Pittsfield is the largest city and the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of
Berkshire County,
, United States. It is the principal city of the Pittsfield, Massachusetts
Metropolitan Statistical Area
In the United States, a metropolitan statistical area (MSA) is a geographical region with a relatively high population density at its core and close economic ties throughout the area. Such regions are neither legally Incorporated town, incorporate ...
which encompasses all of Berkshire County. Pittsfield’s population was 43,927 at the 2020 census.
Although its population has declined in recent decades, Pittsfield remains the third-largest municipality in
Western Massachusetts
Western Massachusetts, known colloquially as “Western Mass,” is a region in Massachusetts, one of the six U.S. states that make up the New England region of the United States. Western Massachusetts has diverse topography; 22 colleges and u ...
, behind only
Springfield and
Chicopee.
In 2017, the Arts Vibrancy Index compiled by the National Center for Arts Research ranked Pittsfield and Berkshire County as the number-one, medium-sized community in the nation for the arts.
History
The
Mohicans
The Mohican ( or , alternate spelling: Mahican) are an Eastern Algonquian Native American tribe that historically spoke an Algonquian language. As part of the Eastern Algonquian family of tribes, they are related to the neighboring Lenape, who ...
, an
Algonquian people
The Algonquian are one of the most populous and widespread North American native language groups. Historically, the peoples were prominent along the Atlantic Coast and into the interior along the Saint Lawrence River and around the Great Lakes. T ...
, inhabited Pittsfield and the surrounding area until the early 1700s, when the population was greatly reduced by war and disease, and many migrated westward or lived quietly on the fringes of society.
In 1738, a wealthy Bostonian named Col. 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
Philip Livingston (January 15, 1716 – June 12, 1778) was an American merchant and statesman from New York City. He represented New York at the October 1774 First Continental Congress, where he favored imposing economic sanctions upon Great B ...
, a wealthy kinsman from
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...
, and Col. John Stoddard of
Northampton
Northampton () is a market town and civil parish in the East Midlands of England, on the River Nene, north-west of London and south-east of Birmingham. The county town of Northamptonshire, Northampton is one of the largest towns in England; ...
, who had claim to here.
A group of young men came and began to clear the land in 1743, but the threat of Indian raids around the time of
King George's War soon forced them to leave, and the land remained unoccupied by Englishmen for several more years.
Soon, many others arrived from
Westfield, Massachusetts
Westfield is a city in Hampden County, in the Pioneer Valley of western Massachusetts, United States. Westfield was first settled by Europeans in 1660. It is part of the Springfield, Massachusetts Metropolitan Statistical Area. The population w ...
, 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 settlers, 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
Nobility is a social class found in many societies that have an aristocracy. It is normally ranked immediately below royalty. Nobility has often been an estate of the realm with many exclusive functions and characteristics. The characteris ...
and
politician
A politician is a person active in party politics, or a person holding or seeking an elected office in government. Politicians propose, support, reject and create laws that govern the land and by an extension of its people. Broadly speaking, a ...
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 before Arnold defected to the British. Brown wrote in his winter 1776-77 handbill, "Money is this man's God, and to get enough of it he would sacrifice his country."
Pittsfield was primarily an agricultural area because of the many brooks that flowed into the
Housatonic River; the landscape was dotted with mills that produced lumber, grist, paper, and textiles. With the introduction of
Merino
The Merino is a breed or group of breeds of domestic sheep, characterised by very fine soft wool. It was established in Spain near the end of the Middle Ages, and was for several centuries kept as a strict Spanish monopoly; exports of the bree ...
sheep from Spain in 1807, the area became the center of woolen manufacturing in the United States, an industry that would dominate the community's economy for almost a century.
![Pittsfield Union Station, circa 1880](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/24/Pittsfield_Union_Station%2C_circa_1880.jpg)
The town was a bustling metropolis by the late 19th century. In 1891, the City of Pittsfield was incorporated and
William Stanley Jr., who had recently relocated his Electric Manufacturing Company to Pittsfield from
Great Barrington, produced the first electric transformer. Stanley's enterprise was the forerunner of the internationally known corporate giant,
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
(GE). Thanks to the success of GE, Pittsfield's population in 1930 had grown to more than 50,000. While GE Advanced Materials (now owned by
SABIC
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation ( ar, الشركة السعودية للصناعات الأساسية), known as SABIC ( ar, سابك), is a Saudi chemical manufacturing company. 70% of SABIC's shares are owned by Saudi Aramco. It is active in ...
-Innovative Plastics, a subsidiary of the Riyadh-based Saudi Basic Industries Corporation) continues to be one of the city's largest employers, a workforce that once topped 13,000 was reduced to less than 700 with the demise and/or relocation of General Electric's
transformer
A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...
and
aerospace
Aerospace is a term used to collectively refer to the atmosphere and outer space. Aerospace activity is very diverse, with a multitude of commercial, industrial and military applications. Aerospace engineering consists of aeronautics and astrona ...
portions. On October 8, 2015, SABIC announced it would relocate its headquarters from Pittsfield to Houston, Texas.
General Dynamics
General Dynamics Corporation (GD) is an American publicly traded, aerospace and defense corporation headquartered in Reston, Virginia. As of 2020, it was the fifth-largest defense contractor in the world by arms sales, and 5th largest in the Uni ...
occupies many of the old GE buildings and its workforce is expanding. Much of General Dynamics' local success is based on the awarding of government contracts related to its advanced information systems. In September 2018,
Massachusetts Governor
The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces.
Massachuset ...
Charlie Baker
Charles Duane Baker Jr. (born November 13, 1956) is an American politician and businessman serving as the 72nd governor of Massachusetts since 2015. A member of the Republican Party, Baker was a cabinet official under two governors of Massach ...
,
Massachusetts Lieutenant Governor
The lieutenant governor of Massachusetts is the first in the line to discharge the powers and duties of the office of governor following the incapacitation of the Governor of Massachusetts. The constitutional honorific title for the office is His ...
Karyn Polito
Karyn Ellen Polito (born November 11, 1966) is an American attorney, businesswoman, and politician serving as the 72nd lieutenant governor of Massachusetts. Polito was a Republican member of the Massachusetts House of Representatives for the 11th ...
, and other Baker administration officials attended the groundbreaking of a $13.7 million project to build a
life sciences
This list of life sciences comprises the branches of science that involve the scientific study of life – such as microorganisms, plants, and animals including human beings. This science is one of the two major branches of natural science, the ...
and
advanced manufacturing
Advanced manufacturing is the use of innovative technology to improve products or processes, with the relevant technology being described as advanced, innovative or cutting edge. Advanced manufacturing industries increasingly integrate new innov ...
center in the city.
1902 presidential incident
On September 3, 1902, at 10:15 am, during a two-week tour through
New England
New England is a region comprising six states in the Northeastern United States: Connecticut, Maine, Massachusetts, New Hampshire, Rhode Island, and Vermont. It is bordered by the state of New York to the west and by the Canadian provinces ...
campaigning for
Republican
Republican can refer to:
Political ideology
* An advocate of a republic, a type of government that is not a monarchy or dictatorship, and is usually associated with the rule of law.
** Republicanism, the ideology in support of republics or agains ...
congressmen
A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...
, the
barouche
A barouche is a large, open, four-wheeled carriage, both heavy and luxurious, drawn by two horses. It was fashionable throughout the 19th century. Its body provides seats for four passengers, two back-seat passengers vis-à-vis two behind the co ...
transporting
President
President most commonly refers to:
*President (corporate title)
*President (education), a leader of a college or university
*President (government title)
President may also refer to:
Automobiles
* Nissan President, a 1966–2010 Japanese ful ...
Theodore Roosevelt
Theodore Roosevelt Jr. ( ; October 27, 1858 – January 6, 1919), often referred to as Teddy or by his initials, T. R., was an American politician, statesman, soldier, conservationist, naturalist, historian, and writer who served as the 26t ...
from downtown Pittsfield to the Pittsfield Country Club collided head-on with a
trolley. Roosevelt,
Massachusetts Governor
The governor of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts is the chief executive officer of the government of Massachusetts. The governor is the head of the state cabinet and the commander-in-chief of the commonwealth's military forces.
Massachuset ...
Winthrop Murray Crane
Winthrop Murray Crane (commonly referred to as W. Murray Crane or simply Murray Crane; April 23, 1853October 2, 1920) was an American political figure and businessman.
In 1879, he secured his family company, paper manufacturer Crane & Co., an ...
, secretary to the president
George Bruce Cortelyou
George Bruce Cortelyou (July 26, 1862October 23, 1940) was an American Cabinet secretary of the early twentieth century. He held various positions in the presidential administrations of Grover Cleveland, William McKinley, and Theodore Roosevelt. ...
, and
bodyguard
A bodyguard (or close protection officer/operative) is a type of security guard, government law enforcement officer, or servicemember who protects a person or a group of people — usually witnesses, high-ranking public officials or officers, w ...
William Craig were thrown into the street. Craig was killed; he was the first
Secret Service
A secret service is a government agency, intelligence agency, or the activities of a government agency, concerned with the gathering of intelligence data. The tasks and powers of a secret service can vary greatly from one country to another. For ...
agent killed while on a presidential protection detail. Roosevelt, whose face and left shin were badly bruised, nearly came to blows with the trolley motorman, Euclid Madden. Madden was later charged with
manslaughter
Manslaughter is a common law legal term for homicide considered by law as less culpable than murder. The distinction between murder and manslaughter is sometimes said to have first been made by the ancient Athenian lawmaker Draco in the 7th cen ...
, to which he pleaded
guilty
Guilty or The Guilty may refer to:
* Guilt (emotion), an experience that occurs when a person believes they have violated a moral standard
Law
*Culpability, the degree to which an agent can be held responsible for action or inaction
*Guilt (law) ...
. He was sentenced to six months in jail and a heavy fine.
Baseball in Pittsfield
![Pitts09a](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/8/8a/Pitts09a.jpg)
In 2004, historian John Thorn discovered a reference to a 1791 by-law prohibiting anyone from playing "baseball" within of the new meeting house in Pittsfield. A reference librarian, AnnMarie Harris, found the actual by-law in the
Berkshire Athenaeum library and its age was verified by researchers at the Williamstown Art Conservation Center. If authentic and if actually referring to a recognizable version of the modern game, the 1791 document, would be, as of 2004, the earliest known reference to the game in America. (''See
Origins of baseball
The question of the origins of baseball has been the subject of debate and controversy for more than a century. Baseball and the other modern bat, ball, and running games — stoolball, cricket and rounders — were developed from folk games i ...
.'') The document is available on the
Pittsfield Library's web site.
