History of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA

Journey back in time to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA

(Coltsville)

• Pittsfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts, USA
  In 1738, a wealthy Bostonian, Col. Jacob Wendell, bought 24,000 acres (97 km2) of lands known originally as Pontoosuck, a Mohican Indian word meaning ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1752 - Pittsfield is settled
  
  Massachusetts City and Town Incorporation and Settlement Dates
  
  
• 1761 - Pittsfield is incorporated
  
  Massachusetts City and Town Incorporation and Settlement Dates
  
  
• 1814 - First Agricultural Fair in America
  Elkanah Watson exhibited his two Marino sheep on the public square in Pittsfield in 1807. The Massachusetts born Watson is without question “the fathe...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1845 - PITTSFIELD. [Pop. 8,747. Inc. 1761.]
  Pittsfield was granted to Boston, and called Boston Plantation, No. 3.
  
  The Indian name of this town was Poontoosuck, and it was named Pittsfield, i...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  Engstrom's Antiseptic Soothing Ointment
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• 1854 - Pittsfield
  Pittsfield, a flourishing post-town of Berkshire county, Massachusetts, on the Western railroad, at the northern terminus of the Housatonic railroad, ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  1855 view of Pittsfield from a newspaper
  Source: en.wikipedia.org - image is in the public domain
  
•  1859 - A German Religious Society
  We are informed that there is much religious interest among the German population of this vicinity. They have organized a parish under the name of "Th...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1859 - First Intercollegiate Baseball Game
  In 1859, the first intercollegiate baseball game is played in Pittsfield. Amherst defeats Williams College 73-32.
  
  "And I think a lot of folks, even...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• February 23, 1860 - German Lutheran Church
  The German Lutheran Society in this town, of which the Rev. Mr. Grotrian, a very excellent man, is pastor, have been engaged for some time in obtainin...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1865 - 19 Marriageable Ladies
  In one short street in Pittsfield, Mass., there are nineteen marriageable young ladies, and not an offer. Chicago will supply the nineteen offers on d...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  Van Sicklers Mill, 1906
  
  The cotton factory, erected in 1832 a short distance south of the Elm Street bridge and near the site of the first mill dam built in the town, was owned in 1876 by Martin Van Sickler. He died in 1891, having long outlived... Read MORE...
  
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•  1868 - Train Derailment
  A train on the Housatonic Railway was thrown from the track, on the 18th, by a broken rail. Every passenger was injured, Miss Sarah Hayes, of Pittsfie...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  Berkshire Life Insurance Building
  
  Berkshire Life Insurance Company Building is a historic commercial building at 5-7 North Street in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It is located in the heart of downtown Pittsfield, facing Park Square across North... Read MORE...
  
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  Date: December 03, 1868
  Location: Massachusetts
  Paper: Pittsfield Sun
  genealogybank.com
  
•  1869 - Worth the Pie?
  An apprentice boy in Pittsfield, Mass., who was exceedingly fond of mince pies, was told by a lady that she would give him one if he would sit upon th...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1871 - Escaped from Jail
  A burglar escaped from the jail at Pittsfield, Massachusetts, last week, in an ingenious manner. He began by digging into the wall of his cell, intend...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1871 - Quite a Mean Man
  The Pittsfield Mass., Eagle has unearthed the mean man of that village. He is 50 years old, worth $15,000, has driven all his four boys away from home...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1872 - Buried in Pittsfield
  The Pittsfield (Mass.) Eagle says that a South Berkshire father, whose child recently died of small pox, being anxious to bury it in a Pittsfield ceme...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1877 - Arrest and Escape from Prussia
  Jacob Straub, a naturalized citizen resident of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, just returned from a visit to his parents near Stroudsberg, Prussia, gives ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1879 - Thieves in Men's Clothing
  Two women were caught in men's clothes stealing rare plants from a conservatory at Pittsfield, Mass.; and a visit by officer to their home, a few mile...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1882 - Tree of Life
  A quack physician of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, takes his medicine for all diseases from a bottle labelled: "Water from the tree of life." With this h...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1884 - Tried to Repel Burglars
  Francis Kernochan, a manufacturer of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, arose in the night to repel burglars, but stumbled on the stairway and shot himself fa...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1885 - 100th Birthday
  Mrs. Elizabeth Granger, of Pittsfield, Mass., who has been a widow seventy-five years, celebrated her one hundredth birthday anniversary recently.
  ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• Pittsfield Massachusetts, 1890
  "PITTSFIELD, the seat of justice in Berkshire County, is a large flourishing town, distinguished for the beauty of its scenery, its noble farms and el...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  Berkshire Brewing Association Plant "Then and Now"
  Thanks to Steve Roberts
  
