PITTSFIELD NH

 

Pittsfield NH /Northwood NH - (find us on BING)

 

Welcome to:  Pittsfield

 New Hampshire

(NH - zip code 03263)

 


Pictures, Comments, History, Links, Insider Information

 

Pittsfield, New Hampshire is a small community of homes and about 5,000 people located in central New Hampshire. Concord, the state capital is about 18 miles due west and the seacoast is about 35 or 40 miles east. Being not quite in the "Lakes Region", not in the White Mountains, and not on the seacoast, it gets overlooks by the tour books and visitors.

 

Email us about Pittsfield, NH zip code 03263

 

Pittsfield New Hampshire 03263 -- Pictures, Comments, History, Start Here!

Pittsfield NH - AKA "Gem of the Suncook River Valley"


web analytics

New Hampshire: Pittsfield, NH  03263

Entering downtown Pittsfield, NH

Concord Hill Road




town hall pittsfield nh


The Pittsfield Town Hall is the old grammar school. It was designed by a famous New England Architect

built in the early 1900s.

 

Pittsfield, New Hampshire is a small community of homes and about 5,000 people located in central New Hampshire. Concord, the state capital is about 18 miles due west and the seacoast is about 35 or 40 miles east. Being not quite in the "Lakes Region", not in the White Mountains, and not on the seacoast, it gets overlooks by the tour books and visitors. We like that. It is a part of the state the people pass through but often don't stop. The town straddles the Suncook River and it was dams and water power that created Pittsfield and turned it into a typical New England mill town. The town became the hub community for the surrounding smaller towns. Pittsfield had shopping in its small downtown, jobs in the mills, and after 1869 railroad connections to the outside world. It peaked in perhaps 1900 with mansions along Main Street and stone / brick public building designed by well known architect. Its Pittsfield Academy was the school of choice for the region's young men and woman and it graduated some well known people.


Today, the town is much different, a shadow of its former self. The mills are gone. The mansions are now apartment buildings. The
school system needs improvement and teen crime and drugs were front page news in the Concord Monitor newspaper during the summer of 2007. The railroad is gone. The grand old buildings are silent reminders of better times that are gone for good. Yet traces of the old charm and character remain. While downtown can be described as 'rundown' it is too small in area to invoke any feeling of 'skid row' or 'inner city.' To me, living here is more like putting on an old, albeit worn, jacket that is comforting in its memories and fit even it is no longer in the best of shape.


Of course, the town is not alone in its decline. Nearly all New England communities have seen better days. Only the luck ones become spruced up Norman Rockwell tourist sites. Most, like Pittsfield NH, became home to hard working, blue collar folks more interested in making a living than in downtown historic preservation. While that is a sad thing in one way, it is a rather ordinary, comforting and natural state of existence in another way. It's my home and I like living here!


My contribution to the "We Love Pittsfield NH" lifestyle is to document the sights, history, and spirit of a genuine New England town. I like the location of Pittsfield relative to the rest of New England including Boston and shopping malls in Concord and I find the town and the area a beautiful place for picture taking, as you will see in the links below.





Love an old fashion, all American parade? Check out the annual Pittsfield Old Home Days 2007 parade -
CLICK PITTSFIELD PARADE


See what New Hampshire's ToDo Magazine wrote about Pittsfield NH in an article published 6/2009 -
CLICK PITTSFIELD ARTICLE (PDF FORMAT LINK) .

TOWN WEATHER DATA


Please take a moment to complete our 3 question

Pittsfield, NH SURVEY

CLICK HERE

 


Also visit Paul Oman's personal New Hampshire site - which includes Cupolas Along the Suncook River and the photographic decline/collapse of an old historic barn in Chichester. A companion web site to this Pittsfield NH / Northwood NH web site.


