How long have there been people in the Berkshires?  Hard to know but based on a recent lecture sponsored by Bidwell House  there is evidence we had tourists as long as 4,000 years ago.

Uncovering signs of life at Kampoosa Bog

By Jess Gamari, Berkshire Eagle Staff

Posted:   07/22/2013 05:05:04 PM EDT

Updated:   07/23/2013 11:15:39 AM EDT

TYRINGHAM — Before Puritan settlers landed on Plymouth Rock, and before Columbus sailed, Berkshire Country residents were already hunting and maintaining gardens.

On Saturday, Eric Johnson, archaeology lecturer at the University of Massachusetts at Amherst, gave a talk at the Tyringham Union Church about 4,000-year-old findings from an expedition to the Kampoosa Bog.

The Kampoosa Bog in Stockbridge is a dark and swampy lake surrounded by an old growth forest of hemlock, beech and hickory trees. The bog came into existence in the wake of the melting glacial ice, Johnson said, which dates back to about 12,000 years ago. Continue reading When Did People First Come to the Berkshires? →