The surface, in the central part of the town, along the valley of Otter Creek, is level and quite productive, containing many beautiful farms, while the eastern and western portions are hilly and less fertile, though containing much good grazing land. The territory is watered by Otter Creek, which flows through the central part of the town from south to north, having many tributaries, of which Furnace Brook is the largest.  Along these streams are meadows of rich alluvial soil, while that in other parts of the town is generally loam, with some tracts which are sandy, and some of clay. The rocks are principally of the Aeolian limestone deposit, containing some excellent quarries of marble. Iron ore is abundant, and manganese is found in some localities. The timber is oak, pine, maple, beech, birch, elm, walnut, poplar &c., and lumbering is carried on to some extent, while from the maple large quantities of sugar are manufactured each year.  The Central Vermont Railroad passes through the middle of the town from north to south. 

      In 1880 Pittsford had a population of 1,983, was divided into fourteen school districts and contained fourteen common schools, employing two male and twenty female teachers, at an aggregate salary of $2,132.80. There were 286 pupils attending, and the entire cost of the schools for the year ending Oct. 31st, was $2,424.44, with Mr. Isaac H. HALL, superintendent. 

      Pittsford, a post village, beautifully located a little east of the center of the town, is composed of three sections, locally known as Pittsford, Hitchcockville and Pittsford Mills, which once were separate settlements, but as they increased in size, gradually approached until they united. It contains four churches, several mercantile and manufacturing interests, a number of fine residences and a good hotel; nearly a mile west of the village is a station of the C. V. Railroad. 

      F. W. SMITH & Co.'s marble quarry is located in the western part of the town, about three quarters of a mile from the C. V. R. R., with which it is connected by a branch track. The deposit of marble at this place is of excellent quality, the belt being from 400 to 600 feet in width and a mile and a half in length. The quarry is 100 by 400 feet, and in its first year, 1880, produced and exported upwards of 26,000 cubic feet of sound marble.  The stock of this belt or deposit having been quite extensively used for the last twenty years, is rapidly growing in popularity, the company now giving employment to seventy-five men, running five steam stone cutting machines, and producing marble at the rate of about 100,000 cubic feet per year, which amount they expect to exceed in the future. 

      The property of the old Central Vermont Marble Co., located on the farm occupied by Geo. H. OSBORN, has not been worked for the last five years, but is now under prospect of reorganization. 

      J. B. FRANKLYN's pulp and paper-mill, located at Pittsford Mills, is operated by waterpower, and employs from 12 to 20 men, manufacturing two tons of pulp and paper daily. 

      J. H. PEABODY's sheepskin moccasin, mitten and glove manufactory, located at Pittsford, was established in 1860, and for a long time was the only manufactory of the kind in the county. He is now doing a large business. 

      Wm. B. SARGENT's wagon-shop, located on road 45, is operated by waterpower, and employs four men. He has also a custom grist-mill in connection with the shop. 

      The Titan Furnace, located on road 15, owned and operated by NAYLOR & Co., of Boston, Mass., is run by both steam and water-power, and engaged in the manufacture of pig-iron. It employs 21 men, consumes 1,200 bushels of coal, producing ten tons of iron per day. 

      EDSON's saw-mill, located at East Pittsford, was originally built in 1797, and is now owned by W. E. EDSON, who manufactures here about 100,000 feet of lumber per annum. 

      About eight years after the granting of Pittsford, 1769, the first settlement was commenced by Gideon and Benjamin COOLEY, from Greenwich, Mass., who were soon after joined by Roger STEVENS, Felix POWELL, Ebenezer HOPKINS, Stephen MEAD, Moses OLMSTED, Edward OWEN, Joshua WOODWARD and others, from Massachusetts and Connecticut, so that at the time of the Revolutionary war there were over thirty families settled in the town, and at the time of the first call upon Pittsford for troops, there were within the limits of the town 38 families and about 195 inhabitants. But few of the men entered the regular service of the United States, but formed themselves into an independent company, numbering some forty members, which was frequently called out on occasions of alarm. Pittsford being a frontier town was particularly exposed to attack by the British and Indians, the latter having in some instances attacked families whom they either killed or carried into captivity, so the inhabitants at an early date took measures to protect themselves as much as possible. Accordingly, in 1777, a fort was constructed on the east bank of Otter Creek, called Fort MOTT, in honor of John MOTT, who frequently acted as commander. This fort, however, proved insufficient security for the people, so in 1779 they determined to build another of superior strength. The site was selected about a mile north-east of Fort MOTT, and the fort completed in June, 1780, and kept garrisoned until the close of the war. Soon after its completion, it was christened  "Fort Vengeance," in record of a vow made by the inmates against the Indians for killing one of their number, Caleb HOUGHTON. 