A finding that
baseball
Baseball is a bat-and-ball sport played between two teams of nine players each, taking turns batting and fielding. The game occurs over the course of several plays, with each play generally beginning when a player on the fielding tea ...
was invented in 1839 by
Abner Doubleday
Abner Doubleday (June 26, 1819 – January 26, 1893) was a career United States Army officer and Union major general in the American Civil War. He fired the first shot in defense of Fort Sumter, the opening battle of the war, and had a p ...
in
Cooperstown, New York, provided the rationale for baseball centennial celebrations in 1939 including the opening of a National
Baseball Hall of Fame
The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by private interests. It serves as the central point of the history of baseball in the United States and displays baseball-r ...
and Museum in that city. Few historians ever believed it and even the Hall's vice president,
Jeff Idelson, has stated that "Baseball wasn't really born anywhere."
In 1859, the first intercollegiate baseball game was played in Pittsfield.
Amherst defeated
Williams College
Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...
, 73–32.
Ulysses Frank Grant, born August 1, 1865, in Pittsfield (died May 27, 1937), was an African American baseball player in the 19th century who played in the International League and for various independent teams.
Professional baseball was played in Pittsfield's
Wahconah Park
Wahconah Park is a city-owned baseball park located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and nestled in a working-class neighborhood. One of the last remaining ballparks in the United States with a wooden grandstand, it was constructed in 1919 and seats ...
from 1894 through 2003. Teams included the early
Pittsfield Colts and
Pittsfield Hillies
The Pittsfield Hillies were an Eastern League (baseball, 1916-32), Eastern League (Class A) baseball team from 1919 to 1930. They were League Champions in 1919 and 1921.
Their home field was at Wahconah Park, Pittsfield, Massachusetts.
1905
The P ...
, the
Pittsfield Electrics of the 1940s, the
Pittsfield Red Sox
The Pittsfield Red Sox was the name of an American minor league baseball franchise based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, from 1965 through 1969. It was the Double-A Eastern League affiliate in the Boston Red Sox farm system and produced future Majo ...
from 1965 to 1969 with such then A-league players and future major leaguers as
George Scott,
Carlton Fisk, and
Reggie Smith
Carl Reginald Smith (born April 2, 1945) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball (MLB) as an outfielder and afterwards served as a coach and front office executive. He also played in the Nippon Profe ...
, the
Pittsfield Senators (later Rangers) of the 1970s, and the 1985–1988 AA
Pittsfield Cubs featuring future stars
Mark Grace
Mark Eugene Grace (born June 28, 1964) is a former Major League Baseball (MLB) first baseman who spent 12 seasons with the Chicago Cubs and three seasons with the Arizona Diamondbacks of the National League (NL). He was a member of the 2001 Worl ...
and
Rafael Palmeiro
Rafael Palmeiro Corrales (born September 24, 1964) is a Cuban-American former Major League Baseball first baseman and left fielder. Palmeiro was an All-American at Mississippi State University before being drafted by the Chicago Cubs in 1985. H ...
. From 1989 to 2001, the
Pittsfield Mets
The Pittsfield Mets were a minor league baseball based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and played their home games Wahconah Park. The team previously played as the Little Falls Mets from Little Falls, New York before an investment group organized b ...
and Pittsfield Astros (2001 only) represented the city in the
New York–Penn League
The New York–Penn League (NYPL) was a Minor League Baseball league that operated in the northeastern United States from 1939 to 2020. Classified as a Class A Short Season league, its season started in June, after major-league teams signed th ...
. The Astros have since moved to
Troy, New York
Troy is a city in the U.S. state of New York and the county seat of Rensselaer County. The city is located on the western edge of Rensselaer County and on the eastern bank of the Hudson River. Troy has close ties to the nearby cities of Albany ...
, and are now known as the
Tri-City ValleyCats
The Tri-City ValleyCats (often shortened to Cats) are a professional independent baseball team based in Troy, New York. The Tri-City name refers to the three nearby cities of Albany, Schenectady, and Troy which make up New York State's Capital D ...
.
In
2005, Wahconah Park became the home stadium of the
Pittsfield Dukes, a
summer collegiate baseball franchise of the
New England Collegiate Baseball League
The New England Collegiate Baseball League (NECBL) is a 13-team collegiate summer baseball wooden bat league founded in 1993 and sanctioned by the NCAA and Major League Baseball. Each NECBL team plays an eight-week, 44-game schedule during June ...
owned by
Dan Duquette
Dan Duquette (born May 26, 1958) is an American baseball executive. He is the former general manager of the Montreal Expos, Boston Red Sox, and Baltimore Orioles of Major League Baseball. He is also the founder of the Dan Duquette Sports Academy ...
, former
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
general manager. The Dukes had played the
2004 season in
Hinsdale, Massachusetts
Hinsdale is a town in Berkshire County, Massachusetts, United States. It is part of the Metropolitan Statistical Area of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The population was 1,919 at the 2020 census.
History
Originally part of Northern Berkshire Towns ...
, as the Berkshire Dukes. In
2009, the franchise changed its name to the
Pittsfield American Defenders. The American Defenders' name refers to both the United States military and a line of
baseball glove
A baseball glove or mitt is a large glove (traditionally made of leather, today other options do exist) worn by baseball players of
the defending team, which assists players in catching and fielding balls hit by a batter or thrown by a teammate ...
s produced by
Nocona Athletic Goods Company
Nocona American Ball Gloves (commonly stylized as Nokona) is an American manufacturing company of sports equipment and clothing products, specialised in baseball gloves. The company, headquartered in Nocona, Texas, is one of a handful of companies ...
. Duquette's ownership group also owned the
American Defenders of New Hampshire
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
, members of the independent
Can-Am League
The Canadian American Association of Professional Baseball, commonly known as the Can-Am League, was a professional, independent baseball league with teams in the Northeast United States and Eastern Canada, founded in 2005 as a reorganization ...
.
Since 2012, Wahconah Park has been the home of the
Pittsfield Suns
The Pittsfield Suns are a summer collegiate baseball team based in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, USA, that plays in the Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) of New England. The team's home games are played at Wahconah Park
Wahconah Park is a c ...
of the
Futures Collegiate Baseball League
The Futures Collegiate Baseball League (FCBL) is an eight-team collegiate summer baseball league. It has four franchises in Massachusetts, two in Connecticut, and one each in New Hampshire and Vermont.
Format
The Futures League is a wood-bat ...
.
Mark Belanger
Mark Henry Belanger (June 8, 1944 – October 6, 1998), nicknamed "The Blade," was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from through , most notably as a member of the Bal ...
, eight-time Gold Glove winning shortstop for the Baltimore Orioles,
Turk Wendell
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
, relief pitcher for the New York Mets, and
Tom Grieve
Thomas Alan Grieve (born March 4, 1948) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1979 for the Washington Senators / Texas Rangers, New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals. He was nicknam ...
, outfielder for the Texas Rangers, were all from Pittsfield.
Geography
Pittsfield is at (42.4522, −73.2515).
According to the
United States Census Bureau
The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of the ...
, the city has an area of , of which , or 4.70%, are covered by water.
Pittsfield is bordered by
Lanesborough to the north,
Dalton
Dalton may refer to:
Science
* Dalton (crater), a lunar crater
* Dalton (program), chemistry software
* Dalton (unit) (Da), the atomic mass unit
* John Dalton, chemist, physicist and meteorologist
Entertainment
* Dalton (Buffyverse), minor ch ...
to the east,
Washington
Washington commonly refers to:
* Washington (state), United States
* Washington, D.C., the capital of the United States
** A metonym for the federal government of the United States
** Washington metropolitan area, the metropolitan area centered o ...
to the southeast,
Lenox to the south,
Richmond
Richmond most often refers to:
* Richmond, Virginia, the capital of Virginia, United States
* Richmond, London, a part of London
* Richmond, North Yorkshire, a town in England
* Richmond, British Columbia, a city in Canada
* Richmond, California, ...
to the southwest, and
Hancock Hancock may refer to:
Places in the United States
* Hancock, Iowa
* Hancock, Maine
* Hancock, Maryland
* Hancock, Massachusetts
* Hancock, Michigan
* Hancock, Minnesota
* Hancock, Missouri
* Hancock, New Hampshire
** Hancock (CDP), New Hampshir ...
to the west. Pittsfield is northwest of
Springfield, west of
Worcester
Worcester may refer to:
Places United Kingdom
* Worcester, England, a city and the county town of Worcestershire in England
** Worcester (UK Parliament constituency), an area represented by a Member of Parliament
* Worcester Park, London, Engla ...
, west of
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
, and east of
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...
.
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
Long Island Sound is a marine sound and tidal estuary of the Atlantic Ocean. It lies predominantly between the U.S. state of Connecticut to the north and Long Island in New York to the south. From west to east, the sound stretches from the Eas ...
, some distant. The eastern branch leads down from the hills, while the western branch is fed from
Onota Lake
Onota Lake is located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It is in area, located entirely in the City of Pittsfield and is owned by it. It is divided into north and south basins due to the old roadway that marked to north end with minimal water exc ...
and Pontoosuc Lake (which lies partly in Lanesborough). Like much of western Berkshire County, the city lies between the
Berkshire Hills
The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...
to the east and the
Taconic Range
The Taconic Mountains or Taconic Range () are a range of the Appalachian Mountains, running along the eastern border of New York State and adjacent New England from northwest Connecticut to western Massachusetts, north to central western Vermont. ...
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
U.S. Route 7 (US 7) is a north–south United States highway in western New England that runs for through the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. The highway's southern terminus is at Interstate 95 (I-95) exit 15 ...
and
U.S. Route 20
U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...
, which join together in the city.
Massachusetts Route 8
Route 8 is the portion of the 148 mile multistate New England Route 8 (New England), Route 8 within the state of Massachusetts. The highway runs from the Connecticut state line in Sandisfield, Massachusetts, Sandisfield, where the high ...
passes through the northeast corner of town, with a portion of it combined with
Route 9, the central east-west road through the western part of the state, whose western terminus is in the city at Route 20.
Route 41 begins in the southwest corner of town, heading south from Route 20. The nearest interstate highway,
Interstate 90
Interstate 90 (I-90) is an east–west transcontinental freeway and the longest Interstate Highway in the United States at . It begins in Seattle, Washington, and travels through the Pacific Northwest, Mountain West, Great Plains, Midwest, and ...
(the
Massachusetts Turnpike
The Massachusetts Turnpike (colloquially "Mass Pike" or "the Pike") is a toll highway in the US state of Massachusetts that is maintained by the Massachusetts Department of Transportation (MassDOT). The turnpike begins at the New York state li ...
) is about south in
Lee.
Long-distance ground transportation in Pittsfield is based at the
Joseph Scelsi Intermodal Transportation Center
The Joseph Scelsi Intermodal Transportation Center (often referred to as the ITC or the Scelsi ITC) is a transit facility located in downtown Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The $11 million facility is named after Joseph Scelsi, a longtime State Repr ...
