Pittsfield, NH - Then and Now Home and Site Photographs
with comment on 'Living Here'
compiled by: Paul Oman
One of the last wood press cider mills in the state (2006)
Appropriate Audio
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Freewill Baptist Church 1910 vs. 2006. Constructed in 1838. Remodeled in 1886 after a design by William Butterfield (who designed several buildings in Pittsfield).
In 1906 it was the Grammar School, today it is the Town Hall. Another William Butterfield buildings (5 of them
in Pittsfield). Completed in 1890.
I
moved to Pittsfield, NH in 2000. Unlike most small New Hampshire towns, Pittsfield does have a small downtown area,
not just a Main Street with a post office, fire station and Town Hall.
Like many old New England towns, the town could use an 'Extreme Makeover." My very first impression of downtown
Pittsfield was that it was sort of rundown and shabby - an old blue collar river-powered mill town with the mill
long since gone. Nice homes on Main Street turned mostly into apartments, old storefronts with more apartments
above and behind them. Nearly all in need of some TLC and fresh paint. However, the downtown area consists of only
a few streets and so once one settles into Pittsfield, the downtown area takes on the feel of an old, comfortable,
worn work coat, instead of a blighted urban area.
Opera House - former home of stores, dances, graduations this 1883 building originally had three floors. Fire damage
reduced it to two stores. It still contains shops and apartment space. The painting on the left can be found in
the Pittsfield Library hanging on the wall.
Main St. -1908 vs. today. Sherwin Williams paint card on the left, hiding the intersection of Main St. with Elm
St.
There
isn't really a good reason to visit Pittsfield. No covered bridges, no campgrounds, no lakes, no historical home
tours, no state parks, no string of outlet stores/gift shops, etc. There is a new, nice small boat launch ramp
into the Suncook River upstream of the dam that offers about 1 mile of calm, flat water for fishing, canoeing,
or kayaking. The other form of entertainment in Pittsfield consists
of the observing the antics associated with town and school board meetings and debates which can mean and nasty
in a hurry.
Every August there is a Hot Air Balloon rally/fair that attracts hundreds or thousands of visitors. The big employers
in Pittsfield are Globe Firefighter Suits (a 4th generation business that make top of the line fire fighting suits),
Pittsfield Weaving that makes clothing labels, etc. and perhaps the Pleasant View plant nursery. There are two
small food stores, several pizza places and a Rite Aid pharmacy. The town does have an active community theater
that puts on about five performances each year.
Suncook River Dam, 1910 photo. Dams at this location represent the reason Pittsfield exists.
Carroll St. 1907, Still perhaps the town's major intersection. Looking west up Carroll St. Left and right is Depot
St. The Rite Aid pharmacy is behind the photographer left shoulder. Rt 107 makes a 90 degree turn here, coming
in from the left and turning toward the photographer on to Carroll St.
The
town's prime was probably about 1910. The mills and shoe factories were working and employing lots of workers.
The railroad (gone since 1952) linked Pittsfield with the state capital (Concord - about 16 miles away), Manchester
(about 40 miles away) as well as places like Boston and New York. Pittsfield was the economic and social hub of
the surrounding farming towns. Pittsfield Academy (now simply a relic and not a part of the town's public schools)
was the secondary school of "status" in the area. There was an "opera house" and the mansion
of a former state governor on Main Street. Key public buildings designed by well known architect William A. Butterworth
were the town's pride and joy (Pittsfield reportedly still has more Butterfield structures than any other community).
Like most or all old New England towns, Pittsfield has its share of historical noteworthy citizens, unusual events
and footnotes of interest.
Depot Street - no date (about 1910)
Intersection of Carroll and Depot (note fountain in both old pictures). This pair of photos were taken within yards of turning 90 degrees to the right from the Carroll St. photo pair above. Photos are taken 90 degrees apart. Building on right side in Carroll St. picture above is the building on the left in this picture.
White's Dam (early 1900's) on the Suncook River (upstream from the Dam) did not survive. Just the left embankment,
and a small park, remains.
Since
its founding (Incorporated in 1782) The town's claim to fame has been its location. The Suncook River was the reason
the town was founded. A dam and mill got the ball rolling. In 1869 the Railroad come to Town. Today Highway Route
107 runs through downtown and and the very busy Route 28 flanks the hidden but nearby downtown.
Blake St. 1910. Blake street of near the Town Hall on Main St.
Tuttle Estate on Main Street -1908. Built by Hiram Tuttle in 1875. Tuttle later became governor of New Hampshire.
The original roof was lost in a fire in 1911, but restored to its original appearance.
Pittsfield Academy 1906. Note the Baptist church on the left. This school was built in 1892 and served as the town's
high school until 1942.
Main St. 1906
You
will not find Pittsfield in any tourist guide of New Hampshire. It is an 'in-between' location, 30 minutes from
the Seacoat region, 30 minutes for the Lakes Region and not much more to the White Mountains. It is only 20 minutes
to the state capital in Concord, less than an hour to a major airport in Manchester and perhaps 90 minutes from
Boston. It is a great starting point for any sort of New Hampshire and a community not gridlocked with summer tourists.
We like it that way!
Park St. (date unknown - 1910??). Note the Baptist church in the middle, and Pittsfield Academy behind that.
Catholic Church 1910
Sargent Hall 1910. This building was a private 'clinic'. Now an apartment building located about a mile from downtown.
White Pond 1913 - A man-made pond just on the edge of downtown.
Pittsfield, New Hampshire is a small community of 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, become 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!
