United States or Guadeloupe ? Vote for the TOP Country of the Week !
Long before the Revolution opened, there thus existed in New England a fringe of pioneer settlements such as Vassalboro and Durham on the Androscoggin and the Kennebec, Concord and Hinsdale on the Merrimac and the Connecticut, Pittsfield and Great Barrington on the Housatonic which formed a newer New England, less lettered and scriptural than the old, where class distinctions were little known, where contact with the Indian and the wilderness had added a secular ruthlessness and ingenuity to the harsh Puritan temper, and where the individual, freed from an effective "village moral police," learned in the rough school of nature a new kind of conformity unknown to the ancient Hebrew code.
But occasionally we meet an oasis in this vast waste, and though it may not be a paradise, yet we are too grateful for the water that nourishes the palms and the grass, that refreshes our parched mouths and wearied bodies, to think that in other climes we might call it brackish and unclean. Such is the effect that the History of Pittsfield, Massachusetts has on us.
The first permanent settlement was made in 1749, and three years later occurred the birthday of the town. In May, 1761, the first town meeting was held. At this time the name was changed to Pittsfield in honor of William Pitt, for his vigorous conduct of the war against France. Slaves were owned by many of the citizens, and stocks and a whipping-post were set up.
The "great tree" on Boston Common comes in the second rank, as does the one at Cohasset, which used to have, and probably has still, a head as round as an apple-tree, and that at Newburyport, with scores of others which might be mentioned. These last two have perhaps been over-celebrated. Both, however, are pleasing vegetables. The poor old Pittsfield elm lives on its past reputation.
And I remember my mother's telling me that when she was a girl her father carried her on a pillion to the raising of a church in Pittsfield; and the occasion was celebrated by a ball in the evening. Now, all dancing is proscribed by the church there as a sinful amusement. Dewey gave to the country home which he inherited from his father the name of "St.
In mentioning the educational facilities of a community it would be an act of thoughtlessness to omit its bookstores. There is but one in Pittsfield. It contains a large supply of books, selected with judgment, and is well managed by Mr. J.B. Harrison. Rev. John Todd became, in 1839, a worthy pastor to the Church, over which Thomas Allen presided many years before.
There was a desire felt by the steadier portion of the community to make a fair trial of the State Constitution, which afforded a legal means, however slow, for redressing the heavier grievances. Pittsfield in particular was now advancing in material prosperity, and looked with disfavor upon any radical changes. Rev.
Indeed, they did not satisfy her own zeal for extraordinary work. She scattered some of the young people of the mountain among the Methodist families of Lenox and Pittsfield as domestic help, greatly to their advantage.
Alcott's aesthetic carpentering Appurtenances of "The Wayside" Franklin Pierce for President" The most homeless people in the world." The sky that overhung Hawthorne's departure from Lenox was gray with impending snow, and the flakes had begun to fall ere the vehicle in which his family was ensconced had reached the railway station in Pittsfield. Travel had few amenities in those days.
Ye must a thought I was hard an unfeelin, Reub, dear, often's the time, but I didn't know, I didn't know. We'll go now, if you want, Abner." The rebels had not left Stockbridge a moment too soon. Captain Stoddard was rallying his company before they had got out of the village, and messengers had been sent to Lee, Lenox, Pittsfield, Great Barrington, Egremont and Sheffield, to rouse the people.
Word Of The Day