were in the town 223 registered voters. There are only two post-offices in town, Berkley and Myrick's and the business interests are not important. The larger of the two settlements is Myrick's Station, the post-office name of which was until recently Myricksville. The village has one general store, a wagon shop, a blacksmith shop, a Methodist church and the station at the junction of the Newport branch and Taunton division of the Old Colony system. The village school is kept in a building which was formerly occupied by a private school conducted by a Professor Spaulding, which he called the Myrick's Academy. A saw mill is operated on the outskirt of the settlement, a box factory and a feed mill. The general store in the village is the only store in town. The building in which it is conducted was erected for the purpose by Gideon Myrick, who previous to that time kept a store in the basement of the "Brown house," where a merchant named Smith afterwards carried on business. Gideon Myrick was succeeded by George S. Macomber; he by Benjamin Taylor, and he by George B. Burt. Mr. Burt was followed by Benjamin S. Haskins, he by George R. Macomber and Pardon A. Manchester. In 1881 the business passed to Rescum Macomber, who still retains his interest, the management being in the hands of Rufus Macomber. Samuel E. Fiske publishes the Berkley Gleaner, which is one of several newspapers issued by him in the towns of this county.

Berkley village is a small hamlet in the center of town, where is located the town hall, two churches, Congregational and Methodist, and a post-office. There are seven school houses in the town. The town farm is situated on Assonet Neck road near Hospital Hill.

West Berkley is a small settlement of a few houses, a Friends' meetinghouse and school house. The decline in the farming interest of this town has been gradual and steady. The production of hay, and of milk for market, and the growing of strawberries and other small fruits and vegetables are the principal agricultural industries. Among the representative farmers may be named, Noah Strange, J. Forest Staples, Edward Allen, Joseph Howland, Elkanah Pierce, George W. Macomber, C. F. Paull, and Edward Dean. Scattered about the town are many Portuguese families who are engaged mainly in growing small fruits.

A large ship-building industry was carried on in early years, by such men as Samuel Tobey, its pioneer, about 1790, Ebenezer Crane, Darius Newhall, Nehemiah Newhall, Edmund Burt, Ephraim French, Henry Crane, George Crane, Simeon Briggs, Edward Babbitt, and others.

The first bridge across Taunton River in the town was built in 1806' it was a toll bridge. The first free bridge, built by the county, was finished in 1827. A third one has been constructed in recent years.

OUR COUNTY AND ITS PEOPLE A DESCRIPTIVE AND BIOGRAPHICAL... Boston History Company, 1899

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