, which serves as the station for
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
trains and
Peter Pan
Peter Pan is a fictional character created by List of Scottish novelists, Scottish novelist and playwright J. M. Barrie. A free-spirited and mischievous young boy who can fly and Puer aeternus, never grows up, Peter Pan spends his never-ending ...
buses. The Berkshire Regional Transit Authority, the transit provider for Pittsfield and vicinity, is based at the Intermodal Center and also uses it as a hub for most of its lines. Rail freight transportation is provided by
CSX Transportation
CSX Transportation , known colloquially as simply CSX, is a Class I freight railroad operating in the Eastern United States and the Canadian provinces of Ontario and Quebec. The railroad operates approximately 21,000 route miles () of track. ...
and the
Housatonic Railroad
The Housatonic Railroad ( ) is a Class III railroad operating in southwestern New England and eastern New York. It was chartered in 1983 to operate a short section of ex-New York, New Haven and Hartford Railroad in northwestern Connecticut, an ...
.
The
fixed-base operator
A fixed-base operator (FBO) is an organization granted the right by an airport to operate at the airport and provide aeronautical services such as fueling, hangaring, tie-down and parking, aircraft rental, aircraft maintenance, flight instruction, ...
at
Pittsfield Municipal Airport offers access to the region via private and chartered aircraft ranging from single-engined piston to multiple-engined jet planes. They also offer scenic rides and flight training. The nearest airport with national service is
Albany International Airport.
Climate
Pittsfield has a
humid continental climate
A humid continental climate is a climatic region defined by Russo-German climatologist Wladimir Köppen in 1900, typified by four distinct seasons and large seasonal temperature differences, with warm to hot (and often humid) summers and freezing ...
(
''Dfb''). Winters are harsh due the city's high elevation at 1,039 ft (317 m), with an average annual snowfall of and temperatures dipping to or colder 13 times per year. Summers, however, are typically warm and pleasant, with temperatures reaching just six times per year. The record high and record low are and , recorded on July 23, 1926, and February 15, 1943, respectively. Over the course of a year, 173 days have measurable precipitation.
Housatonic River
Background and historical overview
Flowing through a historically rural area, the
Housatonic River attracted increased industrialization in the late 19th century.
William Stanley, Jr.
William Stanley Jr. (November 28, 1858 – May 14, 1916) was an American physicist born in Brooklyn, New York. During his career, he obtained 129 patents covering a variety of electric devices. In 1913, he also patented an all-steel vacuum bottl ...
, founded the Stanley Electric Manufacturing Company in 1890 at Pittsfield. The company manufactured small transformers, electrical motors and appliances. In 1903, GE acquired Stanley Electric and subsequently operated three major manufacturing operations in Pittsfield:
transformer
A transformer is a passive component that transfers electrical energy from one electrical circuit to another circuit, or multiple circuits. A varying current in any coil of the transformer produces a varying magnetic flux in the transformer' ...
,
ordnance
Ordnance may refer to:
Military and defense
*Materiel in military logistics, including weapons, ammunition, vehicles, and maintenance tools and equipment.
**The military branch responsible for supplying and developing these items, e.g., the Unit ...
, and
plastic
Plastics are a wide range of synthetic or semi-synthetic materials that use polymers as a main ingredient. Their plasticity makes it possible for plastics to be moulded, extruded or pressed into solid objects of various shapes. This adaptab ...
s.
Environmental issues
During the mid-20th century, the Housatonic River and its floodplain were contaminated with
polychlorinated biphenyl
Polychlorinated biphenyls (PCBs) are highly carcinogenic chemical compounds, formerly used in industrial and consumer products, whose production was banned in the United States by the Toxic Substances Control Act in 1979 and internationally by t ...
s (PCBs) and other hazardous substances released from the
General Electric Company (GE) facility in Pittsfield. The contaminated area, known as the General Electric/Housatonic River Site, includes the GE manufacturing facility; the Housatonic River, its riverbanks and floodplains from Pittsfield to Long Island Sound, and former river oxbows that have been filled; Allendale School; Silver Lake; and other areas contaminated as a result of GE's operations in Pittsfield.
The highest concentrations of PCBs in the Housatonic River are found from the site of the GE plant in Pittsfield to Woods Pond in
Lenox, Massachusetts, where they have been measured up to 140 mg/kg (140 ppm).
About 50% of all the PCBs in the river are estimated to be retained in the sediment behind Woods Pond dam. This is estimated to be about 11,000 pounds of PCBs.
Birds and fish who live in and around the river contain significant levels of PCBs.
Consent decree and cleanup
![GE Pittsfield MA-Housatonic R Halfmile Cleanup Site-Cell B](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/f/fb/GE_Pittsfield_MA-Housatonic_R_Halfmile_Cleanup_Site-Cell_B.jpg)
Starting in 1991, legal proceedings by the
U.S. Environmental Protection Agency
The Environmental Protection Agency (EPA) is an Independent agencies of the United States government, independent executive agency of the United States federal government tasked with environmental protection matters. President Richard Nixon pro ...
(EPA) established the General Electric/Housatonic River Site. Initial cleanup work began in 1996 when EPA issued a unilateral order to GE that required the removal of highly contaminated sediments and bank soils. EPA added the site to the
Superfund
Superfund is a United States federal environmental remediation program established by the Comprehensive Environmental Response, Compensation, and Liability Act of 1980 (CERCLA). The program is administered by the United States Environmental Pro ...
list in September 1997.
The year 1999 was a milestone for Pittsfield, when negotiations between EPA, the state, General Electric and the City resulted in a
settlement agreement
In law, a settlement is a resolution between disputing parties about a legal case, reached either before or after court action begins. A collective settlement is a settlement of multiple similar legal cases. The term also has other meanings in t ...
, valued at over $250 million, to clean up Pittsfield and the Housatonic River. The settlement was memorialized in a consent decree entered in federal court the following year, making it a binding legal agreement.
Cleanup of the polluted downstream river areas has not been completed as of 2020. In February 2020 EPA announced a settlement agreement involving GE, EPA and most of the concerned parties, to remove contaminated sediment from the areas south of Pittsfield. Highly contaminated soil would be removed and shipped to federally-approved facilities outside the state, while less-contaminated soil would be placed in a new specially-designed landfill in Berkshire County. EPA's plan is subject to public comment and is expected to be finalized later in 2020.
Groundwater and long-term monitoring
In the years since the settlement was reached, the EPA, state agencies, the City and GE accomplished one of the largest and most complex cleanups in the country. Cleanup work on the first previously PCB-laden half mile of the Housatonic River, adjacent to the GE facility, was completed in September 2002.
$90 million was spent cleaning up the reach between Lyman Street and Fred Garner Park, which was completed in June 2007. Biological and sediment samples showed reductions of approximately 99% of PCB concentrations compared to conditions before remediation.
GE removed contaminated soil and restored 27 residential properties abutting the river. As of 2006 more than of PCB-contaminated sediment, bank, and floodplain soil have been removed from the river and residential property.
As of 2019 GE has completed remediation and restoration of the 10 manufacturing plant areas within the city, and is conducting inspection, monitoring and maintenance activities.
Demographics
As of the
census
A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses incl ...
of 2000, there were 45,793 people, 19,704 households, and 11,822 families residing in the city. Pittsfield is the largest city by population in Berkshire County, and ranks 27th out of the 351 cities and towns in Massachusetts. The
population density
Population density (in agriculture: standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geographical term.Matt RosenberPopul ...
was 1,124.3 people per square mile (434.1/km), making it the most densely populated community in Berkshire county and 92nd overall in the Commonwealth. There were 21,366 housing units at an average density of 524.6 per square mile (202.5/km).
The racial makeup of the city in 2017 was 87.4%
white
White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White on ...
(84.4%
non-Hispanic white), 4.7%
black
Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...
, 0.4%
Native American, 2.0%
Asian
Asian may refer to:
* Items from or related to the continent of Asia:
** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia
** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia
** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...
(0.6%
Chinese
Chinese can refer to:
* Something related to China
* Chinese people, people of Chinese nationality, citizenship, and/or ethnicity
**''Zhonghua minzu'', the supra-ethnic concept of the Chinese nation
** List of ethnic groups in China, people of ...
, 0.5%
Indian
Indian or Indians may refer to:
Peoples South Asia
* Indian people, people of Indian nationality, or people who have an Indian ancestor
** Non-resident Indian, a citizen of India who has temporarily emigrated to another country
* South Asia ...
, 0.3%
Pakistani, 0.2%
Filipino
Filipino may refer to:
* Something from or related to the Philippines
** Filipino language, standardized variety of 'Tagalog', the national language and one of the official languages of the Philippines.
** Filipinos, people who are citizens of th ...
, 0.2%
Korean
Korean may refer to:
People and culture
* Koreans, ethnic group originating in the Korean Peninsula
* Korean cuisine
* Korean culture
* Korean language
**Korean alphabet, known as Hangul or Chosŏn'gŭl
**Korean dialects and the Jeju language
** ...
, 0.1%
Vietnamese
Vietnamese may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Vietnam, a country in Southeast Asia
** A citizen of Vietnam. See Demographics of Vietnam.
* Vietnamese people, or Kinh people, a Southeast Asian ethnic group native to Vietnam
** Overse ...
), 0.02%
Pacific Islander
Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 2.0% from
other races
Other often refers to:
* Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy
Other or The Other may also refer to:
Film and television
* ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack
* ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...
, and 3.5% from
two or more races
2 (two) is a number, numeral and digit. It is the natural number following 1 and preceding 3. It is the smallest and only even prime number. Because it forms the basis of a duality, it has religious and spiritual significance in many cultur ...
.
Hispanics and Latinos of any race were 6.0% of the population (1.9%
Puerto Rican, 0.9%
Mexican, 0.6%
Ecuadorian
Ecuadorians ( es, ecuatorianos) are people identified with the South American country of Ecuador. This connection may be residential, legal, historical or cultural. For most Ecuadorians, several (or all) of these connections exist and are colle ...
, 0.5%
Dominican, 0.4%
Spanish
Spanish might refer to:
* Items from or related to Spain:
**Spaniards are a nation and ethnic group indigenous to Spain
**Spanish language, spoken in Spain and many Latin American countries
**Spanish cuisine
Other places
* Spanish, Ontario, Can ...
, 0.3%
Peruvian
Peruvians ( es, peruanos) are the citizens of Peru. There were Andean and coastal ancient civilizations like Caral, which inhabited what is now Peruvian territory for several millennia before the Spanish conquest in the 16th century; Peruvian p ...
, 0.3%
Honduran, 0.2%
Colombian, 0.2%
Salvadoran
Salvadorans (Spanish: ''Salvadoreños''), also known as Salvadorians (alternate spelling: Salvadoreans), are citizens of El Salvador, a country in Central America. Most Salvadorans live in El Salvador, although there is also a significant Salvad ...
, 0.1%
Cuban
Cuban may refer to:
* Something of, from, or related to Cuba, a country in the Caribbean
* Cubans, people from Cuba, or of Cuban descent
** Cuban exile, a person who left Cuba for political reasons, or a descendant thereof
* Cuban citizen, a perso ...
