Massachusetts Car Rental and Pittsfield, MA

Pittsfield is the largest city in Berkshire County on the western end of Massachusetts which you can visit with your Massachusetts car rental. In 2005, Farmer’s Insurance ranked the city as the 20th “Most Secure Place to Live” in the United States for small towns.

Hard work and determination pay off

A group of young men first came to the area in 1743 to clear the land for settlement, but threats of Indian raids and the French and Indian War forced them to abandon their plan. The area was first settled in 1752 and incorporated in 1761 when there were 200 residents. After the American Revolution, the area experienced a population boom with the introduction of Merino sheep from Spain. The area became the center of the woolen manufacturing in the United States for almost a century. Electric Manufacturing, the forerunner of General Electric also moved to the area and brought growth in the 1930s. Today it is still an important employer in the area, which you may notice when you visit with your Massachusetts car rental.

Sing along with the best

Pittsfield is located in the Berkshire Mountains on the border of Lenox, MA with your Massachusetts car rental. This is the home of Tanglewood, an estate and music venue that is a point of interest in the area. Tanglewood hosts an annual Tanglewood Music Festival and the Tanglewood Jazz Festival. It is also the home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra for the summer. Closer to home with your Massachusetts car rental, you will find the Berkshire Museum, Barrington Stage Company, Berkshire Athenaeum, Wahconah Park, and the Hebert Arboretum in downtown Pittsfield.

Shoot straight

Arrowhead was once the home of author Herman Melville while he wrote some of his most famous books, including Moby Dick. Melville lived here from 1850-1863. Today it is a non-profit museum that you can visit with your Massachusetts car rental at 780 Holmes Road. Melville first visited the area in 1832 to see his uncle. He fell in love with the area and continued to return. In 1850 Melville was invited to picnic with two other Berkshire residents, authors Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr. and Nathaniel Hawthorne. Melville and Hawthorne became fast friends, and Melville decided to buy a farm adjacent to his uncles. When he was plowing the land, he discovered arrowheads, and named his new house for them. When you visit Arrowhead with your Massachusetts car rental, you may recognize some of the characteristics from the novels Melville wrote. Melville eventually had to leave the area because he was not able to make a living from writing, despite the fact that he wrote his best-known works here. He returned to New York City to work as a customs inspector, but continued to return to the area through the 1880s.

Live history

The Hancock Shaker Village is a living history museum you can visit in Pittsfield with your Massachusetts car rental. There are 20 historic buildings on 1200 acres of land with over 22,200 objects. When you visit you will learn about the Shaker lifestyle.

Pittsfield has many interesting historic and recreational attractions for you to visit with your Massachusetts car rental. From golfing, music festivals, and a living history village, you are sure to keep busy when you visit this town.