      The fort at Centre Rutland was made the principal depot of supplies for the troops in this section of the State, and from which the ammunition and provisions were conveyed to the forts at East Rutland, Castleton and Pittsford, as they were needed. But it was found inconvenient to get supplies at Pittsford, on account of there being no bridge across Otter Creek at this place. Accordingly the General Assembly passed an act in 1780, that one should be built, which was done, being the first bridge erected over Otter Creek in the township, and stood near the present Gorham bridge, being built under the superintendence of Benjamin COOLEY. In 1785 this was followed by another bridge, just below the former, and was called the "MEAD bridge." 

      The first grist mill was erected in 1772, by Samuel CRIPPEN; previous to this the settlers had been obliged to carry their grain to Bennington and Charlestown to get it ground, a distance of about sixty miles. The most popular mode of grinding, however, had been that of crushing the grain in a mortar in the Indian style. The second grist mill was built at the mouth of STEVENS' Brook, in 1774, or early in 1775, by Roger STEVENS, Jr. The third was built in 1783, on Furnace Brook, by Elder Elisha RICH The first saw-mill was built about the year 1774, by Jonathan FASSETT, and was located on Mill Brook. In the year 1800, Amos WELLER and Anthony BUTLER built a saw mill on the brook near Mr. BUTLER’s house, and during the same year mills were erected by Stephen JENNER, David CROSS, and Benjamin and Caleb COOLEY. The first fulling mill and works for dressing cloth were erected by Noel AVERY, in 1796, located on Ripley Brook, some twenty-five rods above its entrance into Furnace Brook. The first tannery was carried on by Nathaniel KINGSLEY, who was located in school district No. 2, in 1785. 

      A furnace for smelting iron ore was erected in the town upon the present site of the furnace in Furnace village, by Israel Keith, from Easton, Mass., in 1791, the ore being mostly brought from Chittenden, a distance of two miles, and yielded a fair per cent of good iron, which found a ready sale. The present furnace has passed through a number of hands, and a portion of the time been closed, until now it is operated by NAYLOR & Co., of Boston. 

      In 1827, a foundry was started by Cyrus GIBBS and John COOLEY, located near the mouth of Ripley Brook, and was long known as the "Pocket Furnace.” This was followed by another in 1829, built by Simeon GRANGER & Sons, near the blast furnace. 

      The first marble quarry in the town was opened by Jeremiah SHELDON, in 1795, and was subsequently sold to William BARNES in 1802. Most of the marble used for monuments and building purposes at that early day was taken from this quarry. 

      The town records were accidentally destroyed by fire at an early date, so it is not known just at what time the town was organized, but probably about the year 1770, one year after the first settlement. According to the present records, Jonathan FASSETT was the first Representative, serving during 1778, '83 and '84. 

      The first white child born in Pittsford was a daughter of Felix POWELL, the exact date of her birth not being known, but probably about 1770. The child lived but a few weeks.  The first male child was Alfred, son of Isaac and Elizabeth BUCK, born March 28, 1777, who grew to manhood, became a useful citizen, and died May 23, 1842, leaving several children. 

      There was but one public house in the town before the Revolutionary war. This was kept by Samuel WATERS, on the west side of the creek, near the military road. At what time it was opened for the accommodation of travelers cannot now be determined, though it was known as a public house in 1774. Mr. WATERS kept this house till about the time of Burgoyne's invasion, in 1777, when he fled with his family to Shaftsbury, where he afterwards died. The first public house after the war was kept by Dea. Caleb HENDEE, on the site of Fort Vengeance. On his return from Clarendon, in 1782, he repaired his house, and the following year opened it as a tavern, and continued it as such until 1808, when it was closed to the public. 

      There are four burial grounds in the town. The first was laid out in 1785, though the proprietors intended the ground for burial purposes long before it was regularly laid out, as it was thus used almost from the first instances of mortality in the township. The inclosure contains two acres, and is located on the west side of the road, south-west of the Baptist meeting-house. It is not known whose remains were first interred, but the oldest there is any record of is that of Hannah, wife of Ebenezer DRURY, who died December 12, 1777, in the 35th year of her age. There was a burial ground, at a very early day, on the west side of the creek, on land formerly owned by James HOPKINS. It is situated on the east side of the road, some six or eight rods north of three fragments of a large boulder, which are conspicuously seen from the road. It was used for this purpose previous to 1785. The present cemetery, located a little east of the village, covers an area of about six acres, finely laid out and improved, until now it is a beautiful spot for burying the dead. It was dedicated tin the 4th of July, 1857. 

