The history of the public schools is in no important respect different from that in hundreds of other towns. They were first carefully graded in 1874, and have enjoyed an excellent reputation. By far the greater proportion of the young folks in town attend them. The system of free text books was early adopted. The High School, under the care of an able scholar, Mr. Edward H. Rice, has been steadily growing in favor during the past few years. Graduates yearly enter the various colleges, and from neighboring towns a considerable number of its pupils come and pay the tuition required by law.
For the higher education of young women the Pittsfield Female Academy was incorporated in 1806, with Miss Hinsdale as principal. It has continued ever since, usually with a lady at the head, and for the last few years especially has done good work under Miss Salisbury. The Maplewood Young Ladies’ Institute, the most noted school of education that has ever existed in Pittsfield, has this year closed an existence of forty-three years. Its loss will be mourned by many friends in the town and elsewhere. Among the illustrations is given a view of the avenue and the chapel; behind the latter stands the meeting-house of 1793, of late years used for a gymnasium.
About the time of Shay’s Rebellion the first newspaper, the American Sentinel, was published. It was printed on a sheet ten by eighteen inches in size, and gave the greater portion of its space to two or three prosy essays. Three other newspapers appeared and vanished in turn until, in the year 1800, the Pittsfield Sun was established by Phinehas Allen. It remained in his hands for nearly three-quarters of a century, and to this day gives its support to the Democratic party. James Harding is the editor. The Argus was started in 1827, as a rival, by Henry K. Strong. Four years later it was removed to Lenox, and united with the Berkshire Journal. In 1838 the name was changed to the Massachusetts Eagle, and soon afterwards it was brought back to Pittsfield. In 1852 it was given the name, The Berkshire County Eagle, which it bears to-day. Both of these papers are weeklies. The Journal is of later date, and is issued daily. Joseph E. See is editor. 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. His early life had been a struggle for an education against poverty and ill health. It is interesting to read his estimate of the new congregation to which he was called after having been for five years pastor in Philadelphia: "It is a great, rich, proud, enlightened, powerful people. They move slowly, but they tread like the elephant. They are cool, but kind, sincere, great at hearing, but very critical. I have never had an audience who heard so critically. There is ten times more intellect that is cultivated than we have ever had before. You would be surprised to see how much they read. The ladies are abundant, intelligent, refined, and kind. A wider, better, harder, or more interesting field no man need desire." Dr. Todd became one of the most public-spirited citizens of the town, jealous of its honor. Educational matters, especially, received his attention and assistance. His reputation as an author is not confined to his town, nor to his day. The "Student’s Manual" is the best known of his works; the lectures delivered on returning from a visit to California are well worth reading.
The first manufactories of the town date back to within a few years of its settlement. Agriculture was, of course, the leading industry, and was carried on according to the wasteful and, apparently, unwise methods usual in a newly-settled country. Great attention was paid to breeding horses and mules, of which many were sent to the West Indies and other markets. The first carding machine was set up in 1801 by Arthur Scholfield, an Englishman. Soon he set about making and improving machines, which he sold to manufacturers in various parts of the country. The industry was subsequently helped on by the superior quality of wool, which resulted from the new custom of seeking better breeds of sheep. About 100,000 yards of cloth, worth as many dollars, were produced in the county in 1808. After the war which followed came a season of depression of manufactures; the cessation of the unusual war demand and excessive importations from abroad were the principal causes.
At this period, when politics were carried into private affairs, as religion had been some hundred years before, each party must have its factory. Thus the Housatonic Woolen Mill of 1810 was offset a few years later by the Pittsfield Woolen and Cotton Company in Federalist hands. The former enterprise languished before long for want of sufficient water power. The latter, by a change of ownership, came under the control of Lemuel and Josiah Pomeroy, and enjoyed the benefits of the tariffs of 1824 and following years. Other mills went gradually into operation. But in this instance Yankee ingenuity and versatility found a difficult foe to master. The proprietors were ambitious and determined to make their fabrics as firm and as heavy as the best imported goods. In this they succeeded, but by a clumsy, wasteful process, which destroyed all profit. Moreover, instead of making a single class of goods, each factory attempted to satisfy the various demands of the market. Hence arose multiplied causes of failures, for which remedies had to be invented. A general business knowledge did not immediately avail in an industry where matters of detail were of the greatest consequence. To-day these mills are the principal sources of wealth in the county. Another branch of manufactures grew up in 1799 when Lemuel Pomeroy came to Pittsfield, and in addition to the ordinary labor of a blacksmith began to make plows, wagons, and sleighs. He bought the old Whitney forge and extended the works from the production of fowling pieces to that of muskets. Large contracts with State and National governments brought a profitable business, until, in 1846, the percussion guns were introduced.
The independant spirit displayed by Pittsfield, or rather by Berkshire County, in matters of the highest importance, was largely due to the difficulty of communication with other sections of the country. For the first eighty years the Worthington turnpike, running by way of Northampton, was the only means of passage to the east. In 1830 the Pontoosuc turnpike going through Westfield was completed and transferred traffic from the old road to the new, which led to Springfield. A little before this time the Erie Canal project was successfully carried out. Thereupon arose in Massachusetts a wide-spread desire for engaging in a similar enterprise. Several routes were explored for a canal from Boston to the Hudson. One of them passed through Pittsfield at an altitude of 1,000 feet, and the route recommended as feasible was 178 miles in length, and required a tunnel of four miles under the Hoosac mountain. One of its opponents showed that according to the Commissioner’s data, fifty-two years would be required in which to finish the tunnel. At this point came the news of successful steam locomotion in England, and a discussion began as to the comparative merits of railways and canals. For several years horse-power was proposed to be employed, but before actual work began the superiority of steam had been demonstrated. In the face of indifference, skepticism, and active opposition, which brought about discouraging delays, the road was built, and the first railroad train entered Pittsfield May 4, 1841. That week occurred the first accident. An old man jumped off the train as it approached his house, and was severely injured. Thus, in 1842, chiefly through the exertions of Lemuel Pomeroy, the Western Railroad was completed, and trains ran from Albany to Boston. Several short local roads have since been constructed, which have done more to bind the county together, and have contributed greatly to its wealth and comfort. On the west the physical barriers were less difficult to surmount, and the advent of railroads has only diminished the inequality. New York is still the metropolis; the mass of travel, the business relations, are turned in that direction.
In 1844 what is known as the Fire District was organized. Its territory consists of about two square miles of land, having the Park as a centre, and includes most of the buildings of the town. It originated from the unwillingness of the outlying districts to help support a suitable fire department, of which they, themselves, felt little need. Nevertheless, at its formation the town granted land and a sum of money. A Chief Engineer, with seven assistants and a prudential committee were constituted officers. Subsequently the care of sewers, sidewalks, water-works, and lighting of streets were assumed by the Fire District, and the duties were performed by commissioners. A curious controversy, now settled, arose with the town as to which should look after the street crossings. The fire department from the start has been sustained by the zeal of its members, and now, directed by its Chief Engineer, George S. Willis, enjoys an enviable reputation for efficiency.