). The ten largest ancestry groups in the city were
Irish
Irish may refer to:
Common meanings
* Someone or something of, from, or related to:
** Ireland, an island situated off the north-western coast of continental Europe
***Éire, Irish language name for the isle
** Northern Ireland, a constituent unit ...
(22.5%),
Italian
Italian(s) may refer to:
* Anything of, from, or related to the people of Italy over the centuries
** Italians, an ethnic group or simply a citizen of the Italian Republic or Italian Kingdom
** Italian language, a Romance language
*** Regional Ita ...
(17.5%),
French (11.7%),
German
German(s) may refer to:
* Germany (of or related to)
** Germania (historical use)
* Germans, citizens of Germany, people of German ancestry, or native speakers of the German language
** For citizens of Germany, see also German nationality law
**Ge ...
(9.9%),
English
English usually refers to:
* English language
* English people
English may also refer to:
Peoples, culture, and language
* ''English'', an adjective for something of, from, or related to England
** English national ide ...
(8.6%),
Polish
Polish may refer to:
* Anything from or related to Poland, a country in Europe
* Polish language
* Poles
Poles,, ; singular masculine: ''Polak'', singular feminine: ''Polka'' or Polish people, are a West Slavic nation and ethnic group, w ...
(6.7%),
American
American(s) may refer to:
* American, something of, from, or related to the United States of America, commonly known as the "United States" or "America"
** Americans, citizens and nationals of the United States of America
** American ancestry, pe ...
(4.1%),
French-Canadian (3.7%),
Scottish (1.7%), and
Russian
Russian(s) refers to anything related to Russia, including:
*Russians (, ''russkiye''), an ethnic group of the East Slavic peoples, primarily living in Russia and neighboring countries
*Rossiyane (), Russian language term for all citizens and peo ...
(1.5%).
Immigrants
Immigration is the international movement of people to a destination country of which they are not natives or where they do not possess citizenship in order to settle as permanent residents or naturalized citizens. Commuters, tourists, and ...
accounted for 7.3% of the population. The ten most common countries of origin for immigrants in the city were
Puerto Rico
Puerto Rico (; abbreviated PR; tnq, Boriken, ''Borinquen''), officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico ( es, link=yes, Estado Libre Asociado de Puerto Rico, lit=Free Associated State of Puerto Rico), is a Caribbean island and Unincorporated ...
,
Ecuador
Ecuador ( ; ; Quechua: ''Ikwayur''; Shuar: ''Ecuador'' or ''Ekuatur''), officially the Republic of Ecuador ( es, República del Ecuador, which literally translates as "Republic of the Equator"; Quechua: ''Ikwadur Ripuwlika''; Shuar: ''Eku ...
,
China
China, officially the People's Republic of China (PRC), is a country in East Asia. It is the world's most populous country, with a population exceeding 1.4 billion, slightly ahead of India. China spans the equivalent of five time zones and ...
,
Mexico
Mexico (Spanish: México), officially the United Mexican States, is a country in the southern portion of North America. It is bordered to the north by the United States; to the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; to the southeast by Guatema ...
, the
Dominican Republic
The Dominican Republic ( ; es, República Dominicana, ) is a country located on the island of Hispaniola in the Greater Antilles archipelago of the Caribbean region. It occupies the eastern five-eighths of the island, which it shares wit ...
,
India
India, officially the Republic of India (Hindi: ), is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the so ...
,
El Salvador
El Salvador (; , meaning " The Saviour"), officially the Republic of El Salvador ( es, República de El Salvador), is a country in Central America. It is bordered on the northeast by Honduras, on the northwest by Guatemala, and on the south b ...
,
Canada
Canada is a country in North America. Its ten provinces and three territories extend from the Atlantic Ocean to the Pacific Ocean and northward into the Arctic Ocean, covering over , making it the world's second-largest country by tot ...
,
Ghana
Ghana (; tw, Gaana, ee, Gana), officially the Republic of Ghana, is a country in West Africa. It abuts the Gulf of Guinea and the Atlantic Ocean to the south, sharing borders with Ivory Coast in the west, Burkina Faso in the north, and To ...
, and
Brazil
Brazil ( pt, Brasil; ), officially the Federative Republic of Brazil (Portuguese: ), is the largest country in both South America and Latin America. At and with over 217 million people, Brazil is the world's fifth-largest country by area ...
.
In 2010, there were 19,704 households, out of which 27.3% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 42.9% were
married couples living together, 13.1% had a female householder with no husband present, and 40.0% were non-families. 34.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.26 and the average family size was 2.89.
In 2010 in the city, the population was spread out, with 23.2% under the age of 18, 6.9% from 18 to 24, 28.3% from 25 to 44, 23.0% from 45 to 64, and 18.6% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females, there were 90.6 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 86.2 males.
The median income for a household in the city in 2010 was $35,655, and the median income for a family was $46,228. Males had a median income of $35,538 versus $26,341 for females. The
per capita income
Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population.
Per capita i ...
for the city was $20,549. About 8.9% of families and 11.4% of the population were below the
poverty line
The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for t ...
, including 16.7% of those under age 18 and 7.1% of those age 65 or over.
Government
![Pittsfield City Hall](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/2/28/Pittsfield_City_Hall.JPG)
Pittsfield employs the
mayor-council form of government. The mayor is Linda Tyer, who was elected for Pittsfield's first four-year term in January 2016, succeeding Daniel Bianchi, who served the city since January 2012. The city is fully functioning, with all the major public services, including
Berkshire Medical Center which is the only hospital in the northern part of the county, and the region's only
VA medical clinic. The city's library, the
Berkshire Athenaeum, is one of the largest in western Massachusetts, and is connected to the regional library system. Pittsfield is also the
county seat
A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...
of Berkshire County, and as such has many state facilities for the county. In 2011, the City of Pittsfield received 129 designs of prospective official flags from residents in honor of the 250th anniversary of Pittsfield's incorporation as a town, with the winning design submitted by Shaun Harris.
On the state level, Pittsfield has two elected representatives to the
Massachusetts House of Representatives
The Massachusetts House of Representatives is the lower house of the Massachusetts General Court, the state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. It is composed of 160 members elected from 14 counties each divided into single-member ...
: the
Third Berkshire District, which covers most of the city proper and is represented by
Tricia Farley-Bouvier
Tricia Farley-Bouvier is an American State legislature (United States), state legislator serving in the Massachusetts House of Representatives, representing the 3rd Berkshire district, serving Pittsfield, Massachusetts, Pittsfield's ward 1-A, 2, ...
and the
Second Berkshire District, which serves portions of Berkshire County as well as portions of
Hampshire County and
Franklin County, represented by
Paul Mark
Paul W. Mark is an American politician serving as a Democratic member of the Massachusetts Senate. He represents the Berkshire, Hampden, Franklin and Hampshire District, which includes 57 cities and towns throughout Berkshire, Franklin, Hampden ...
. In the
Massachusetts Senate
The Massachusetts Senate is the upper house of the Massachusetts General Court, the bicameral state legislature of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts. The Senate comprises 40 elected members from 40 single-member senatorial districts in the ...
, the city is represented by
Adam G. Hinds of the
Berkshire, Hampshire, Franklin and Hampden district. The city is patrolled by the Fourth (Cheshire) Station of Barracks "B" of the
Massachusetts State Police
The Massachusetts State Police (MSP) is an agency of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts' Executive Office of Public Safety and Security, responsible for criminal law enforcement and traffic vehicle regulation across the state. As of 10/4/2022, it ...
.
On the national level, Pittsfield is represented in the
United States House of Representatives
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the Lower house, lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States Senate, Senate being ...
as part of
Massachusetts's 1st congressional district
Massachusetts's 1st congressional district is a United States congressional district located in the western and central part of Massachusetts. The state's largest congressional district in area, it covers about one-third of the state and is more ...
, and has been represented by
Richard Neal
Richard Edmund Neal (born February 14, 1949) is an American politician serving as the U.S. representative for since 1989. The district, numbered as the 2nd district from 1989 to 2013, includes Springfield, West Springfield, Pittsfield, H ...
(D) of
Springfield since 2013. Massachusetts is represented in the
United States Senate
The United States Senate is the upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the House of Representatives being the lower chamber. Together they compose the national bicameral legislature of the United States.
The composition and pow ...
by senior Senator
Elizabeth Warren
Elizabeth Ann Warren ( née Herring; born June 22, 1949) is an American politician and former law professor who is the senior United States senator from Massachusetts, serving since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party and regarded as a ...
(D) and junior Senator
Ed Markey
Edward John Markey (born July 11, 1946) is an American lawyer, politician, and former Army reservist who has served as the junior United States senator from Massachusetts since 2013. A member of the Democratic Party, he was the U.S. representa ...
(D).
Education
Pittsfield operates a public school system which has more than 6,000 students. There are eight elementary schools (Allendale, Robert T. Capeless, Crosby, Egremont, Morningside, Silvio O. Conte, Stearns and Williams), two middle schools (Theodore Herberg and John T. Reid), two high schools (
Pittsfield High School and
Taconic High School), and one private school (
Miss Hall's School
Miss Hall's School, located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, is a selective independent school for girls in grades 9–12. Founded in 1898 by Mira Hinsdale Hall, a graduate of Smith College, it was one of the first girls' boarding schools establish ...
). The high schools both offer internal vocational programs. Students also come to the high schools from neighboring Richmond. There were two parochial schools open for many decades, but both recently closed (Saint Mark's for elementary and middle school students, and
St. Joseph Central High School for high school students).
Pittsfield is the home to the main campus of
Berkshire Community College
Berkshire Community College is a public community college in Berkshire County, Massachusetts with its primary campus in Pittsfield. It also has a satellite campus in Great Barrington and classroom spaces in the city of Pittsfield. Established i ...
and
Mildred Elley's Pittsfield campus. The nearest state college is the
Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts
The Massachusetts College of Liberal Arts (MCLA) formerly known as North Adams State College (NASC) is a public liberal arts college in North Adams, Massachusetts. It is part of the state university system of Massachusetts. It is a member of the ...
in North Adams, and the nearest state university is
Westfield State University
Westfield State University (Westfield State) is a public university in Westfield, Massachusetts. It was founded in 1839 by Horace Mann as the first public co-educational college in America without barrier to race, gender, or economic class.
Ra ...
. The nearest private colleges are
Williams College
Williams College is a Private college, private liberal arts colleges in the United States, liberal arts college in Williamstown, Massachusetts. It was established as a men's college in 1793 with funds from the estate of Ephraim Williams, a col ...
in Williamstown and
Bard College at Simon's Rock
Bard College at Simon's Rock (more commonly known as Simon's Rock) is a private residential liberal arts college in Great Barrington, Massachusetts. It is a unit of Bard College, which is located in Annandale-on-Hudson, New York.
The school ...
in Great Barrington. In addition, the Berkshire Music School, a non-profit music school, offers private and group lessons in multiple instruments.
