• Population of Williamstown and Berkshire County
• 8,390/132,218
• Voters in Williamstown
• 4,621
• Acreage of main campus
• 450
• Outlying acreage, including Hopkins Memorial Forest
• 2,500
• Buildings on campus
• 112
• Miles to Albany, Boston, and New York City
• 44, 135, 157
• Number of trails at two alpine ski centers within 15 minutes of campus
• 61
• Number of mountain ranges visible from campus
• 3
• Number of pizza parlors within 15 minutes of campus
• 8
• Places other than Washington D.C.’s National Archives and Williams’ Chapin Rare Book Library where you can see all four of the nation’s founding documents
• 0

Williams’ world — thousands of acres at the juncture of three mountain ranges in Northwestern Massachusetts — attracts more than a million visitors annually, including the 520 each year who settle in for four years as Williams students. Williamstown has been called the nation's best college town. Natural and cultural resources — from mountains and ski slopes to museums and festivals — make it a magnet for interesting people. With both Impressionist art and lush green forests, this has been called the most culture-saturated rural spot in the nation.

Stand at any high point on the Williams campus and you’ll quickly see why some people find Williamstown to be one of the most beautiful spots in New England. Ringed by the hills and mountains of Appalachia’s northern section, Williams’ proximity to large tracts of the northeast’s remaining wild country makes it a hiker’s paradise and an inspiration to generations of artists, writers and thinkers, such as Herman Melville, Cole Porter, Susan B. Anthony, W.E.B. DuBois, and Thomas Pynchon. The Appalachian Trail is a short hike from campus and Mt. Greylock — the highest point in Massachusetts — sits in the next town. The Green Mountain National Forest, which runs north 70 miles from its origin in Williamstown, forms the spine of Vermont and offers great views and an occasional moose sighting.

“It would be no small advantage if every college were thus located at the base of a mountain.” — Henry David Thoreau

Sound like the middle of nowhere? Here’s what an Appalachian Trail through-hiker would find were she to take the short spur trail into Williamstown on and around central Spring Street: an art house cinema; Indian, Thai, Chinese and Mexican restaurants; Zagat-rated bistros; sub and sandwich shops; a major performing arts complex; a buzzing coffee house with wireless access; internet startups and shops for outdoors enthusiasts; two national-caliber art museums, a market; newsstand; banks; and a barber shop with a quirky tradition we’ll tell you about later. Moreover, our location at the northern end of The Berkshires, a region known nationally for its rich history and culture, offers students easy access to many of New England’s legendary sites and communities.

The College and the community whose name it shares draw on one another’s resources and activities. Williams students play alongside professional musicians in the renowned Berkshire Symphony Orchestra. They tutor students in nearby elementary and secondary schools. Williams also contributes to the region’s cultural vitality: every year, we host upwards of 200 guests — from leading names in scholarship to big-time musicians — who add to the intellectual energy of the place.

East Podunk, we’re not (though it’s with a sense of relief that were it not for the original land grant of northwest Massachusetts in 1765, we might still be going by the name Fort West Hoosuc). Williamstown blends a pristine landscape with cutting-edge culture, which attract both residents and visitors from around the world. For students this affords an outdoor lifestyle without isolation from the world of art, politics, ideas, and interesting food. It means an absence of air, noise, or light pollution, and everyday exposure to vital performances, exhibits, and dialogues.

Writing of Williams in 1839, Henry David Thoreau said: “It would be no small advantage if every college were thus located at the base of a mountain.” We think you’ll agree. The setting is vital to the College’s character.