Celebrate Berkshire History

When war between the colonies and the King broke out in Lexington and Concord on April 19, 1775, the question arose: What’s next? A band of patriots from Connecticut, Massachusetts, and the future Vermont had an answer. Setting out from Hartford on April 28, and gathering more men en route, including 40 from the Pittsfield area under Col. James Easton, the expedition snatched Fort Ticonderoga from the British on May 10 in a daring pre-dawn raid, setting the course that would result in American independence in 1783.

The Berkshire Historical Society will be celebrating the expedition’s passage through Pittsfield and the participation of its people in the raid 250 years after it happened as part of a regional commemorative initiative.

Join the BCHS, the Berkshire Museum, and the Berkshire Athenaeum to celebrate a revolutionary meeting. On May 1, 1775 a group met at Easton’s Tavern. Col. James Easton, John Brown of Pittsfield, and Captain Edward Mott of Preston, Connecticut planned the capture of Fort Ticonderoga from the small tavern under the cover of darkness.

Meet on Park Square at 4pm on May 1 to hear more about this historic event in the Berkshires, where we will visit the historic marker and then move to Patrick’s Pub for a pint of ale, and a look at the Berkshire Museum’s new Easton’s Tavern mobile museum unit. This educational unit includes a replica of John Brown’s vest and a reproduction of an 18 th century beer flagon recently found during excavations near the original Easton’s Tavern site.