TOWN OF FLORIDA

379 Mohawk Trail, Drury, MA 01343

Where there are no Palm Trees but an abundance of Pine Trees

Florida is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is home to the east portal of the Hoosac Tunnel, as well as Whitcomb Summit (elevation 2,172 ft or 662 m), the highest point of the Mohawk Trail. At the 2010 census the town had a total population of 752. 

History

The area was originally settled as part of the Equivalent Lands (specifically, the "Berkshire Equivalent"). Most of what is now Florida was originally a grant to the town of Bernardston, Massachusetts made sometime before 1771. The first settler, Dr. Daniel Nelson, arrived around 1783. The town was incorporated in 1805 and named "Florida", perhaps because Spanish Florida was a topic of conversation at the time.[2][3]
The town was mostly agrarian, with maple syrup, wool, and potatoes its main products for many years. However, in the mid-nineteenth century, the town was a boom town for the workers involved in the construction of the Hoosac Tunnel, a rail tunnel which begins on the town's eastern border and extends through the Hoosac Range to neighboring North Adams.
Nathaniel Hawthorne, in his American Notebooks, names the town as Lebrida, not Florida, and speaks of the Hoosac Range as "the Green Mountain" in the singular. It is possible that the name Lebrida was a corruption of Florida; or the other way around. While the reference to "the Green Mountain" evidently reflects local tradition of the time (1838), and may in fact be what gave the name Green Mountains to the entire range, as another mountain in Vermont also bears the name Green Mountain. Today the town is sparsely populated, with most residents working in neighboring towns.[3][4]

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 24.6 square miles (63.7 km2), of which 24.4 square miles (63.1 km2) is land and 0.23 square miles (0.6 km2), or 0.93%, is water.
Florida is bordered on the north by Stamford, Vermont, on the northeast by Monroe, on the east by Rowe, on the southeast by Charlemont, on the south by Savoy, on the southwest by Adams, and on the west by North Adams and Clarksburg. The town's population is mostly concentrated along the Mohawk Trail, which runs through the town, and its villages, Drury, Florida and Whitcomb Summit.

Florida is located near the highest points of the Hoosac Range, which runs through the western part of town. There are several rivers and brooks, most of which lead to the Deerfield River, which forms much of the eastern border and flows to the Connecticut River. The town includes parts of three state forests - Monroe State Forest in the northeast, Savoy Mountain State Forest in the south, and Mohawk Trail State Forest in the southeast. The highest elevation in the town is 2,830 feet (860 m) above sea level, on an unnamed hill northwest of Crum Hill in the neighboring town of Monroe.

The official town line marker as seen from Route 2Massachusetts Route 2, the Mohawk Trail, runs from the southeast of town northwest across the center of town, passing over Whitcomb Summit, the highest point along the trail. At Whitcomb Summit there is a monument to the Elks Club, whose members helped modernize the trails and worked on the Hoosac Tunnel. Whitcomb Summit is known for sensational views of the surrounding valleys. Just west of the town line is the West Summit, which has views of the Hoosac River valley and the Taconic Range further west. There are no other state routes through town, and the nearest interstate highway is Interstate 91 to the east. The 4.75-mile-long (7.64 km) Hoosac Tunnel carries the railway under the town, and as such has no stops in town. The nearest regional bus service can be found in North Adams, as can the nearest regional airport, Harriman-and-West Airport. The nearest airport with national flights is Albany International Airport. 

Government

Florida is governed by an open town meeting form of government, which is led by a board of selectmen and a town secretary. The town has its own services, including fire and public works, as well as the Florida Free Library, a small library with association to the regional library services. The nearest hospital was North Adams Regional Hospital until its bankruptcy in March 2014. Since May 2014, Berkshire Medical Center has operated an emergency room and other health services at the old NARH location. On the state level, Florida is represented in the Massachusetts House of Representatives by the First Berkshire district, which covers northern Berkshire County, as well as portions of Franklin County. In the Massachusetts Senate, the town is represented by the Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin district, which includes all of Berkshire County and western Hampshire and Franklin counties  .On the national level, Florida is represented in the United States House of Representatives as part of Massachusetts's 1st c    ongressional district, and is represented by Richard Neal of Springfield. Massachusetts is currently represented in the United States Senate by senior Senator Elizabeth Warren and junior senator Ed Markey.

Education

Florida has one school, the Gabriel Abbott Memorial School, which serves students from kindergarten through eighth grade. The school also serves the students of neighboring Monroe. The town sends its high school students to either Drury High School or Charles H. McCann Technical High School, both of which are in North Adams. The town provides bus transporting for students to the High Schools.

Multiple zip codes in the Town of Florida:
   Drury, MA 01343
   Florida, MA 01247
   Rowe, MA 01367
History image

Neil Oleson

Selectboard Chair

Select board meets every other Wednesday at 6:00pm Phone: (413) 662-2448 ext. 0 townhall.floridamass@gmail.com

Michael Bedini

Selectboard

Timothy Zelazo

Selectboard

CURRENT OR EMERGENCY TOWN NOTICE

Joan Lewis

Town Administrator

M, T, Th, F 8:30am - 4:00pm -----Wednesdays 12:00pm - 7:30pm Phone: (413) 662-2448 ext. 0 TownAdmin@TownOfFlorida.org

Martin McEvoy

Principal

56 North County Road, Florida MA 01247 Phone: (413) 664-6023 mmcevoy@abbottmemorial.org

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John Franzoni

Superintendant

Northern Berkshire School Union, 26 Union Street, Suite 1A, North Adams MA 01247 Phone: (413) 664-9292 jfranzoni@nbsunion.com

