Alford is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 486 at the 2020 census. Alford was first settled in 1756 as part of a land purchase from the Shauanum Stockbridge Mahican tribe by a group led by Timothy Woodbridge. The town, originally part of Grea…Alford is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population was 486 at the 2020 census. Alford was first settled in 1756 as part of a land purchase from the Shauanum Stockbridge Mahican tribe by a group led by Timothy Woodbridge. The town, originally part of Great Barrington, separated in 1769 and was officially incorporated in 1773. It was named for Colonel John Alford of Charlestown, who was known for preaching Christianity to Native Americans and for sponsoring a theology professorship at Harvard College's Divinity School. The town has been mostly agricultural throughout its existence, however in 1799, large marble deposits were found on the western slopes of Tom Ball Mountain, and for the next 90 or so years it would be an industrious mining town. This would come to an end when the railroad was laid in a neighboring valley, rendering the last operating quarries of Alford unable to compete.
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