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A−History
History · Pittsfield Township

Pittsfield Township’s post office opened in 1832, and 25% of its homes were built before 1940

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns. What drives it

Its Register listing is the Carlos Avery House. Below: 1 old photo or paper and maps from 1904 on.

1832first post office
1on the National Register
25%homes built before 1940
1old photo or paper
Add an old photoShare a memory
From Pittsfield Township’s archive · credits on each photo
Quick answers

How Pittsfield Township began

When was Pittsfield Township founded?

1832

The Pittsfield Township post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name. Another post office, Pittsfield (1832), opened inside today’s town and later closed.

2020 census: 1,573194 years

How historic is Pittsfield Township?

A−

More historic than 83% of U.S. towns, on its age, its old homes and the National Register.

What drives the grade ↓
Founding year: the first Pittsfield Township post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade

What drives Pittsfield Township’s History grade

On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pittsfield Township is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns. 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 Township’s overall grade.
Founding era1832, from the first post office: founded 1776–1849, an older era than 75% of U.S. townsA−Homes built before 194024.8% of homes (±11.7) · typical OH town 14.5% · U.S. 8.4%A−National Register1 listing, 6.4 per 10,000 residents · typical OH town 2.9 · U.S. 2.4B
All U.S. towns we grade (21,289)Ahead of 83%
NewerOlder

Ohio towns list about as much on the Register as the country (a typical Ohio town has 2.9 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Pittsfield Township’s 6.4 sits above most of its state (68% of Ohio towns have fewer) while its 1 listings outnumber those of 51% 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 (±11.7 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.

Founding year: the first post office (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 Township’s past

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

A history waiting to be writtenOnly 1 old photo is in the public archives. The rest are in attics and albums.On the map since 19043 editions of the USGS map, 1904 to 1973. Watch Pittsfield Township change.Deep rootsA post office since 1832: 194 years of Pittsfield Township.
★ What stands out · Help out

Start Pittsfield Township’s collection

The first neighbors to add old photos shape how Pittsfield Township’s history is told.

Decades since 1900 with photos
00s10s20s30s40s50s60s70s80s90s
1 of 10 decades. The empty ones are waiting for someone’s album.
Retake an old viewPittfield after violent tornado in 1965: stand where they stood+15Share a family photoSign in to add one+10
On the map

Pittsfield Township on the map, 1904 to 1973

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

Pittsfield Township on the 1904 USGS mapPittsfield Township on the 1960 USGS mapPittsfield Township on the 1973 USGS map1904Wellington 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 Township.

Timeline

Pittsfield Township, 1832 to 1965

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

  1. 19th century
  2. 1832Post officeThe Pittsfield post office opens
  3. 20th century
  4. 1904Post officeThe Pittsfield post office closes
  5. 1904On the mapFirst mapped by the U.S. Geological Survey
  6. 1965In the archivePittfield after violent tornado in 1965
The story so far

Pittsfield Township, in brief

Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Pittsfield Township yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.

Pittsfield Township is one of the eighteen townships of Lorain County, Ohio, United States. As of the 2020 census the population was 1,573.

Its first post office opened in 1832. Its population held steady between the last two censuses: 1,581 in 2010, 1,573 in 2020.

Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.

By decade

Pittsfield Township, decade by decade

One decade in the archive so far: the 1960s. Scroll each row; tap a photo for its story.

1960s1 item
Pittfield after violent tornado in 19651965Pittfield after violent tornado in 1965
1970s–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
Today4 recent
Lorain County Joint Vocational School 7-3-25 thumbnail IMG 9296b2025Lorain County Joint Vocational School 7-3-25 thumbnai…Map of Lorain County Ohio Highlighting Pittsfield Township2015Map of Lorain County Ohio Highlighting Pittsfield Tow…MapPittsfield Center intersection2013Pittsfield Center intersectionCarlos Avery House2013Carlos Avery House
Then & now

Stand where they stood

No then-and-now pairs yet. Take a photo from the same spot as an old one and they appear here side by side.

Pittfield after violent tornado in 1965
Retake this viewPittfield after violent tornado in 1965, 1965

Find the spot, match the angle, and add your photo. It becomes the first then-and-now pair on Pittsfield Township’s page.

Retake this view · +15
On the National Register

1 historic place in Pittsfield Township

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

place listed
1
National Historic Landmarks
0
none yet
historic buildings protected
1
each building in a district counts
first listed
1984
Carlos Avery House
Carlos Avery House
Buildings

Architectural styles listings

Greek Revival1
Carlos Avery HouseGreek Revival

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

Famous people

Famous people close to Pittsfield Township

Nobody well known was born in Pittsfield Township itself, so here are the best known from just nearby.

See all →
Tianna Madison-BartolettaAmerican long jumper · b. 1985
David LewisAmerican philosopher · b. 1941
Lynn SheltonAmerican filmmaker · b. 1965
Jason MolinaAmerican singer-songwriter · b. 1973
Ellen R. StofanUnder Secretary for Science and Research at the… · b. 1961
M
Mark PovinelliActor · b. 1971
Places that used to be

Lost post offices, old corners, places now gone and burying grounds

Another post office, Pittsfield, opened and closed inside today’s town.

Hamlets and corners on the map
Pittsfield
Gone or out of use
Dechant Farms AirportairportPittsfield Post Officepost office
3cemeteries and burying grounds inside Pittsfield Township
EastJacksonSouth Pittsfield

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

Stories next door

History across the town line

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

Oberlin11 historic placesALaGrange TownshipIts storyB−New Russia TownshipIts storyCWellington Township6 historic placesACamden Township1 historic placeA

Questions about Pittsfield Township’s history

What year was Pittsfield Township founded?

The Pittsfield Township post office opened in 1832, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).

How does Pittsfield Township rank for history?

Pittsfield Township is more historic than 83% of U.S. towns. 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 Township?

One place: the Carlos Avery House (listed 1984).

How old are the homes in Pittsfield Township?

25% of Pittsfield Township’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±11.7 points), against a typical 15% for an Ohio town; the median home was built in 1971.

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 (5), the National Register of Historic Places (1), U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock) and the USGS Geographic Names Information System. Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.