PITTSFIELD - SOMERSET CO. - MAINE - 04967

Pittsfield, on the banks of the Sebasticook River, was settled in late 1794; first known as Plymouth Gore, a name that goes back to early land grants under the Virginia Charter of 1606 made by King James of England, incorporated as the town of Warsaw on June 19, 1819, the name was changed to Pittsfield, 14th of February, 1824, in honor of Mr. Pitts, a large landowner in this vicinity.

Pittsfield, Town. Somerset County. Bounds Hartland, Palmyra, Detroit, Burnham, Clinton, Canaan. Area in acres: Land 32,173, inland water 166, bog or swamp 3859, total 32,339. Previous designations Plymouth Gore, Sebasticook, Warsaw. Settled 1794. Organized 1815 as Plymouth Gore. Incorporated June 19, 1819 as Warsaw the 234th town [in Maine]. Parts set off to Twenty-fivemile Pond Plantation, March 17, 1821 and to Canaan February 9, 1824. Part of Palmyra annexed February 12, 1824 [the ell]. Name changed to Pittsfield February 14, 1824. Part of Palmyra annexed February 23, 1828. Parts set off to Clinton March 6, 1830, to Canaan March 12, 1830 and February 27, 1841. Part of Hartland annexed March 11, 1852. Part of Detroit annexed March 12, 1855.

from The Length and Breadth of Maine by Stanley Bearce Attwood

Somerset County Register

Somerset County Town Pages

Somerset County GenWeb Home

Pittsfield Historical Society

One of the oldest known pictures of Main Street in Pittsfield, 1875, features customers in horse-drawn wagons visiting F.E. Dinsmore's mercantile for boots, shoes, clothing and groceries. Also identified is the A.F. Dinsmore establishment; and in the background one can see Maine Central Institute's (MCI) Founder's Hall with its prominent bell tower.

Photo courtesy of Pittsfield Historical Society