Points of interest
Culture
![BSC Theatre small](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/1/17/BSC_Theatre_small.jpg)
Pittsfield is the geographic and commercial hub of
the Berkshires
The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...
—a historic area that includes
Tanglewood
Tanglewood is a music venue in the towns of Lenox and Stockbridge in the Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts. It has been the summer home of the Boston Symphony Orchestra since 1937. Tanglewood is also home to three music schools: the ...
, the summer home of the
Boston Symphony Orchestra, and author
Edith Wharton's estate
The Mount. Many buildings in Pittsfield are listed on the
National Register of Historic Places
The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the United States federal government's official list of districts, sites, buildings, structures and objects deemed worthy of preservation for their historical significance or "great artistic v ...
.
Downtown Pittsfield is home to the gilded-age
Colonial Theatre, the
Berkshire Museum
__NOTOC__
The Berkshire Museum is a museum of art, natural history, and ancient civilization that is located in Pittsfield in Berkshire County, Massachusetts ( United States).
History
The Berkshire Museum, founded by local paper magnate Zenas C ...
, the Beacon Cinema (multi-plex), the
Barrington Stage Company,
Berkshire Athenaeum,
Wahconah Park
Wahconah Park is a city-owned baseball park located in Pittsfield, Massachusetts and nestled in a working-class neighborhood. One of the last remaining ballparks in the United States with a wooden grandstand, it was constructed in 1919 and seats ...
and
Hebert Arboretum. In recent years, the city has undergone a transformation with significant investment in the historic downtown, including a variety of new restaurants (French, Asian, Latin American, etc.), condominium and other residential developments and cultural attractions.
![Colonial Theater 1918 postmark-2](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/b/b7/Colonial_Theater_1918_postmark-2.JPG)
The Colonial Theatre, dating from 1903, was named by
Hillary Clinton
Hillary Diane Rodham Clinton ( Rodham; born October 26, 1947) is an American politician, diplomat, and former lawyer who served as the 67th United States Secretary of State for President Barack Obama from 2009 to 2013, as a United States sen ...
as a National Historic Treasure in 1998. The community invested more than $22 million to refurbish the 100-year-old Colonial Theatre, one of the only theaters of its kind from the
Vaudeville
Vaudeville (; ) is a theatrical genre of variety entertainment born in France at the end of the 19th century. A vaudeville was originally a comedy without psychological or moral intentions, based on a comical situation: a dramatic composition ...
age. The venue has been described as the "one of the finest acoustical theaters in the world."
Barrington Stage Company, the Tony Award-winning producer of ''
The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee
''The 25th Annual Putnam County Spelling Bee'' is a musical comedy with music and lyrics by William Finn, based on a book by Rachel Sheinkin, conceived by Rebecca Feldman with additional material by Jay Reiss. The show centers on a fictional spe ...
'' invested millions into its newly renovated stage in downtown Pittsfield, along with the development of other stages within the downtown for smaller performances. Barrington Stage's head of its Musical Theatre Lab,
William Finn
William Alan Finn (born February 28, 1952) is an American composer and lyricist. He is best known for his musicals, which include '' Falsettos'', for which he won the 1992 Tony Awards for Best Original Score and Best Book of a Musical, ''A New B ...
, told the ''Boston Globe'' that he was determined to make Pittsfield the "epicenter of the musical theater universe."
The Berkshire Museum, the oldest and most diverse museum in the Berkshires, has undergone a multi-million dollar renovation that incorporated a state-of-the-art air control system that will allow it to attract world-class exhibits.
Many of the Berkshires' oldest homes, dating to the mid-18th century, can be found in Pittsfield, as well as many historic neighborhoods dating from the late 19th century and early 20th century.
Several small multi-generational farms can still be found in Pittsfield, though suburban sprawl and land development have recently claimed some of this land.
Numerous old churches dot the landscape, and are architectural marvels to behold. Some are closed down or resold as homes or for other usages, and yet some newer churches remain. Many of these older churches are Catholic, like St. Joseph's, or Sacred Heart church that is actually bright pink.
Additional cultural attractions include:
*
Arrowhead
An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...
, home of author
Herman Melville
Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...
(1850–1863). It was here that Melville wrote ''
Moby Dick
''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Ahab, captain of the whaling ship ''Pequod'', for revenge against Moby Dick, the giant whit ...
''.
* Silvio O. Conte National Archives and Records Administration.
Recreation
Pittsfield has several country clubs, including the Pontoosuc Lake Country Club. Pittsfield is home to two major lakes,
Onota and Pontoosuc, both used for swimming, boating, and fishing. The Berkshire Rowing and Sculling Society is on Onota Lake.
Pittsfield is home to Canoe Meadows Wildlife Sanctuary, of woods, fields, and wetlands maintained by the
Massachusetts Audubon Society
The Massachusetts Audubon Society, commonly known as Mass Audubon, founded in 1896 by Harriet Hemenway and Minna B. Hall and headquartered in Lincoln, Massachusetts, is a nonprofit organization dedicated to "protecting the nature of Massachusett ...
.
Bousquet Ski Area
Bousquet Mountain is a local ski area serving skiing and snowboarding located on a northern summit of Yokun Ridge in Pittsfield, Massachusetts within the Taconic Mountain Range. It is now owned by Mill Town Capital and has a consulting contract ...
and Summer Resort entertains visitors and residents year-round with skiing, water slides, go-karts, and other fun activities.
Pittsfield State Forest, an park, provides residents and tourists with hiking and cross-country skiing trails, camping, picnic areas, and a swimming beach. The highest body of water in Massachusetts, Berry Pond, is at the top of the Pittsfield State Forest just outside the city limits in the town of Hancock.
The Berkshire Bike Path Council is working with the City of Pittsfield and local residents to extend the
Ashuwillticook Rail Trail, a paved trail just north of Pittsfield. The extension would pass through Pittsfield and lead south to
Lenox and
Great Barrington.
Transportation
![Pittsfield Electric Railway trolley postcard](https://upload.wikimedia.org/wikipedia/commons/6/65/Pittsfield_Electric_Railway_trolley_postcard.jpg)
Downtown Pittsfield serves as the crossroads of two US Highways:
US 7
U.S. Route 7 (US 7) is a north–south United States highway in western New England that runs for through the states of Connecticut, Massachusetts, and Vermont. The highway's southern terminus is at Interstate 95 (I-95) exit 1 ...
&
US 20
U.S. Route 20 or U.S. Highway 20 (US 20) is an east–west United States Numbered Highway that stretches from the Pacific Northwest east to New England. The "0" in its route number indicates that US 20 is a major coast-to-coast route. S ...
.
Pittsfield is served by
Amtrak
The National Railroad Passenger Corporation, Trade name, doing business as Amtrak () , is the national Passenger train, passenger railroad company of the United States. It operates inter-city rail service in 46 of the 48 contiguous United Stat ...
's ''
Lake Shore Limited
The ''Lake Shore Limited'' is an overnight Amtrak intercity rail, intercity passenger train that runs between Chicago and either New York City or Boston via two Section (rail transport), sections east of Albany, New York, Albany. The train bega ...
'' from
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
to
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
from the
Joseph Scelsi Intermodal Transportation Center
The Joseph Scelsi Intermodal Transportation Center (often referred to as the ITC or the Scelsi ITC) is a transit facility located in downtown Pittsfield, Massachusetts. The $11 million facility is named after Joseph Scelsi, a longtime State Repr ...
.
Local transit is provided by the
Berkshire Regional Transit Authority
Berkshire Regional Transit Authority is a bus transportation system serving the City of Pittsfield and Greater Berkshire County, Massachusetts. It provides year-round bus service with connections to Amtrak at the Joseph Scelsi Intermodal Transp ...
.
Media
Newspapers
* ''
The Berkshire Eagle
''The Berkshire Eagle'' is an American daily newspaper published in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and covering all of Berkshire County, as well as four New York communities near Pittsfield. It is considered a newspaper of record for Berkshire Cou ...
'', the main daily newspaper for the Pittsfield area
* ''The Advocate'', a weekly newspaper devoted to the Berkshires and nearby Bennington County
* ''Hill Country Observer'', a monthly newspaper covering an eight-county region of western Massachusetts, southern Vermont and eastern New York
* The ''Berkshire Record'', a weekly newspaper
*
iBerkshires.com, an online newspaper
*
theberkshireedge.com, an online newspaper
Television
Pittsfield is in the
Albany television market and is the
community of license
In American, Canadian, and Mexican broadcasting, a city of license or community of license is the community that a radio station or television station is officially licensed to serve by that country's broadcast regulator.
In North American broad ...
for two stations in that market,
MyNetworkTV
MyNetworkTV (unofficially abbreviated MyTV, MyNet, MNT or MNTV, and sometimes referred to as My Network) is an American commercial broadcast television syndication service and former television network owned by Fox Corporation, operated by its ...
affiliate
WNYA
WNYA (channel 51) is a television station licensed to Pittsfield, Massachusetts, United States, serving New York's Capital District as an affiliate of MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Hubbard Broadcasting alongside Albany-licensed NBC affiliate WNYT ...
, and a low power TV station, W28DA, which rebroadcasts sister station and
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
affiliate
WNYT on channel 13 from a location on South Mountain in the city.
Springfield stations also serve the market with three stations (
NBC
The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American English-language commercial broadcast television and radio network. The flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a division of Comcast, its headquarters are l ...
affiliate
WWLP
WWLP (channel 22) is a television station in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW Plus. Owned by Nexstar Media Group, the station has studios at Broadcast Center in the Sandy Hill section of Chicopee at the ...
, low-powered
CBS
CBS Broadcasting Inc., commonly shortened to CBS, the abbreviation of its former legal name Columbia Broadcasting System, is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the CBS Entertainm ...
affiliate
WSHM-LD
WSHM-LD (channel 3.7) is a low-power television station in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside ABC/Fox/MyNetworkTV affiliate WGGB-TV (channel 40). Both stations share studios ...
, and
PBS
The Public Broadcasting Service (PBS) is an American public broadcasting, public broadcaster and Non-commercial activity, non-commercial, Terrestrial television, free-to-air television network based in Arlington, Virginia. PBS is a publicly fu ...
member station
WGBY-TV
WGBY-TV (channel 57) is a PBS member television station in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States. Owned by the Boston-based WGBH Educational Foundation, it is a sister station to that organization's flagship and namesake, WGBH-TV (channel ...
) on cable.
WGGB-TV
WGGB-TV (channel 40) is a television station in Springfield, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with ABC, Fox, and MyNetworkTV. It is owned by Gray Television alongside low-power CBS affiliate WSHM-LD (channel 3.7). Both stations shar ...
, Springfield's
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
affiliate, has never been carried on the cable system in Pittsfield, but is viewable
over the air
Over the Air was an annual mobile technology-focused overnight hack day event held in London from 2008 to 2016. The two-day event would include practical and educational talks and a hacking competition. Sponsors of the event have included the B ...
in some sections. Also carried on cable, but not necessarily serving Pittsfield, is Boston's
WCVB
WCVB-TV (channel 5) is a television station in Boston, Massachusetts, United States, affiliated with ABC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on TV Place (off Gould Street near the I-95/ MA 128/Highland Avenue ...
