The Housatonic River is located in a predominantly rural area of western Massachusetts, where farming was the main occupation from colonial settlement through the late 1800s. The industrial revolution in the late 1800s brought manufacturing to the banks of the Housatonic River, in Pittsfield.
Since 1903 the 254-acre General Electric plant in Pittsfield was a major handler of PCBs and in the process of its manufacturing activities caused serious contamination of the river's water in the more densely populated river areas. GE has been cooperating with the Environmental Protection Agency and other groups in cleaning up the polluted water and improving the river environment for the fish and other widlife using its resources.
Recreational activities such as canoeing, fishing, and hunting are available in wildlife management areas and parks served by the Housatonic River.