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A−History
History · Pittsfield

Pittsfield dates to 1819, and 31% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns · #62 of 143 in Maine. What drives it

4 places in town are on the National Register. Below: 13 old photos and papers, maps from 1885 on, and the census since 1820.

1819founded
4on the National Register
31%homes built before 1940
13old photos & papers
7famous people
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pittsfield’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pittsfield began

When was Pittsfield founded?

1819

Pittsfield dates its founding to 1819 (Wikidata). The census first counted it in 1820.

First census: 315 in 18202020 census: 3,908207 years

How historic is Pittsfield?

A−

More historic than 85% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: Wikidata. First post office: 1824.The full story ↓
History grade

What drives Pittsfield’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pittsfield is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #62 of 143 in Maine. All 3 inputs are above most U.S. towns; its share of homes from before 1940 ranks highest and its National Register listings lowest.

A−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pittsfield’s overall grade.
Founding era1819, from Wikidata: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194031.4% of homes (±7.1) · typical ME town 19.1% · U.S. 8.4%ANational Register4 listings, 10.2 per 10,000 residents · typical ME town 15.9 · U.S. 2.4B−
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 85%
NewerOlder
Maine towns of 2,500+ (143)Ahead of 57%

Maine towns list more on the Register than most of the country (a typical Maine town has 15.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Pittsfield’s 10.2 sits near the middle of its state (42% of Maine towns have fewer) while its 4 listings outnumber those of 68% of U.S. towns.

How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from B+ to A. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±7.1 points). Two sources give 1819.

Founding year: Wikidata (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →

What stands out about Pittsfield’s past

Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.

Lost villages2 post offices opened and closed inside today’s Pittsfield, and 8 old place names are still on the map.Then and nowOne place photographed years apart. Drag to compare.Mapped building by building5 fire insurance maps, 1885 to 1914, drew every building in Pittsfield.A town in postcards13 old photos, postcards and papers, 1889–1954.
★ What stands out · Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners and burying grounds

Pittsfield’s post office has been open since 1825. Two other post offices opened and closed inside today’s town.

Warsaw
1824–1825
Pittsfield
1825–today
West Pittsfield
1862–1903
18201920today
Hamlets and corners on the map
Burton CornerEmerson CornerMosher CornerNash CornerPhillips CornerTilton CornerWaverleyWeeks Corner
5cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pittsfield
CarrPittsfield VillageWest PittsfieldWeymouthWilson

US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

Then & now

The same spot, years apart

Drag across each photo to compare.

Pittsfield Public LibraryPublic Library, Pittsfield, Maine (65566)c. 1930Today
Public Library, Pittsfield, Maine (65566)Matched from the two captions
Every building

Pittsfield, building by building, 1885–1914

Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.

Pittsfield fire insurance map, 1885, sheet 11885Sheet 1 of 2
Edition
BrickWoodStone

Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.

The story

How Pittsfield came to be

From Wikipedia’s history of Pittsfield.

Read it all →

The area was part of the Kennebec Purchase. First called Plymouth Gore, it was settled in 1794 by Moses Martin and his family from Norridgewock. In 1815, the town was organized as the Plantation of Sebasticook, but was incorporated on June 18, 1819, as Warsaw after Warsaw, Poland. In 1824, the name was changed to Pittsfield after William Pitts of Boston, a large landowner after Maine's independence as there was a Pittsfield incorporated already in Massachusetts.

Text from Wikipedia, licensed CC BY-SA 4.0.

Timeline

Pittsfield, 1819 to 1954

Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.

  1. 19th century
  2. 1819
    FoundingPittsfield is established
  3. 1824Post officeThe Warsaw post office opens
  4. 1825Post officeThe Warsaw post office closes
  5. 1825Post officeThe Pittsfield post office opens
  6. 1836Born hereLlewellyn Powers is born here
  7. 1862Post officeThe West Pittsfield post office opens
  8. 1874Born hereArthur Millett is born here
  9. 1877Born hereCarl E. Milliken is born here
  10. 1889In the archivePittsfield, Maine
  11. 1898BuiltPittsfield Universalist Church is built
  12. 20th century
  13. 1903BuiltPittsfield Public Library is built
  14. 1903Post officeThe West Pittsfield post office closes
  15. 1904In the archiveCarnegie Library
  16. 1912Born hereNathaniel M. Haskell is born here
  17. 1930In the archiveAlong the beautiful Sebasticook River, Pittsfield, Maine (65565)
  18. 1932On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  19. 1954In the archiveProject Blue Book report - 1954-04-6781249-Pittsfield-Maine
By decade