      Gideon COOLEY was born in the year 1737, and at the commencement of the French war enlisted as a soldier in the cause of his country, and during his service passed through this township several times, and each time became more and more impressed with its beauty and fertility, and after his term of enlistment was over, procured a right of Capt. DOOLITTLE, free, providing he would settle upon it and make improvements. So in company with his brother, Benjamin, he came to Pittsford in May, 1767, made some improvements and planted grain that year, and the year following brought his family, forming the first settlement of the township, where they resided many years; several of their descendants are residents of the town now. 

      Roger STEVENS came soon after COOLEY, building a grist-mill at the mouth of STEVENS' Brook, in 1774. At the breaking out of the war he espoused the cause of England, and his property was confiscated under the proscription act. After the war he settled in Canada, near the Rideau River, in which, some years later, he was drowned while shooting ducks.  His wife did not long survive him. 

      Felix POWELL settled here in 1770, and built a small house on land formerly owned by Isaac C. WHEATON, where he resided many years, his daughter being the first white child born in the township, as previously mentioned. 

      James HOPKINS came to Pittsford in the summer of 1769, and was so well pleased with the township that he purchased two rights of Felix POWELL, a part of which he pitched on the-east side of Otter Creek and a part on the west side; early in the following spring he brought his family and began improvements upon his farm. 

      Richard M. POWERS, from Greenwich, Mass., settled in Pittsford about 1800, on road 46, then known as the "Market Road," from the fact of its being the great highway to and from Troy, where he lived until he died. Mr. POWERS was a farmer. He married Polly CARPENTER, of Wilbraham, Mass., and raised thirteen children, seven boys and six girls.  Seven of his children are now living. His youngest son, Artemus C., lives on the old homestead, near Sutherland Falls. A continuation of the Sutherland Falls marble deposit extends across his land, one hundred and forty rods. Nicholas M., another son, lives in Clarendon, and is a bridge-builder of note. He and his son laid out the wood work of the Philadelphia & Baltimore Railroad bridge across the Susquehanna, at Havre-de-Grace, Md., and of many other important bridges. 

      Caleb HOUGHTON, who was killed by an Indian, July 15, 1780, was the only man killed on Pittsford soil in the defense of his country. In 1873 a monument was erected to his memory by the citizens of Pittsford, bearing the following inscription: 

      The Pittsford Baptist Church, located at Pittsford village, was originally organized Dec. 2, 1784, by Elisha RICH and six others, Elder RICH being the first pastor. The first house of worship was erected in 1785, and occupied till 1795, when the town-house was used. In 1802 the present building was erected, and was kept up a few years, when the society disbanded and the edifice was fast going to ruins, till in 1841 the society was reorganized with fourteen members, and the building remodeled and improved, so that it is now a neat structure, with seating room for 160 persons. The society now has 90 members, with Rev. M. M. MILLS, pastor. 

      The Methodist Episcopal Church, located at Pittsford village, was organized in 1799, by Elder McLAIN, with four members. In 1816 the church building was erected, with a seating room for 300 persons, the property being now valued at $8,500. The society at present has 149 members, with Rev. Andrew HEATH, pastor. 

      The East Pittsford M. E. Church, located just over the line, in Chittenden, was organized in 1851, by Aruna LYON, the first pastor, with thirty members. During the same year they erected a church edifice that will accommodate 150 persons, at a cost of $800, being about the present valuation of the property. The society is now in a prosperous condition, with Rev. J. S. MOTT, pastor. 

      St. Alphonso's Church, (Catholic) located at Pittsford Mills, was organized by their first pastor, Rev. Chas. BAYLEN, in 1870, and soon after a comfortable building was erected. The society now has 450 members, with Rev. J. M. GELOT, of Rutland, pastor. 

Gazetteer and Business Directory of  Rutland  County, VT.;
1881-82, Compiled and Published by Hamilton Child;
Syracuse, N.Y.; Printed at the Journal Office
August 1881, Part Two, Pages 178 - 183.

Transcribed by Karima Allison 2004