Cummington is a small rural town in Western Massachusetts. It began in 1762, as Township Number Five, by proprietor Colonel John Cumings of Concord, Massachusetts, and was incorporated in 1779. It is the birthplace of William Cullen Bryant, long-time editor of the New York Evening Post and also Picturesque America, which was published between 1872 and 1874. The Cummington Fair has been held annually since 1869, when the Hillside Agricultural Society held its first cattle show on Main Street, hoping that this would encourage young men to become farmers.