Park Square Pittsfield Mass

Date: [unknown] [unknown]
Location: Pittsfield, Berkshire, Massachusetts, United States
Surname/tag: Pittsfield_Massachusetts

GENERAL SOURCES

Park Square Historical District--Wikipedia https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Park_Square_Historic_District_(Pittsfield,_Massachusetts)

Park Square- Lost New England https://lostnewengland.com/tag/park-square-pittsfield/

The Pittsfield Elm -- https://theberkshireedge.com/connections-the-pittsfield-elm/

https://berkshirehistory.org/wp-content/uploads/2014/10/Historical-Paper-about-Pittsfield-by-Mayor-Allen-Bagg-1937.pdf

TIMELINE

1524- in the dense forest, an elm sapling begins to grow. It would live 341 years, reaching a height of 128 feet and a circumference of 28 feet.

1738- the first white men arrive and begin clearing the land

1752- Captain Charles Goodrich lays out the center of the the new town, designating the towering elm tree as its center. PROFILE https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Goodrich-313 SOURCE https://www.pittsfieldcemetery.com/obituary/hon-goodrich/

1761- First church in Pittsfield, First Congregational Church, is built. SOURCE https://lostnewengland.com/2017/01/first-church-pittsfield-mass/

1764- Thomas Allen ordained as first pastor, First Congregational Church. Known as "The Fighting Pastor," he was chaplain to troops during the Revolution, and present at Ticonderoga and the Battle of Bennington. PROFILE https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Allen-3669 SOURCE https://www.pittsfieldcemetery.com/obituary/thomas-allen/ SOURCE https://lostnewengland.com/2017/01/st-stephens-church-pittsfield-mass/

1775-1783- During the American Revolution, British prisoners were housed at Merrick's Coffee House

1775- 1 May- attack on Fort Ticonderoga planned at Easton's Tavern. PROFILE https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Easton-931 SOURCE https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/wmHGQJ_Site_of_Eastons_Tavern_Pittsfield_MA

1783- November. John Chandler Williams and his wife Lucretia celebrate the Peace of Paris (signed the previous September) with a lavish party lasting three days. PROFILE:https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Williams-90766 PROFILE: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Williams-90765 SOURCE: https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/wm117JW_Peace_Party_House_Pittsfield_MA SOURCE https://downtownpittsfield.com/history-of-downtown-buildings/

1791- After a window is broken in at the First Church, a city ordinance is enacted, regulating the playing of "base ball" and other games. This is the first mention of baseball in the United States. SOURCE https://www.rotary.org/en/pittsfield-stakes-its-claim-baseballs-birthplace

1793- The old First Church is replaced with a new building, designed by noted architect Bulfinch SOURCE; https://lostnewengland.com/2017/01/first-church-pittsfield-mass/

1802-Pittsfield has grown to a town of 2000. A new meeting house is planned on the site of the elm tree. Lucretia Williams defends the tree by throwing herself between the tree and the axe. The tree is spared when her husband donates a site for the new meeting house.

1807- The nation's first agricultural fair occurs when Elkanah Watson ties two Merino sheep to the elm tree and exhibits them to curious crowds. PROFILE https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Watson-7092 SOURCE: https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/wm11CK4_Elkanah_Watson_Pittsfield_MA

1822-1850- Berkshire Medical School SOURCE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkshire_Medical_College SOURCE https://downtownpittsfield.com/history-of-downtown-buildings/

1825- 13 June- Lafayette visits Pittsfield on his national tour. He addresses crowds under the elm tree, and dines at Merrick's Coffee House. SOURCE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Visit_of_the_Marquis_de_Lafayette_to_the_United_States

1832- St. Stephen's Episcopal Church building. (Original building replaced by present building 1889-1890.) SOURCE: https://www.ststephenspittsfield.org/who-we-are/church-history/ SOURCE https://lostnewengland.com/2017/01/st-stephens-church-pittsfield-mass/