Weather
DATE
AVERAGE HIGH
AVERAGE LOW
RECORD HIGH
RECORD LOW
SUNRISE
SUNSET
May 1
64
37
88
26
5:39
7:47
May 5
66
39
91
25
5:33
7:52
May 8
67
40
93
22
5:30
7:55
May 13
69
41
88
27
5:24
8:00
May 20
71
44
96
25
5:17
8:08
May 28
74
46
94
29
5:10
8:15
June 5
76
49
93
35
5:06
8:22
June 8
76
50
93
34
5:05 (min early)
8:24
June 19
79
53
98
36
5:05
8:28
June 20
79
53
98
37
5:05
8:29 (lastest)
June 22
79
54
95
37
5:05
8:29
June 23
80
54
94
39
5:06 (going shorter)
8:29
JULY 4TH
82
56
95
40
5:11
8:28 (going shorter)
July 20
83
58 (max high)
101
41
5:23
8:19
July 21
84 (max high)
58
101
41
5:24
8:19
July 27
83 (going down)
58
97
37
5:30
8:13
Aug. 7
83
57
96
41
5:42
8:00
Aug. 8
82
57 (going down)
95
42
5:43
7:58
Aug. 23
80
54
91
38
5:59
7:36
Aug. 24
79
54
95
38
6:00
7:34
Aug. 27
79
53
96
36
6:04
7:29
9/05 (LABOR DAY)
76
51
91
35
6:13
7:14
Sept. 8
75
49
94
32
6:17
7:08
Sept. 9
74
49
95
30
6:18
7:06
Sept. 12
73
48
91
30
6:21
7:01
Sept. 20
71
45
92
28
6:30
6:46
Sept. 24
69
43
87
24
6:34
6:39
Sept. 27
70
44
92
28
6:32
6:43
Sept. 29
67
41
86
25
6:44
6:30
Oct. 4
65
39
84
22
6:46
6:21
Oct.7
64
38
90
21
6:49
6:16
Oct. 16
61
35
87
17
7:00
6:01
Oct. 17
60
34
89
14
7:02
5:59
Oct. 19
59
34
82
11
7:04
5:56
Oct. 25
57
32 (first freeze)
83
16
7:12
5:47
Oct. 28
56
32
78
11
7:15 (latest dst)
5:43 (end dst)
Oct. 31
54
31
78
14
6:19
4:38
Nov. 6
52
30
75
14
6:27
4:30
Nov. 9
50
30
74
11
6:30
4:27
Nov. 11
50
29
70
9
6:33
4:25
Nov. 12
49
29
65
7
6:34
4:24
11/23 (THANKSG)
44
25
73
-1
6:48
4:15
Nov. 26
43
24
64
-2
6:52
4:13
Dec. 3
40
21
60
-4
7:00
4:10
Dec. 5
39
20
62
-7
7:02
4:10
Dec. 7
38
19
65
-5
7:04
4:09 (shortest est)
Dec. 12
36
17
67
-15
7:08
4:10 (going longer)
Dec. 19
34
15
60
-16
7:13
4:11
Dec. 21
34
14
60
-21
7:15
4:12
CHISTMAS
33
13
55
-18
7:16
4:15
Dec. 27
32 (first subfreeze)
13
58
-8
7:17
4:16
Dec. 30
32
12
54
-21
7:18 (latest est)
4:15
Jan. 8
31
10
59
-25
7:17 (going longer)
4:27
Jan. 11
30 (min low)
10
58
-27
7:17
4:30
Jan. 15
30
9 (min low)
63
-19
7:15
4:35
Jan. 24
31 (going up)
9
57
-27
7:09
4:46
Jan. 29
31
10 (going up)
48
-21
7:04
4:53
Feb. 2
31
10
52
-15
7:00
4:59
Feb. 3
32
10
52
-15
6:59
5:00
Feb. 9
33 (first nonfreeze)
11
57
-19
6:52
5:08
Feb. 13
34
12
60
-23
6:46
5:14
Feb. 19
35
14
64
-13
6:37
5:22
Feb. 24
36
15
62
-13
6:30
5:28
Feb. 26
37
16
66
-15
6:26
5:31
March 3
39
18
59
-11
6:18
5:37
March 5
40
19
61
-4
6:15
5:40
March 14
43
22
72
-11
6:59 (dst)
5:51 (dst)
March 16
44
23
68
2
6:56
6:53
March 18
44
24
64
-13
6:52
6:55
March 22
46
25
74
5
6:45
7:00
March 28
49
27
82
2
6:33
7:08
March 31
50
28
69
10
6:29
7:10
April 2
51
28
73
13
6:25
7:15
April 4
52
29
77
9
6:22
7:16
April 8
54
30
77
12
6:13
7:21
April 16
57
32
88
15
6:02
7:30
April 17
58
33 (first nonfreeze)
94
18
6:00
7:31
April 20
59
34
92
16
5:55
7:34
RAINFALL: Rainfall is a pretty uniform 3 to 3.5 inches each
month (about 35-40 inches per year). Of course, in winter the rain becomes snow. One inch of snow forms 4.5 to
6 inches of snow. Average annual snowfall is about 60-65 inches each year (about 4 inches in Nov., 14 inches in
Dec., 18 inches in Jan., 14 inches in Feb., 11.5 inches in March, and 2.5 inches in April). CLOUD COVER: Approx. 25% of the days are clear and cloud free;
25% are partly cloudy and 50% of the days are considered cloudy. Again, these percentages are pretty constant all
through the different months.
Mystery Photos - can you find these 'objects' in downtown Pittsfield? - CLICK HERE
Pittsfield Pictures -- A Slide Show of town sites: - CLICK HERE
New Hampshire cupolas; New Hampshire Civil War stuff; Harvey Lake - Northwood, NH; WWII coming of age letters; and more neat stuff! -CLICK HERE