Pittsford is a town in Rutland County, Vermont, United States. As of the 2020 census, the town population was 2,862. Named for William Pitt, it has two picket forts used in the American Revolutionary War.

History

Pittsford was first settled as a frontier town in 1769, about north of Bennington. It is the location of two historical picket forts used by the militia during the American Revolutionary War: Fort Mott (built in 1777), and Fort Vengeance (built from 1780 to 1781), about a mile north.

The town of Pittsford, New York, was named by Colonel Caleb Hopkins after his hometown of Pittsford, Vermont, named after William Pitt.

The first settlers and founders of Pittsford were the Cooley half-brothers, Benjamin Cooley (b. 1747, d. 1790) and Gideon Cooley (b. 1731, d. abt 1800). Benjamin Cooley joined Ethan Allen, Benedict Arnold, and the rest of the Green Mountain Boys in the first victory of the Colonies over England: the Capture of Fort Ticonderoga on 10 May 1775.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of , of which is land and , or 0.18%, is water. The unincorporated village of Pittsford is in the center of the town.

Demographics

As of the census

  • Thomas E. Drew, former Adjutant General of Vermont and resident of the village of Florence
  • Frederic Williams Hopkins, Adjutant General of Vermont, 1837–1852
  • Samuel Hopkins, holder of first American patent, for pearl and potash process (1790)
  • Jake Lacy, actor (Casey in Better with You, Pete in "The Office"); grew up in Pittsford
  • John Lowth, Wisconsin lawyer and legislator
  • Emma A. Winslow, home economist, researcher, writer

Sites of interest

  • Colburn Bridge
  • Cooley Covered Bridge
  • Depot Covered Bridge
  • Fort Vengeance Monument Site
  • Gorham Covered Bridge
  • Hammond Covered Bridge
  • Maclure Library
  • Pittsford Green Historic District
  • Thomas H. Palmer House

References

  • Town of Pittsford official website