Welcome

We are open for business!

Our new museum at 4 Oak Street is now officially open! The Pittsfield Historical Society would like to thank all the visitors that joined us on Saturday, July 23, to celebrate the Grand Opening of our new museum. We were honored by the warm reception and participation. If you missed the festivities, please check out the video.

Now you can visit the museum from the comfort of your living room. Please enjoy the Pittsfield Historical Society Tour (below) hosted by Larry Berkson, our Historian.

The Pittsfield Historical Society was founded in 1971 and is presently located at 4 Oak Street, Pittsfield, NH. Generally, we are open to the public every Tuesday from 9:00 am to 12:00 pm for visitors to view our collections or ask questions.  Our telephone number is 603-435-8004, and you may leave a message on our answering machine at any time. We will return your call when our staff is present, on Tuesday morning. You can also email us at info@pittsfieldhistory.com. Please become a member or volunteer to help preserve Pittsfield’s history.

The Pittsfield Historical Society is a New Hampshire, 501(c)(3) charitable corporation.

PITTSFIELD HISTORICAL SOCIETY NEW HEADQUARTERS AND MUSEUM

             The Pittsfield Historical Society started work on the new building in March 2019. The new building is situated on the old Washington Hotel Lot located at the top of Factory Hill, located on Oak Street and Main Street. It is a 30′ x 80′ building with two stories to house all of its artifacts currently stored in several places around town. The Pittsfield Historical Society Directors would like to thank the volunteers who are overseeing the work crews and providing the work effort. Below is a picture of the building, taken on May 18, 2021. For more pictures, please check Progress on New Building Project (updated Oct 2020).

The New Museum from the Oak Street Side

The Pittsfield Historical Society would like to thank all the donors for their generous contributions to the project. The need for a larger museum is great. Presently, archives space is overflowing with documents, pictures, newspapers, and other ephemera. For one person to move from one corner of the room to another, two or three of the volunteers must stand up and move aside. Moreover, there is not a sufficient number of desks to accommodate all of the volunteers.

The museum is so jam-packed with artifacts that it is difficult to distinguish one item from another. Many items are stacked on top of display cases for lack of any other place to put them and are susceptible to being stolen. Further, there is no storage space in the building. The attic is inaccessible and the basement has a dirt floor and is damp.

Finally, the Society has historic items stored throughout town, some in places where they are deteriorating because of existing conditions. The new building will house all of these items. Among them are an 1876 fire wagon, an 1895 hose and reel, a baggage cart from the old railroad station, a historic piano, and artifacts in two tractor-trailers and a basement.

Mission Statement

Pittsfield Historical Society’s mission is to educate the public about the significance of Pittsfield’s past and its relevance and relationship to the lives of the citizens of Pittsfield today. In support of this mission, the Society collects, preserves, and interprets materials about Pittsfield’s history