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1897 Map of Pittsfield

Name: 1897 Topographic Map of Pittsfield
Creator: U.S. Geological Survey
Published: 1937
License: https://creativecommons.org/publicdomain/mark/1.0/

USGS Topo · Published 1937

About this map

Canaan Shakers and the spiritual settlement at Mt Lebanon stand as prominent cultural landmarks in this late 19th-century survey of the Berkshire borderlands. The landscape is defined by the industrial and transport corridor of the Boston and Albany Railroad, which connects mountain hamlets like Richmond Furnace and State Line to the urban center of Pittsfield. To the west, the Lebanon Springs Railroad traces the valley through New Lebanon, while the New Haven and Hartford R. R. follows the winding Housatonic River through Stockbridge and South Lee.

Hydro-power drives the local economy at sites like Rockdale Mills, Williamsville, and the Evergreen Mill near Lake Agawam. The geography is characterized by dramatic ridges such as Lenox Mountain and Yokun Seat, which separate the agricultural valleys from the popular recreational waters of Stockbridge Bowl and Pontoosuc Lake. Local history and genealogy researchers can find significant detail in the naming of small stations and communities, including Edwards Station, Barkerville, and Curtisville.