Barre, a town set among the hills and valleys of central Massachusetts, started out as a rural farming community that has since grown to almost 5,000 residents. Before Barre became a town in 1774, it was called the Northwest District of Rutland. As more settlers populated the area, the town became gradually autonomous, earning its own name--Rutland District. The name was changed to Barre in 1776 to honor Col. Isaac Barre, a member of the British Parliament who embraced the colonists' cause of independence. As the Industrial Revolution reached Barre, many villages flourished. Textiles, gunpowder, and wood products were all lucrative industries for a time until the twentieth century, when the Charles G. Allen Company and the Barre Wool Company were the main industrial forces. Today, the area is a tourist mecca where visitors can appreciate the display of autumn foliage, the sports of fishing and hunting, and the Woods Memorial Library and its museum.