Pittsfield

Sister cities

• Cava de' Tirreni
• Ballina

History

The Mohicans, an Algonquian people, inhabited the area that would later come to comprise Pittsfield until the early 18th century, when the population was greatly reduced by war and disease brought by European Colonists. Many migrated westward or were subjugated to live on the fringes of their land. In 1738, wealthy Bostonian Colonel Jacob Wendell bought of land known originally as "Pontoosuck," from a Mohican word meaning "a field or haven for winter deer," as a speculative investment. He planned to subdivide and resell to others who would settle there. He formed a partnership with Philip Livingston, a wealthy kinsman from Albany, New York, and Col. John Stoddard of Northampton, who had claim to here. A group of young armed militia men came and began to clear the land in 1743, but the threat of Indian resistance around the time of King George's War soon forced them to leave, and the land remained unoccupied by Englishmen for several years. Soon, many colonists arrived from Westfield, Massachusetts, and a village began to grow, which was incorporated as Pontoosuck Plantation in 1753 by Solomon Deming, Simeon Crofoot, Stephen Crofoot, Charles Goodrich, Jacob Ensign, Samuel Taylor, and Elias Woodward. Mrs. Deming was the first and the last of the original colonists, dying in March 1818 at the age of 92. Solomon Deming died in 1815 at the age of 96. Pittsfield was incorporated in 1761. Royal Governor Sir Francis Bernard named Pittsfield after British nobleman and politician William Pitt. By 1761 there were 200 residents and the plantation became the Township of Pittsfield. By the end of the Revolutionary War, Pittsfield had grown to nearly 2,000 residents, including Colonel John Brown, who in 1776 began accusing Benedict Arnold of being a traitor, several years…

Geography

Pittsfield is at (42.4522, −73.2515). According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of , of which , or 4.70%, are covered by water. Pittsfield is bordered by Lanesborough to the north, Dalton to the east, Washington to the southeast, Lenox to the south, Richmond to the southwest, and Hancock to the west. Pittsfield is northwest of Springfield, west of Worcester, west of Boston, and east of Albany, New York. Most of the population occupies roughly one-quarter of the city's land. Pittsfield lies at the confluence of the east and west branches of the Housatonic River, which flows south from the city towards its mouth at Long Island Sound, some distant. The eastern branch leads down from the hills, while the western branch is fed from Onota Lake and Pontoosuc Lake (which lies partly in Lanesborough). Like much of western Berkshire County, the city lies between the Berkshire Hills to the east and the Taconic Range to the west. Sections of the Housatonic Valley Wildlife Management Area dot the banks of the river. The western portion of the city contains Pittsfield State Forest, an facility with hiking and cross-country skiing trails, camping, picnic areas, and a beach for swimming. Pittsfield is at the crossroads of U.S. Route 7 and U.S. Route 20, which intersect in the city. Massachusetts Route 8 passes through the northeastern corner of town, with a portion of it combined with Route 9, the central east-west road through the western part of the state, which terminates in the city at Route 20. Route 41 begins in the southwestern corner of town, heading south from Route 20. The nearest interstate highway, Interstate 90 (the Massachusetts Turnpike) is about south, in Lee. Long-distance ground transportation in Pittsfield is based at the Joseph…

Largest nearby schools

• Taconic High
  High · Pittsfield · 860 students · 9.1:1 ratio
• Pittsfield High
  High · Pittsfield · 651 students · 9.6:1 ratio
• Theodore Herberg Middle
  Middle · Pittsfield · 496 students · 9.5:1 ratio
• Wahconah Regional High
  High · Dalton · 485 students · 11.8:1 ratio
• John T Reid Middle
  Middle · Pittsfield · 450 students · 8.7:1 ratio
• Craneville
  Elementary · Dalton · 446 students · 14.9:1 ratio
• Lenox Memorial High
  High · Lenox · 431 students · 8.6:1 ratio
• Egremont
  Elementary · Pittsfield · 382 students · 11.9:1 ratio