(the
ABC
ABC are the first three letters of the Latin script known as the alphabet.
ABC or abc may also refer to:
Arts, entertainment, and media Broadcasting
* American Broadcasting Company, a commercial U.S. TV broadcaster
** Disney–ABC Television ...
affiliate in that area).
Cable television subscribers of
Charter Spectrum
Spectrum is a trade name of Charter Communications, used to market consumer and commercial cable television, internet, telephone, and wireless services provided by the company.
The brand was first introduced in 2014; prior to that, these ser ...
in Pittsfield receive
public, educational, and government access
Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was crea ...
(PEG) channels, provided by Pittsfield Community Television (PCTV), on channels 1301, 1302 and 1303:
*Access Pittsfield, channel 1301,
Public-access television
Public-access television is traditionally a form of non-commercial mass media where the general public can create content television programming which is narrowcast through cable television specialty channels. Public-access television was creat ...
*Pittsfield ETV, channel 1302,
Education-access television
*Citylink, channel 1303,
Government-access television
Government-access television (GATV) is a type of specialty television channel created by government entities (generally local governments) and broadcast over cable TV systems or, in some cases, over-the-air broadcast television stations. GATV pr ...
(GATV)
Pittsfield Community Television is a not-for-profit, 501 (c)(3) organization and a member of the Alliance for Community Media. Programming on PCTV is available 24 hours per day, year-long, and is available online.
Radio
Pittsfield is home to the following radio stations:
*1110 kHz
WUPE (
Oldies
Oldies is a term for musical genres such as pop music, rock and roll, doo-wop, surf music (broadly characterized as classic rock and pop rock) from the second half of the 20th century, specifically from around the mid-1950s to the 1980s, as we ...
, simulcast of WUPE-FM)
*1340 kHz
WBRK (
Adult Standards)
*1420 kHz
WBEC (
Talk
Talk may refer to:
Communication
* Communication, the encoding and decoding of exchanged messages between people
* Conversation, interactive communication between two or more people
* Lecture, an oral presentation intended to inform or instruct
...
)
*89.7 MHz
WTBR-FM (Rock)
*95.9 MHz
WBEC-FM
WBEC-FM (95.9 MHz) is a commercial station in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It is owned by Townsquare Media and broadcasts a Top 40 radio format.
WBEC-FM has an effective radiated power (ERP) of 1,000 watts. The transmitter is off Alpine Trail i ...
(
Top 40
In the music industry, the Top 40 is the current, 40 most-popular songs in a particular genre. It is the best-selling or most frequently broadcast popular music. Record charts have traditionally consisted of a total of 40 songs. "Top 40" or " con ...
, Tower on Bosquet Mountain)
*101.7 MHz
WBRK-FM (
AC)
*104.3 MHz
WRRS-LP (Radio Reading Service)
*106.1 MHz W291CH (Simulcast of
WFCR
WFCR (88.5 MHz) is a non-commercial FM radio station licensed to Amherst, Massachusetts. It serves as the National Public Radio (NPR) member station for Western Massachusetts, including Springfield. The station operates at 13,000 watts ERP ...
, Western Massachusetts
NPR
National Public Radio (NPR, stylized in all lowercase) is an American privately and state funded nonprofit media organization headquartered in Washington, D.C., with its NPR West headquarters in Culver City, California. It differs from other ...
affiliate out of Amherst)
Signals from
North Adams,
Great Barrington, and
Springfield, Massachusetts
Springfield is a city in the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, United States, and the seat of Hampden County. Springfield sits on the eastern bank of the Connecticut River near its confluence with three rivers: the western Westfield River, the ...
, as well as from
Albany, New York
Albany ( ) is the capital of the U.S. state of New York, also the seat and largest city of Albany County. Albany is on the west bank of the Hudson River, about south of its confluence with the Mohawk River, and about north of New York City ...
, also reach Pittsfield. In some areas signals from cities well outside of Pittsfield, like
Boston
Boston (), officially the City of Boston, is the state capital and most populous city of the Commonwealth of Massachusetts, as well as the cultural and financial center of the New England region of the United States. It is the 24th- mo ...
and
Hartford, Connecticut
Hartford is the capital city of the U.S. state of Connecticut. It was the seat of Hartford County until Connecticut disbanded county government in 1960. It is the core city in the Greater Hartford metropolitan area. Census estimates since the ...
, will be received, depending on the location.
One of Pittsfield's oldest radio stations, WBEC-FM 105.5, was sold and relocated to
Mount Tom in
Holyoke
Holyoke is a city in Hampden County, Massachusetts, United States, that lies between the western bank of the Connecticut River and the Mount Tom Range. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 38,238. Located north of Springfield ...
, where it became a Springfield area radio station (licensed to
Easthampton).
Business
Pittsfield is home to several businesses, including:
*
SABIC
Saudi Basic Industries Corporation ( ar, الشركة السعودية للصناعات الأساسية), known as SABIC ( ar, سابك), is a Saudi chemical manufacturing company. 70% of SABIC's shares are owned by Saudi Aramco. It is active in ...
-Innovative Plastics (formerly known as
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
(Plastics/Advanced Materials Division) and now a subsidiary of the Riyadh-based Saudi Basic Industries Corporation)
*
General Dynamics Mission Systems
General Dynamics Mission Systems is a business unit of American defense and aerospace company General Dynamics. General Dynamics Mission Systems integrates secure communication and information systems and technology. General Dynamics Mission Syste ...
(Pittsfield facility originally known as
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
Ordnance)
*
Interprint
INTERPRINT is one of the world´s leading decor printers. Interprint decorate the surfaces of numerous materials in the segment of derived timber products, including living room, kitchen and bathroom furniture, laminate flooring and for interior ...
Incorporated on the Pittsfield-Richmond line
*The
Moscow Ballet The name Moscow Ballet has commonly been applied to a number of different ballet companies, which include:
* Moscow Ballet (United States), a Russian ballet company. The Moscow Ballet tours annually in the United States with its Great Russian '' Nut ...
, national touring dance company and producer of the Great Russian Nutcracker
*
Pittsfield Generating Facility, natural gas fired generating station
*The
Berkshire Humane Society
The Berkshire Humane Society (BHS) is a private non-profit humane organization in Berkshire County, Massachusetts. Founded in 1992, BHS is an open admissions shelter. The humane society operates animal welfare services and pet adoption facilit ...
operates
animal welfare
Animal welfare is the well-being of non-human animals. Formal standards of animal welfare vary between contexts, but are debated mostly by animal welfare groups, legislators, and academics. Animal welfare science uses measures such as longevity ...
services and
pet adoption
Pet adoption is the process of transferring responsibility for a pet that was previously owned by another party such as a person, shelter, or rescue organization. Common sources for adoptable pets are animal shelters and rescue groups. Some or ...
facilities in Pittsfield
Notable people
*
Thomas Allen Thomas Allen may refer to:
Clergy
*Thomas Allen (nonconformist) (1608–1673), Anglican/nonconformist priest in England and New England
*Thomas Allen (dean of Chester) (died 1732)
*Thomas Allen (scholar) (1681–1755), Anglican priest in England
* ...
, railroad builder and member of
United States Congress
The United States Congress is the legislature of the federal government of the United States. It is bicameral, composed of a lower body, the House of Representatives, and an upper body, the Senate. It meets in the U.S. Capitol in Washing ...
*
William Allen William Allen may refer to:
Politicians
United States
*William Allen (congressman) (1827–1881), United States Representative from Ohio
*William Allen (governor) (1803–1879), U.S. Representative, Senator, and 31st Governor of Ohio
*William ...
, compiler of first work of general biography published in United States
*
Edward Deming Andrews
Edward Deming Andrews (March 6, 1894 – June 6, 1964) was an American historian, educator, curator, and preeminent authority on the United Society of Believers in Christ's Second Appearing, or the Shakers.
Life and career
Born into a working- ...
, historian, author, and authority on the
Shakers
*
Elizabeth Banks
Elizabeth Banks (born Elizabeth Irene Mitchell; February 10, 1974) is an American actress and filmmaker. She is known for playing Effie Trinket in ''The Hunger Games'' film series (2012–2015) and Gail Abernathy-McKadden in the ''Pitch Perf ...
, actress in films including ''
Seabiscuit
Seabiscuit (May 23, 1933 – May 17, 1947) was a champion thoroughbred racehorse in the United States who became the top money-winning racehorse up to the 1940s. He beat the 1937 Triple Crown winner, War Admiral, by four lengths in a two-horse ...
,
Spider-Man
Spider-Man is a superhero appearing in American comic books published by Marvel Comics. Created by writer-editor Stan Lee and artist Steve Ditko, he first appeared in the anthology comic book '' Amazing Fantasy'' #15 (August 1962) in the ...
,
The 40-Year-Old Virgin
''The 40-Year-Old Virgin'' is a 2005 American romantic comedy film directed by Judd Apatow, who produced the film with Clayton Townsend and Shauna Robertson. It features Steve Carell as the titular 40-year-old virgin Andy, an employee at an e ...
'', ''
W.'', ''
The Hunger Games
''The Hunger Games'' is a series of young adult dystopian novels written by American author Suzanne Collins. The first three novels are part of a trilogy following teenage protagonist Katniss Everdeen, and the fourth book is a prequel set 6 ...
'' and ''
The Lego Movie
''The Lego Movie'' is a 2014 computer-animated adventure comedy film written and directed by Phil Lord and Christopher Miller from a story by Lord, Miller, and Dan and Kevin Hageman. Based on the Lego line of construction toys, its story focu ...
''; and current host of ''
Press Your Luck
''Press Your Luck'' is an American television game show created by Bill Carruthers and Jan McCormack. It premiered on CBS daytime on September 19, 1983, and ended on September 26, 1986. The format is a retooling of an earlier Carruthers productio ...
''
*
William Francis Bartlett, Civil War general
*
Mark Belanger
Mark Henry Belanger (June 8, 1944 – October 6, 1998), nicknamed "The Blade," was an American professional baseball player and coach. He played 18 seasons in Major League Baseball as a shortstop from through , most notably as a member of the Bal ...
, former
Gold Glove
The Rawlings Gold Glove Award, usually referred to as simply the Gold Glove, is the award given annually to the Major League Baseball (MLB) players judged to have exhibited superior individual fielding performances at each fielding position in bo ...
shortstop
Shortstop, abbreviated SS, is the baseball or softball fielding position between second and third base, which is considered to be among the most demanding defensive positions. Historically the position was assigned to defensive specialists who ...
for
Baltimore Orioles
The Baltimore Orioles are an American professional baseball team based in Baltimore. The Orioles compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) American League East, East division. As one of the American L ...