1832- Lemuel Pomeroy donates a new town hall, which was used by the city until 1968. It is now an insurance office. PROFILE https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Pomeroy-315 https://www.pittsfieldcemetery.com/obituary/lemuel-pomeroy/ SOURCE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Old_Town_Hall_(Pittsfield,_Massachusetts) SOURCE https://downtownpittsfield.com/history-of-downtown-buildings/

1836- Nathaniel Hawthorne describes his visit to Pittsfield in American Notebooks:

"There are handsome churches, and a court-house, and an academy. There is a small mall in the center of town, and in the center of the mall rises an elm of the loftiest and straightest that ever I beheld, without a single branch or leaf upon it until it has soared seventy or perhaps a hundred feet into the air. . . The central square of Pittsfield presents all the bustle of a thriving village."

1841-The elm is struck by lightning. Hermann Melville uses the image of the damaged tree in describing Captain Ahab.

1851- The Bulfinch Church is damaged in a fire. It is replaced by a new building , designed by Leopold Eidlitz. This building is still standing. SOURCE https://lostnewengland.com/2017/01/first-church-pittsfield-mass/ SOURCE: https://lostnewengland.com/2017/02/first-church-pittsfield-mass-2/

1861-1865- Civil War SOURCE: https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/wmRKQ8_Brigadier_General_Henry_Shaw_Briggs_Pittsfield_MA

1864- Crowds watch as skilled woodsman Sylvanus Grant cuts down the beloved tree. PROFILE https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Grant-19270 SOURCE https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/wmHWPX_Park_Square_Sundial_Pittsfield_MA

1871- Berkshire County Courthouse. SOURCE https://lostnewengland.com/2017/01/berkshire-county-courthouse-pittsfield-mass/ SOURCE (Original building replaced by present building 1889-1890.)

1872-Civil War hero William Francis Bartlett oversees the new monument to Civil War soldiers, placed at the west end of the park. PROFILE https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Bartlett-3560 SOURCE https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/wm14Q4M_Civil_War_Monument_Park_Square_Historic_District_Pittsfield_MA

1874- Thomas Allen (grandson of The Fighting Parson) donates the public library, the Berkshire Athenaeum. PROFILE https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Allen-10710 SOURCE https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Berkshire_Athenaeum

1902- 3 September - President Roosevelt addresses crowds in Park Square. Later that day, his carriage is hit by a streetcar. Secret Service agent William Craig is killed, and Roosevelt severely injured. SOURCE https://www.newenglandhistoricalsociety.com/the-pittsfield-streetcar-driver-who-nearly-killed-teddy-roosevelt/

1904- 10 December- Genealogist Rollin Hillyer Cooke, a resident of the Wendell Hotel, dies in a fire in his room. PROFILE: https://www.wikitree.com/wiki/Cooke-6365

1907- Daniel McGinnis' popcorn wagon appears, a beloved feature of the park for many years.

1912- 11 June 3- Pittsfield's first traffic policeman is stationed at Park Square SOURCE: Berkshire Evening Eagle, 11 June 1912.

1912- September. First parking meters.

1975- The library moves to a new building; the old building becomes the Registry of Deeds.

1985- The Berkshire Eagle reports that in 1985, the information booth at Park Square served 18,094 people from 49 states and 53 foreign countries. SOURCE: Berkshire Eagle, Monday, 9 December 1985.

1986- 18 May- Vietnams Veterans Memorial in Park Square is dedicated. SOURCE: Berkshire Eagle, 18 May 1986 SOURCEhttps://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/wmWM2F_Vietnam_War_Memorial_Park_Square_Pittsfield_MA_USA

1987- 29 June- The Holocaust Memorial at the Courthouse lawn is dedicated. SOURCE: https://www.waymarking.com/waymarks/wmHGM7_Berkshire_County_Holocaust_Memorial_Pittsfield_MA

1992- The Berkshire County Courthouse is renamed the Silvio O. Conte Courthouse, in honor of the long-term Congressman.

(probably after 2011)- The Court Complex is named for Judge Francis Joseph Quirico. SOURCE https://www.hmdb.org/m.asp?m=85253