The Shakers were a religious order which believed in pacifism, celibacy and communal living.

Worship could take the form of singing and ecstatic dance, which is why they were called the "Shaking Quakers", or "Shakers."

Hancock Shaker Village is famous for its Round Stone Barn, built in 1826.

[2] Hancock is bordered on the north by Williamstown, on the northeast by New Ashford, on the east by Lanesborough and Pittsfield, on the south by Richmond, and on the west by Canaan, New Lebanon, Stephentown and Berlin, New York.

Most of northern Hancock occupies a valley bound by the Taconic Mountains on each side.

The highest point in Hancock is a summit of Misery Mountain that reaches 2,671 feet (814 m) above sea level.

U.S. Route 20 passes through the southern end of town, from Pittsfield to the New York state line.

Prior to the 2010 Massachusetts redistricting of the House and Senate Hancock was in the Second Berkshire District.

In the Massachusetts Senate, the town is represented as part of the Berkshire, Hampshire and Franklin district, which includes all of Berkshire County and western Hampshire and Franklin counties, and has been represented by Ben Downing since 2007.

[15] The town is patrolled by the Fourth (Cheshire) Station of Troop "B" of the Massachusetts State Police.

Upper grades students attend Mount Greylock Regional High School in Williamstown.

The nearest state colleges are Westfield State University and Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts in North Adams, and the nearest University of Massachusetts campus is the UMass Amherst.