Pittsfield, decade by decade

4 decades in the archive, from the 1880s to the 1950s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1880s–1930s9 items
Pittsfield, Maine1889Pittsfield, MaineCarnegie Library1904Carnegie LibraryCarnegie Library1904Carnegie LibraryPublic Library1906Public LibraryPostcardAlong the beautiful Sebasticook River, Pittsfield, Maine (65565)c. 1930Along the beautiful Sebasticook River, Pittsfield, Ma…PostcardBridge and Universalist Church, Pittsfield, Maine (65567)c. 1930Bridge and Universalist Church, Pittsfield, Maine (65…PostcardLancey House Hotel, Pittsfield, Maine (65569)c. 1930Lancey House Hotel, Pittsfield, Maine (65569)PostcardPublic Library, Pittsfield, Maine (65566)c. 1930Public Library, Pittsfield, Maine (65566)PostcardSebasticook Woolen Mill, Pittsfield, Maine (65568)c. 1930Sebasticook Woolen Mill, Pittsfield, Maine (65568)Postcard
1950s1 item
Project Blue Book report - 1954-04-6781249-Pittsfield-Maine1954Project Blue Book report - 1954-04-6781249-Pittsfield…Book
1960s–1990snothing yet
Nothing in the archives for these yearsWeddings on Main Street, storms, parades, school pictures, the old store. If it’s in your family album, it belongs here.
Add from your album
Date unknown3 to date
Perkin's & Vickery BlocksDate?Perkin's & Vickery BlocksPostcardPittsfield, ME Looking NorthDate?Pittsfield, ME Looking NorthPostcardSomerset AvenueDate?Somerset AvenuePostcard
Today18 recent
Pittsfield, Maine2025Pittsfield, MainePittsfieldME UniversalistChurch2022PittsfieldME UniversalistChurchPittsfield, Maine2012Pittsfield, MainePittsfield, Maine2012Pittsfield, MainePittsfield, Maine2012Pittsfield, MainePittsfield, Maine2012Pittsfield, MainePittsfield, Maine2012Pittsfield, MainePittsfield, Maine2012Pittsfield, MainePittsfield, Maine2012Pittsfield, MainePittsfield, Maine2012Pittsfield, MainePittsfield, Maine2012Pittsfield, MainePittsfield, Maine2012Pittsfield, MainePittsfield, Maine2012Pittsfield, MainePittsfield, Maine2012Pittsfield, MainePittsfield, Maine2012Pittsfield, MainePittsfield, Maine2012Pittsfield, Maine2010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map for20102010 Census Urban Cluster Reference Map forBookPittsfield, Maine2008Pittsfield, Maine
On the map

Pittsfield on the map, 1932 to 1982

Every edition of the U.S. Geological Survey’s map of Pittsfield. Tap a year, or press play to watch the town change.

Pittsfield on the 1932 USGS mapPittsfield on the 1955 USGS mapPittsfield on the 1975 USGS mapPittsfield on the 1982 USGS map1932Pittsfield sheet · 1:62,500

U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (public domain), via Esri’s collection of the scans. The red ring marks the center of Pittsfield.

On the National Register

4 historic places in Pittsfield

The country’s official list of buildings and places worth saving.

places listed
4
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
4
each building in a district counts
first listed
1979
Founders Hall
Founders HallPittsfield Railroad StationPittsfield Public Library, built 1903Pittsfield Universalist Church, built 1898
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Italianate2
Stick Style1
Beaux Arts Style1
Queen Anne1
Founders HallItalianate
Pittsfield Railroad StationItalianate
Pittsfield Public LibraryBeaux Arts Style · Built 1903
Pittsfield Universalist ChurchQueen Anne · Built 1898

National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.

People over time

Pittsfield, census by census

05001,0001,5002,0002,5003,0003,5004,0004,5001850190019502000Peak: 4,274

Between 315 and 4,274 people in every census since 1820.

21 censuses, 1820–2020.

U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Pittsfield’s Wikipedia page.

Famous people

7 famous people were born in Pittsfield

Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.

See all →
C
Carl E. MillikenAmerican politician, 51st Governor of Maine · b. 1877
Llewellyn PowersAmerican politician · b. 1836
Nathaniel M. HaskellAmerican politician in Maine · b. 1912
A
Arthur MillettAmerican actor · b. 1874
Hugh PendexterAmerican novelist and screenwriter · b. 1875
H
Harold FurnessAmerican cricketer · b. 1887
Help out

Finish Pittsfield’s story

Most archives stop around 1920. The photos from after that are in family albums, not libraries.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
3 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Date a photo3 archive items have no date. Guess the decade.+2Retake an old viewPittsfield, Maine: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
Stories next door

History across the town line

Each neighbor’s History grade, on the same three inputs.

Burnham1 historic placeA−DetroitIts storynot graded: under 1,000 residents or part of its townHartlandIts storyBCanaanIts storyCClinton1 historic placeBPalmyraIts storyC+

Questions about Pittsfield’s history

What year was Pittsfield founded?

In 1819, according to Wikidata. Pittsfield’s post office opened in 1824, and the census of 1820 counted 315 people here.

How does Pittsfield rank for history?

Pittsfield is more historic than 85% of U.S. towns, #62 of 143 in Maine. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.

What is on the National Register in Pittsfield?

4 listings: 4 buildings, among them the Founders Hall (listed 1979, the first).

How old are the homes in Pittsfield?

31% of Pittsfield’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±7.1 points), against a typical 19% for a Maine town; the median home was built in 1970.

Memory lane

What the archives can’t tell you, neighbors can.

Town Square →
Start a conversation
Sources

Where this page comes from

Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).

From Wikimedia Commons (29), the Library of Congress (2), Wikidata (3), the National Register of Historic Places (4), Wikipedia, Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.