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  1890 Parade down North Street
  
  Berkshire Athenaeum
  Photograph
  
• 1891 - Pittsfield is incorporated as a city
  In 1891, the City of Pittsfield is incorporated, and William Stanley, Jr., who had recently relocated his Electric Manufacturing Company to Pittsfield...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  Berkshire Brewing Association (352 Columbus Avenue, Pittsfield, MA 1891-1918) bottle opener. Thanks to Scott Pepoon for the photo.
  
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  Berkshire Brewing Association (352 Columbus Avenue, Pittsfield, MA 1891-1918) tray. Thanks to Scott Pepoon for the photo.
  
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  Berkshire Brewing Association (352 Columbus Avenue, Pittsfield, MA 1891-1918) tray. Thanks to Scott Pepoon for the photo.
  
• 1895 - Pittsfield
  Pittsfield, a beautiful city, the capital of Berkshire co., Mass., in Pittsfield township, on the Housatonic River, and on the Boston & Albany Railroa...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  Central Fire Station
  
  The present central fire station, of brick, facing the head of School Street, was erected in 1895, and
  after the dedication of the building, on September twenty-fourth of that year, all divisions of the Pittsfield fire... Read MORE...
  
  Postcard
  
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  Hurlbut's High Grade Papers
  Hurlbut Stationery Co., Pittsfield, Mass.
  
  The Ladies' Home Journal
  February 1898
  
  In 1893, Arthur W. Eaton, then president of the Hurlbut Paper Manufacturing Company of South Lee, organized the Hurlbut Stationery... Read MORE...
  
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  Hotel Wendell, 1898
  
  Located right in the heart of downtown Pittsfield, it opened in 1898 to much fanfare, with dignitaries including Lieutenant Governor Winthrop M. Crane, the paper magnate from nearby Dalton who later served as governor and US... Read MORE...
  
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  North Street, Pittsfield, Mass.
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  East Street and First Congregational Church, Pittsfield, Mass.
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  Pontoosuc Lake, Pittsfield, Mass.
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  First Baptist Church
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  Maplewood Hotel. Pittsfield, Mass.
  
  What began as the Maplewood Institute, a school for girls, was transformed into the Maplewood Hotel in 1887, three years after the school closed. The hotel could not survive the Great Depression, and it was sold ... Read MORE...
  
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•  1902 - PRESIDENT ROOSEVELT MIRACULOUSLY ESCAPES DEATH FROM AN ELECTRIC CAR WHICH RUNS DOWN HIS CARRIAGE AND KILLS SECRET SERVICE AGENT.
  EXECUTIVE CAUGHT IN WRECK AND BRUISED.
  
  BRAVE GUARD AND THE DRIVER ARE MANGLED.
  
  SECRETARY CORTELYOU ALSO RECEIVES INJURIES.
  
  Pittsfield, Mass.,...Read MORE...
  
  
  
• 1902 - Roosevelt
  On September 3, 1902, at 10:15 AM, during a two-week tour through New England campaigning for Republican congressmen, the barouche transporting Presid...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1903 - Fire In Brewery Barn
  Stubborn Blaze Keeps Firemen Busy for Hours
  Loss Will Be Fully $3000 - Great Crowd Out.
  
  From Tuesday's Eagle.
  By far the most serious conflagrati...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1905 - BERKSHIRE COUNTY. PITTSFIELD. Freight Handler Injured.
  John W. Bline, a freight handler employed by the Boston and Albany railroad company, sustained a deep scalp wound and a number of severe bruises late ...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  East Street
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  High School
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  House of Mercy Hospital
  
  The history of what would become Berkshire Medical Center begins with the House of Mercy. In the 1860's, Dr. Henry H. Childs witnessed poverty and suffering in his clinics and saw the need for a hospital in Pittsfield. The ... Read MORE...
  