-- Return to Pittsfield/Northwood Home Page --

The March 2014 four alarm fire at Rustic Crust pizza dough factory

left 100 workers with no place to work

pittsfield fire

 

pittsfield nh fire


 

Important Pittsfield NH community links

Town of Pittsfield official town web site (zip code 03263)

Globe Manufacturing (famous fire suit manufacturer)

NH Glass Sculptures (local unique garden art)

Pittsfield Players (well known community theater group)

Progressive Epoxy Polymers (leading Internet suppler of epoxy resin systems)


Pittsfield NH - Northwood NH

(The Paul Oman Pages - more on Pittsfield - Northwood NH)

 

glass sculptures

Visit our Pittsfield NH friends at

New Hampshire Glass Sculptures

 

 

 

Pittsfield NH History (copyright - Pittsfield Historical Society)

 

As explained in the Pittsfield Historical Society web site

 

Founded in 1768 by John Cram, initially Pittsfield was a collection of farms with several small centers of activity:  The Lower City, Upper City, South Pittsfield, Knowltons Corners and the Berry District.  Each of these places had a number of homes and some combination of stores, churches, schools and mills.  Within a few decades, the "Lower City" along the Suncook River became the dominant political, social and industrial center of activity in Pittsfield.  The town of Pittsfield, New Hampshire was incorporated on March 22, 1782 and its first meeting house erected in 1789. The first church was erected in 1789 in what now houses the present Pittsfield Community Center  The first school was constructed in 1777 near Catamount Mountain across from the Quaker Burying Ground.

From the very beginning, industry played an important role in Pittsfield economy.  Upon his arrival, Cram erected saw and grist mills.  About 1820, James Joy erected a scythe factory below these mills and in 1826 a cotton mill was erected.  In 1826, Cotton Drake engaged a shoe maker to come to Pittsfield to teach his sons how to make shoes.  The idea caught on and soon dozens of farmers and their families were manufacturing shoes in their homes. 

Between 1830 and 1840 the town population grew by 34.7%.  As a result, new homes had to be built.  To meet this demand James Joy and his successors at the cotton mill built a number of houses which became known as the "Corporation." Others erected stately single-family homes in the down area. 

With the arrival of the railroad in 1869, Pittsfield became the commercial center of the Suncook Valley.  Farmers brought their products from surrounding towns for shipment to Boston and points south.  The same farmers purchased dry goods, groceries, farm implements and other products in Pittsfield's stores which gave rise to a tremendous increase in commercial activity.  In 1924, the Suncook Valley Railroad became a part of the Boston and Maine system and continued to serve the valley that gave it its name.  The end of the railroad era occurred in 1950. 

In the war between the states, "it is doubtful if any other town furnished a more honorable list of men than Pittsfield, in proportion to the size.   Pittsfield sent into the ranks one hundred and forty seven.  Of these fifty-nine were either killed or permanently disabled;  more than 40 percent were casualties."  E Harold Young, History of Pittsfield

In 1870, Doak, Pecker & Swett erected a 30' by 200' shoe factory on Catamount Street near the railroad depot.  Later the factory was doubled in size.  Soon several other shoe factories emerged.  Most importantly, in 1879 "Riverside 1" was erected below the cotton mill on Joy Street.  It was occupied by C. B. Lancaster which immediately began constructing another building, "Riverside 2" adjacent to it.  By 1880, there were thriving shoe businesses on both ends of Pittsfield Village.

In 1901, Globe Manufacturing Company moved to Pittsfield.   Since that time, Globe Manufacturing has grown to over 180 employees and is recognized as the largest manufacturer of protective clothing for firefighters in the world.

 

 

 


     
 

Relevant Pittsfield

 Barnstead - Northwood

Outdoor/Water Links

The Paul Oman Pages

 

 

Friends of the

Suncook River

CLICK

Friday Night

Paddlers

CLICK

SPONSOR:

Progressive Epoxy

Polymers, Inc.

CLICK




**

HELP IMPROVE THIS PAGE


Your comments, suggestions, contributions and insights about this web page are appreciated.

Any pictures, product or page feedback and suggestions to help future product users or page readers is win-win for everyone. Please click on the email address below to send us your remarks, and thank you for your response.

email us at: IMPROVE THIS PAGE

 

Pittsfield New Hampshire 03263 -- Pictures, Comments, History, Start Here!

Pittsfield NH - AKA "Gem of the Suncook River Valley"


W3Counter