, 1970 World Series champion
*
Matt Belknap
''Never Not Funny'' is a podcast hosted by American comedian Jimmy Pardo, since spring 2006, currently releasing two episodes a week. He and producer/co-host Matt Belknap have appeared in every episode. Comedian Mike Schmidt appeared as co-host f ...
, founder of
A Special Thing comedy record label, producer and co-host of comedy podcast
Never Not Funny
''Never Not Funny'' is a podcast hosted by American comedian Jimmy Pardo, since spring 2006, currently releasing two episodes a week. He and producer/co-host Matt Belknap have appeared in every episode. Comedian Mike Schmidt appeared as co-host f ...
*
Chuck Berkeley, 2010 Olympian in bobsled
*
Michael Boroniec, sculptor and painter
*
Lawrence Bossidy
Lawrence Arthur "Larry" Bossidy (born March 5, 1935) is an American author and retired businessman. He served as CEO of AlliedSignal (later Honeywell) in the 1990s, prior to which he spent more than 30 years rising through executive positions at ...
, former CEO of
Honeywell
Honeywell International Inc. is an American publicly traded, multinational conglomerate corporation headquartered in Charlotte, North Carolina. It primarily operates in four areas of business: aerospace, building technologies, performance ma ...
*
Henry Shaw Briggs
Henry Shaw Briggs (August 1, 1824 – September 23, 1887) was brigadier general in the Union Army during the American Civil War.
During the war, Briggs served as a captain with the 8th Regiment Massachusetts Volunteer Infantry. He was the ...
,
brigadier general
Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed ...
during
American Civil War
The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
*
Roger E. Broggie
Roger Edward Broggie (October 2, 1908 – November 4, 1991) was an American mechanical engineer who worked with Walt Disney and the Walt Disney Company. He is considered the first Disney Imagineer.
Early life
Broggie was born in 1908, in Pittsf ...
, Disney Legend Award recipient (1990), selected by
Walt Disney
Walter Elias Disney (; December 5, 1901December 15, 1966) was an American animator, film producer and entrepreneur. A pioneer of the American animation industry, he introduced several developments in the production of cartoons. As a film p ...
as first Imagineer, team that created Disneyland, Walt Disney World and similar themed amusement parks
*
Colonel John Brown, Revolutionary War patriot, first to accuse
Benedict Arnold
*
Timothy Childs, congressman
*
Silvio O. Conte
Silvio Ottavio Conte (November 9, 1921 – February 8, 1991) was an American lawyer and politician. He was a Republican member of the United States House of Representatives for 16 terms, representing the 1st Congressional District of Massachusetts ...
, congressman
*
Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge
Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge aka Liz Coolidge (30 October 1864 – 4 November 1953), born Elizabeth Penn Sprague, was an American pianist and patron of music, especially of chamber music.
Biography
Elizabeth Sprague Coolidge's father was a we ...
, philanthropist and music patron, founded Berkshire Music Festival at South Mountain in 1918
*
Art Ditmar
Art is a diverse range of human activity, and resulting product, that involves creative or imaginative talent expressive of technical proficiency, beauty, emotional power, or conceptual ideas.
There is no generally agreed definition of wha ...
, 1950s pitcher for
Philadelphia and Kansas City Athletics and
New York Yankees
The New York Yankees are an American professional baseball team based in the Boroughs of New York City, New York City borough of the Bronx. The Yankees compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Amer ...
*
J. Allan Dunn, prolific author for
pulp magazine
Pulp magazines (also referred to as "the pulps") were inexpensive fiction magazines that were published from 1896 to the late 1950s. The term "pulp" derives from the cheap wood pulp paper on which the magazines were printed. In contrast, magazine ...
s
*
Pat Fallon
Patrick Edward Fallon (born December 19, 1967) is an American businessman and politician. A member of the Republican Party, he has been the U.S. representative for since 2021. He served the 30th district of the Texas Senate from 2019 to 2021. F ...
, member of the
U.S. House
The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...
, former member of the
Texas Senate
The Texas Senate ( es, Senado de Texas) is the upper house of the Texas State Legislature. There are 31 members of the Senate, representing single-member districts across the U.S. state of Texas, with populations of approximately 806,000 per cons ...
and
Texas House of Representatives
The Texas House of Representatives is the lower house of the bicameral Texas Legislature. It consists of 150 members who are elected from single-member districts for two-year terms. As of the 2010 United States census, each member represents abou ...
*
Cy Ferry, baseball player for
Detroit Tigers
The Detroit Tigers are an American professional baseball team based in Detroit. The Tigers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member of the American League (AL) Central division. One of the AL's eight charter franchises, the club was f ...
and
Cleveland Naps
The Cleveland Guardians are an American professional baseball team based in Cleveland. The Guardians compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) Central division. Since , they have played at Progressive ...
in early years of
American League
The American League of Professional Baseball Clubs, known simply as the American League (AL), is one of two leagues that make up Major League Baseball (MLB) in the United States and Canada. It developed from the Western League, a minor league ...
*
Jack Ferry, baseball player for
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
in 1910s
*
Marshall Field
Marshall Field (August 18, 1834January 16, 1906) was an American entrepreneur and the founder of Marshall Field and Company, the Chicago-based department stores. His business was renowned for its then-exceptional level of quality and customer ...
, founded
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
's
Marshall Field's
Marshall Field & Company (commonly known as Marshall Field's) was an upscale department store in Chicago, Illinois. Founded in the 19th century, it grew to become a large chain before Macy's, Inc acquired it in 2005. Its eponymous founder, Mar ...
department stores, took first job in 1853 as a clerk in Pittsfield; white terra-cotta
Pittsfield Building
The Pittsfield Building, is a 38-story skyscraper located at 55 E. Washington Street in the Loop community area of Chicago, Illinois, United States, that was the city's tallest building at the time of its completion. The building was designated ...
in downtown
Chicago
(''City in a Garden''); I Will
, image_map =
, map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago
, coordinates =
, coordinates_footnotes =
, subdivision_type = Country
, subdivision_name ...
is so named because of Field's connection to Pittsfield
*
Daniel Fox, shares credit for invention of
Lexan
Polycarbonates (PC) are a group of thermoplastic polymers containing carbonate groups in their chemical structures. Polycarbonates used in engineering are strong, tough materials, and some grades are optically transparent. They are easily worke ...
plastic
*
Marc Gafni, American author and former rabbi,
New Age
New Age is a range of spiritual or religious practices and beliefs which rapidly grew in Western society during the early 1970s. Its highly eclectic and unsystematic structure makes a precise definition difficult. Although many scholars consi ...
spiritual teacher
*
Elaine Giftos
Elaine Giftos (born 1942/1943) is a retired American model, actress, and dancer.
The daughter of Mr. and Mrs. Charles P. Giftos, she attended Pittsfield High School.
While working as a fashion model in New York, Giftos was selected by the ...
, actress
*
Frank Grant, 19th Century
African American
African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...
baseball player
*
Nancy Graves
Nancy Graves (December 23, 1939 – October 21, 1995, in Massachusetts) was an American sculptor, painter, printmaker, and sometime-filmmaker known for her focus on natural phenomena like camels or maps of the Moon. Her works are included in ...
, sculptor and painter
*
Tom Grieve
Thomas Alan Grieve (born March 4, 1948) is an American former professional baseball player. He played in Major League Baseball from 1970 to 1979 for the Washington Senators / Texas Rangers, New York Mets and St. Louis Cardinals. He was nicknam ...
, player, general manager and broadcaster for Major League Baseball's
Texas Rangers
*
Gene Hermanski
Eugene Victor Hermanski (May 11, 1920 – August 9, 2010) was a Major League Baseball outfielder. A native of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, he attended Seton Hall University.
Signed by the Philadelphia Athletics as an amateur free agent in 1939, He ...
, baseball player,
Brooklyn Dodgers,
Chicago Cubs
The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as part of the National League (NL) Central division. The club plays its home games at Wrigley Field, which is located ...
,
Pittsburgh Pirates
The Pittsburgh Pirates are an American professional baseball team based in Pittsburgh. The Pirates compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) Central division. Founded as part of the American Associati ...
*
Oliver Wendell Holmes, Sr.
Oliver Wendell Holmes Sr. (; August 29, 1809 – October 7, 1894) was an American physician, poet, and polymath based in Boston. Grouped among the fireside poets, he was acclaimed by his peers as one of the best writers of the day. His most fa ...
, poet, summered in Pittsfield; mother's family owned in Pittsfield
*
Hung Huynh
Hung Huynh (born January 25, 1978) is a Vietnamese-born American chef, best known as the winner of the third season of ''Top Chef'', a reality cooking competition series on Bravo. He was the Executive Chef at Catch, The General, and Catch Miam ...
, winner of reality television show ''
Top Chef
''Top Chef'' is an American reality competition television series which premiered on Bravo on March 8, 2006. The show features chefs competing against each other in culinary challenges. The contestants are judged by a panel of professional ch ...
'' Season 3, graduate of Pittsfield High School
*
Donald Kaufman, co-founder of KB Toys and antique toy collector
*
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow
Henry Wadsworth Longfellow (February 27, 1807 – March 24, 1882) was an American poet and educator. His original works include "Paul Revere's Ride", ''The Song of Hiawatha'', and ''Evangeline''. He was the first American to completely transl ...
, poet, educator, linguist, owned home on East Street, now site of Pittsfield High School (see photos above)
*
Jay McInerney
John Barrett "Jay" McInerney Jr. (; born January 13, 1955) is an American novelist, screenwriter, editor, and columnist. His novels include ''Bright Lights, Big City (novel), Bright Lights, Big City'', ''Ransom'', ''Story of My Life (novel), Sto ...
, novelist, author of ''Bright Lights, Big City'' (1984) on which
film
A film also called a movie, motion picture, moving picture, picture, photoplay or (slang) flick is a work of visual art that simulates experiences and otherwise communicates ideas, stories, perceptions, feelings, beauty, or atmosphere ...
was based
*
James Melcher
James Laurence Melcher (born November 5, 1939) is an American hedge fund manager and former Olympic fencer. He competed in the individual and team épée events at the 1972 Summer Olympics in Munich.
Early and personal life
Melcher grew up in P ...
(born 1939), Olympic fencer and hedge fund manager
*
Herman Melville
Herman Melville (Name change, born Melvill; August 1, 1819 – September 28, 1891) was an American people, American novelist, short story writer, and poet of the American Renaissance (literature), American Renaissance period. Among his bes ...
, author, resided at
Arrowhead
An arrowhead or point is the usually sharpened and hardened tip of an arrow, which contributes a majority of the projectile mass and is responsible for impacting and penetrating a target, as well as to fulfill some special purposes such as sign ...
in Pittsfield, where he wrote his most famous novel, ''
Moby-Dick
''Moby-Dick; or, The Whale'' is an 1851 novel by American writer Herman Melville. The book is the sailor Ishmael (Moby-Dick), Ishmael's narrative of the obsessive quest of Captain Ahab, Ahab, captain of the whaler, whaling ship ''Pequod (Moby- ...