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• 1906
  Pittsfield, a city, the capital of Berkshire co., Mass., on the Housatonic River and on the Boston and Albany and the New York, New Haven and Hartford...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1907 - MISS ROBINSON’S BODY FOUND. Recovered From Pontoosuc Lake Early Yesterday Afternoon — Clothing Did Not Catch Fire.
  At 2:30 yesterday afternoon the body of Miss Lucy May Robinson, who was drowned Tuesday night in Pontoosuc lake following the burning of the launch Gw...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  1908 - BERKSHIRE COUNTY. PITTSFIELD. DAMAGE BY HIGH WIND.
  Trees Blown Over, Buildings Damaged and Wires Down as Result of Lively Storm.
  
  A wind and rainstorm that passed over Pittsfield Saturday morning bet...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  Art Museum
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  The Athenaeum
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  Entrance to Cemetery and Mortuary Chapel
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  City Hall & St. Stephen's Episcopal Church
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  Dalton Ave., looking East
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  Old Ladies Home
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  Longfellow House, East Street
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  Post Office, 1910
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  Boston & Albany Railroad Depot, 1910
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•  1912 - Ty Cobb Offered Match - Wanted in Pittsfield, Mass., to Meet Billy Mantel
  Failing to induce Young Britt or George Chaney to sign agreements for a match, Ty Cobb, the Philadelphian, will likely leave the city in a few days fo...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  The New American Hotel
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  Stanley Electric
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  West Street from Park
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•  1916 - Wire Netting Bathing Suit
  A Pittsfield (Mass). man says he will invent a wire netting bathing suit which will be worn in water invaded by sharks.
  genealogybank.com
  Miami Herald Record
  Miami, Florida
  August 28, 1916
  
  
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  South St. Pittsfield, MA - 1916
  
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  Masonic Temple, 1917
  
  On South Street the Masonic Temple was built in 1912, at a construction cost of about $50,000, and devoted to the uses of the Masonic fraternity.
  
  The history of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, from the year 1876 to the year... Read MORE...
  
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  Savings Bank
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  Y.M.C.A.
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•  1927 - Andrew de Giorgis Slips from Sewer Pipe While Trying to Cross Housatonic River on It.
  Pittsfield, May 22.— Andrew de Giorgis, 42, of 3 Naples avenue, was drowned in the east branch of the Housatonic river near the Newell-street bridge e...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  Tuesday, October 13, 1942 - Looking Backward - 50 Years Ago
  Old wooden building used as brewery for many years by Gimlich & White and located in rear of newer brick brewery, torn down.
  The Berkshire Evening Eagle
  Pittsfield, Massachusetts
  October 13, 1942
  
  
•  Tuesday, February 5, 1946 - 25 years ago
  Berkshire Brewing Association votes to brew beer no longer, but turn to soft drinks because of prohibition. Officers President David J Gimlich, vice p...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  Thursday, January 29, 1948 - Looking Backward - 50 Years Ago
  Gimlich & White are storing immense quantities of ice from Silver Lake. Twenty teams are drawing the cakes and 40 men are cutting and stacking.
  The Berkshire Evening Eagle
  Pittsfield, Massachusetts
  January 29, 1948
  
  
•  1949 - Lutheran Church to Mark 90th Anniversary Sunday
  More than 900 members of Zion Lutheran Church will celebrate the church's 90th anniversary Sunday morning at 10.45 at the worship service and at a soc...Read MORE...
  
  
  
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  363 Columbus Ave, Pittsfield, Massachusetts - Home of Jacob and Louisa Ellen Feige Gimlich
  Thanks to Steve Roberts
  
•  Thursday, September 14, 2006 - Officials: Fire set on purpose
  Benning W. De La Mater
  Thursday, September 14 PITTSFIELD -- Fire investigators determined the fire that scorched a condemned house at 363 Columbus Av...Read MORE...
  
  
  
•  Wednesday, September 13, 2006 - Condemned property burns
  Benning W. De La Mater
  Wednesday, September 13 PITTSFIELD - A blaze that drew dozens of firefighters and nearly 100 spectators to an abandoned house ...Read MORE...