Stephanie Pare

Collector

Office Hours are First and Third Wednesday of the month, evenings 4:30pm - 6:00pm Phone (413) 464-1449 TaxCollector@ TownOfFlorida.org

Susan Bedini

Board of Assessor

Board of Assessors meet every other Monday Evening at 6:00 pm Phone: (413) 662-2448 ext. 2 Assessors@ TownOfFlorida.org

Lawrence Cote

Board of Assessor

Krista Bishop

Board of Assessors Clerk

Lisa H. Brown

Town Clerk

Office Hours are Wednesday Evenings 6:00pm - 7:30pm Phone: (413) 662-2448 ext. 3 townclerk.floridamass @gmail.com

James White

Highway Supervisor

Highway Department Phone: (413) 662-2448 ext. 5 --- Cell Phone: 413-664-1691 Highway@TownOfFlorida.org

Douglas Miller

Highway

Michael Gleason

Highway

Michael Worth

Highway

Joel Paszko

Highway

Mae Embry

Council on Aging Chair

Joyce VanTilborg, Assistant Director

Sue Oleson

Senior Center Director

Wed, Thurs, Friday 9:00am - 3:00pm Phone: (413) 662-2448 ext. 4 CouncilOnAging@TownOfFlorida.org

Heidi Dugal

Director

56 North County Road, Florida MA 01247 Phone: (413) 664-0153

Brenda (BJ) Church

Building Inspector

Phone Cell: (413) 548-6633----- email: Bchurch123@gmail.com------ Building Permit fees are - $6.00 per $1,000.00 of total project cost, with a minimum of $60.00. Make check payable to: Town of Florida

John Vareschi

Plumbing Inspector

Vareschi Plumbing & Heating, 1151 Massachusetts Ave, North Adams MA 01247 Phone (413) 664-6416

Timothy Keating

Electrical Wiring Inspector

Phone: (413) 663-1659 Permit Residential $55.00 Permit Commercial $105.00

Nickolas C Keating

Assistant Electrical Wiring Inspector

Phone: 413-281-7672 Permit Residential $55.00 Permit Commercial $105.00

Alfred Bedini, Sr

Board of Health Chair

Board of Health meets 4th Tuesday of the month at 3:30pm Phone: (413) 662-2448 extension 0

Neil Oleson

Board of Health

Heidi Dugal

Board of Health

Gabriel Oleson

Planning Board Chair

Planning Board meets twice a year and as needed Phone: (413) 662-2448

Thomas Brule

Planning Board

Timothy Zelazo

Planning Board

Hilary Sweeney

Planning Board

Cynthia Bosley

Planning Board

James White

Cemetery Commission

Phone: (413) 662-2448 ext. 5 Highway@TownOfFlorida.org

Steven Brown

Conservation Commission

Thomas Brule'

Conservation Commission

James White

Conservation Commission

Michael Gleason

Chief

139 Mohawk Trail, Florida MA 01247 Phone: (413) 662-2448 ext 6 MikeFVFD@gmail.com -------BURN PERMITS Available - Tuesday Nights 6pm - 9pm

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Assessors' Pending Preliminary Property Values

Melanie Medon

Town Accountant

Phone 413-662-2448 ext 1 Account@TownOfFlorida.org

Stacy Abuisi

Treasurer

Office Hours are Wednesday evenings 5:30pm - 7:30pm Treasurer@TownOfFlorida.org 413-662-2448 ext 1

Brenda Jean Church

Building and Zoning Board Inspector

EMAIL: bchurch123@gmail.com PHONE CELL: 413-548-6633 LEAVE MESSAGE WITH YOUR CONTACT INFORMATION AND PHONE NUMBER

David Burdick

Police Clerk

Gun Permit -- call cell 413-347-0917 - New Applications and Renewals - $100.00 fee - make check payable to: Town of Florida

Massachusetts State Police Cheshire Barracks

For Emergencies DIAL 911

Non Emergenies and Police Reporting - Call Cheshire Barracks Mass State Police @ 413-743-4700

Cynthia Bosley

Finance Committee

Carlo Pellegrini

Finance Committee

Lisa H. Brown

Finance Committee

Clerk@TownOfFlorida.org

Stephanie Pare

Finance Committee

Taxcollector@TownOfFlorida.org

Jeremy Dodge

Animal Control Officer

Cell 413-822-4564

Diana Worth

Animal Control Officer

Cell 413-652-4913

Diana Worth

Animal Agricultural Office

413-652-4913

Primary Records Access Officer

Joan Lewis - TownAdmin@TownOfFlorida.org and Lisa H. Brown Clerk@TownOfFlorida.org

  • Florida Town Hall, 379 Mohawk Trai, Drury, MA 01343
  • Open M, T, Th, F 8:30am-4:00pm, Wed 12:00pm-7:30pm

 Annual Town Reports

Click on doc next to the years report you would like to view

Selectmen Minutes FY22

Approved Selectmen Minutes

Selectmen Minutes FY21

Approved Selectmen Minutes

Selectmen Minutes FY20

Approved Selectmen Minutes

Selectmen Minutes FY19

Approved Selectmen Minutes

Meeting Agenda's

Town Board Meeting Agenda's

Selectmen Minutes FY23

Approved Selectmen Minutes

Selectmen Minutes FY24

Approved Selectmen Minutes

Selectmen Minutes FY25

Approved Selectmen Minutes

 Miscellaneous Forms

Here are some forms you may find helpful

Town Bylaws

Town of Florida Bylaws

Answers to Common Town Hall Questions

Answers to Common Questions