'' and several others. Visitors can see the peaks of
Mount Greylock
Mount Greylock is a mountain located in the northwest corner of Massachusetts and is the highest point in the state. Its summit is in the western part of the town of Adams (near its border with Williamstown) in Berkshire County. Geologicall ...
through the study-window, peaks which reminded Melville of a whale's back.
Nathaniel Hawthorne wrote "On the hither side of Pittsfield sits Herman Melville, shaping out the gigantic conception of his 'White Whale,' while the gigantic shape of Graylock looms upon him from his study-window."
*
William Miller, 19th Century preacher
*
Sarah Morewood
Sarah Morewood (1823–1863) was a poet and literary figure who developed a close relationship in the 1850s with her nearest neighbor in the Berkshires, the novelist Herman Melville. In 1983 Professor Michael Rogin of the University of Californi ...
, literary figure in
the Berkshires
The Berkshires () are a highland geologic region located in the western parts of Massachusetts and northwest Connecticut. The term "Berkshires" is normally used by locals in reference to the portion of the Vermont-based Green Mountains that ex ...
and intimate friend of Herman Melville. Her farm adjoined
Arrowhead (Herman Melville House)
Arrowhead, also known as the Herman Melville House, is a historic house museum in Pittsfield, Massachusetts. It was the home of American author Herman Melville during his most productive years, 1850–1863. Here, Melville wrote some of his maj ...
, and is now the site of the Country Club of Pittsfield
*
Elaine Cancilla Orbach, Broadway actress, actor
Jerry Orbach
Jerome Bernard Orbach (October 20, 1935 – December 28, 2004) was an American actor and singer, described at the time of his death as "one of the last'' bona fide'' leading men of the Broadway musical and global celebrity on television" and a " ...
's widow
*
Chad Paronto
Chad Michael Paronto (born July 28, 1975) is an American former Major League Baseball player. Paronto attended the University of Massachusetts Amherst before being drafted by the Baltimore Orioles in the eighth round of the 1996 Major League Base ...
, Major League Baseball relief pitcher
*
Edward Partridge
Edward Partridge Sr. (August 27, 1793 – May 27, 1840) was one of the earliest converts to the Latter Day Saint movement and served as the first Bishop of the Church.
Early life
Edward Partridge was born on August 27, 1793 to William and Jem ...
, first bishop of
the Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints
The Church of Jesus Christ of Latter-day Saints, informally known as the LDS Church or Mormon Church, is a Nontrinitarianism, nontrinitarian Christianity, Christian church that considers itself to be the Restorationism, restoration of the ...
*
Adrian Pasdar, actor
*
Brian Piccolo
Louis Brian Piccolo (October 31, 1943 – June 16, 1970) was an American professional football player, a halfback for the Chicago Bears of the National Football League (NFL) for four years. He died at age 26 from embryonal cell carcinoma, an a ...
,
Chicago Bears
The Chicago Bears are a professional American football team based in Chicago. The Bears compete in the National Football League (NFL) as a member club of the league's National Football Conference (NFC) North division. The Bears have won nine NF ...
halfback, subject of movie ''
Brian's Song
''Brian's Song'' is a 1971 ABC Movie of the Week that recounts the life of Brian Piccolo (James Caan), a Chicago Bears football player stricken with terminal cancer after turning pro in 1965, told through his friendship with teammate Gale Sayer ...
''
*
Robert Prentiss
Robert G. Prentiss (March 23, 1936 – March 18, 2022) was an American politician.
Prentiss was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, and graduated from Pittsfield High School. He then served in the United States Marines Corps during the Korean ...
, Massachusetts and New York politician
*
Emily Robison
Emily Burns Strayer ( Erwin, previously Robison; born August 16, 1972) is an American songwriter, singer, multi-instrumentalist, and a founding member of the country band The Chicks, formerly known as the Dixie Chicks. Strayer plays banjo, dob ...
, musician and member of the
Dixie Chicks
The Chicks (previously known as Dixie Chicks) are an American country music band from Dallas, Texas. Since 1995, the band has consisted of Natalie Maines (lead vocals, guitar) and sisters Martie Maguire (vocals, fiddle, mandolin, guitar) and E ...
*
John James Rudin, Roman Catholic bishop
*
Richard Salwitz, musician with
J Geils Band
The J. Geils Band was an American rock band formed in 1967, in Worcester, Massachusetts, under the leadership of guitarist John "J." Geils. The original band members included vocalist Peter Wolf, harmonica and saxophone player Richard "Magic ...
*
Niraj Shah
Niraj S. Shah ( hi, नीरज शाह) (born 1973/1974) is an Indian-American billionaire businessman, and co-founder, co-chairman, and CEO of online retailer Wayfair.
Early life
Shah grew up in Pittsfield, Massachusetts, the son of immigr ...
(born 1973/74), billionaire CEO and co-founder of
Wayfair
Wayfair Inc. is an American e-commerce company based in Boston, Massachusetts that sells furniture and home goods online. Formerly known as CSN Stores, it was founded in 2002, and currently offers 14 million items from more than 11,000 global s ...
*
William Stanley, Jr.
William Stanley Jr. (November 28, 1858 – May 14, 1916) was an American physicist born in Brooklyn, New York. During his career, he obtained 129 patents covering a variety of electric devices. In 1913, he also patented an all-steel vacuum bottl ...
, invented first alternating current electrical transformer
*
Charles Thomas Stearns, member of Minnesota Territorial Legislature
*
Howie Storie
Howard Edward Storie (May 15, 1911 – July 27, 1968) was a professional baseball catcher. He was a reserve player for the Boston Red Sox of Major League Baseball (MLB) in 1931 and 1932. Listed at and , he batted and threw right-handed.
Biograph ...
, catcher for
Boston Red Sox
The Boston Red Sox are an American professional baseball team based in Boston. The Red Sox compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the American League (AL) East division. Founded in as one of the American League's eight ...
during early 1930s
*
John Szarkowski
Thaddeus John Szarkowski (December 18, 1925 – July 7, 2007) was an American photographer, curator, historian, and critic. From 1962 to 1991 Szarkowski was the director of photography at New York's Museum of Modern Art (MoMA).
Early life and ca ...
, photographer, critic, historian, curator of photography at
MoMA
*
James Walter Thompson
James Walter Thompson (October 28, 1847 – October 16, 1928) was the founder of the J. Walter Thompson advertising agency and a pioneer of many advertising techniques.
Biography
He was born in Pittsfield, Massachusetts on October 28, 1847.
In ...
, 19th Century advertising pioneer
*
Bruce Tulgan
Bruce L. Tulgan (born June 27, 1967 in Pittsfield, Massachusetts) is an American writer specializing in management training and generational diversity in the workforce. His books include ''The Art of Being Indispensable at Work'' (2020), ''Not Ev ...
, author of ''Managing Generation X'' and ''It's Okay To Be the Boss''
*
Elkanah Watson
Elkanah Watson (January 22, 1758 – December 5, 1842) was a visionary traveler and writer, agriculturist and canal promoter, banker and businessman. He was born in Plymouth, Massachusetts and died at Port Kent, New York. He worked in Albany ...
, author and agriculturist, in 1810 held the first county fair in the country in Pittsfield
*
Jack Welch
John Francis Welch Jr. (November 19, 1935 – March 1, 2020) was an American business executive, chemical engineer, and writer. He was Chairman and CEO of General Electric (GE) between 1981 and 2001.
When Welch retired from GE, he receive ...
, former CEO of
General Electric
General Electric Company (GE) is an American multinational conglomerate founded in 1892, and incorporated in New York state and headquartered in Boston. The company operated in sectors including healthcare, aviation, power, renewable energ ...
*
Turk Wendell
Turk or Turks may refer to:
Communities and ethnic groups
* Turkic peoples, a collection of ethnic groups who speak Turkic languages
* Turkish people, or the Turks, a Turkic ethnic group and nation
* Turkish citizen, a citizen of the Republic ...
, MLB Pitcher
*
Paul Weston
Paul Weston (born Paul Wetstein; March 12, 1912 – September 20, 1996) was an American pianist, arranger, composer, and conductor who worked in music and television from the 1930s to the 1970s, pioneering mood music and becoming known as "the ...
, musician, composer and arranger, was raised in Pittsfield.
*
David Dunnels White, soldier of 37th Massachusetts Regiment, organized in Pittsfield during Civil War, captured Confederate Major General George Washington Custis Lee, son of famed General
Robert E. Lee, during Battle of Sailor's Creek Virginia, April 6, 1865
*
Charles White Whittlesey
Charles White Whittlesey (January 20, 1884 – November 26, 1921) was a United States Army Medal of Honor recipient who led the Lost Battalion in the Meuse–Argonne offensive during World War I. He committed suicide by drowning when he jumped ...
,
Army
An army (from Old French ''armee'', itself derived from the Latin verb ''armāre'', meaning "to arm", and related to the Latin noun ''arma'', meaning "arms" or "weapons"), ground force or land force is a fighting force that fights primarily on ...
officer and
Medal of Honor
The Medal of Honor (MOH) is the United States Armed Forces' highest military decoration and is awarded to recognize American soldiers, sailors, marines, airmen, guardians and coast guardsmen who have distinguished themselves by acts of valor. ...
recipient who led "Lost Battalion" in
Meuse-Argonne Offensive in October 1918 during final stages of
World War I
World War I (28 July 1914 11 November 1918), often abbreviated as WWI, was one of the deadliest global conflicts in history. Belligerents included much of Europe, the Russian Empire, the United States, and the Ottoman Empire, with fightin ...
*
Robin Williams
Robin McLaurin Williams (July 21, 1951August 11, 2014) was an American actor and comedian. Known for his improvisational skills and the wide variety of characters he created on the spur of the moment and portrayed on film, in dramas and come ...
, actor, maintained a summer home in Pittsfield
*
Stephanie Wilson, astronaut
*
Walter Zink, was a professional baseball pitcher who played for the New York Giants
See also
*
*
List of mill towns in Massachusetts
* Adams
* Amesbury
* Athol
* Attleboro
* Chicopee
* Clinton
* Dalton
* Dedham
* Fall River
* Fitchburg
* Framingham
* Gardner
* Grafton
* Greenfield
* Haverhill
* Holyoke
* Hopedale
* Hudson
* Lawrence
* Lowell
* Ludlow
* Lyn ...
References
External links
City of Pittsfield official websitePittsfield stakes its claim in baseball history by Adam Gorlick, Associated Press, May 11, 2004, retrieved on 2009-10-16
History of Pittsfield 1800–1876Pittsfield History, Old Newspaper Articles, GenealogyThe History of Pittsfield, Massachusetts, from the Year 1876 to the Year 1916*
{{Authority control
Cities in Massachusetts
Cities in Berkshire County, Massachusetts
History of baseball in the United States
County seats in Massachusetts
Populated places established in 1752