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Although the Hoosac Valley Company was the first Berkshire County Street Railroad to receive a charter, the first to begin operations was the Pittsfield Street Railway which opened its 3.3 mile standard gauge horse car line from downtown Pittsfield to the south end of Pontoosuc Lake on Saturday, July 3, 1886. (The lake is partly in Pittsfield and Lanesboro)


Turnouts were located on.......(several) and at the Berkshire Agriculture Society Fairgrounds on Wahconah Street. The turnout at the Fairgrounds had room for five or six cars. (the Fair was normally held annually in October)

The opening of the horse railroad resulted in a boom in Wahconah Street real estate sales and at Pontoosuc Lake, where the price of cottage lots soared. A Pavilion for dances, band concerts and the like was erected at the lake by the railway, which sponsored baseball games and other events to stimulate riding on the horse cars.

In 1890 assets were turned over to the Pittsfield Electric Street Railway. Later the Berkshire Street Railway. (I find no mention of places like the 'dance hall' etc. ending up with the Berkshire Street Railway. --but Pontoosuc Lake was a very popular stop on the schedule to maybe the 'end' of the Trolley.....)



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More information needed. There seemed to be 3 parks on this lake and not known now if they were the identical park with 3 different names for the same location or different parks at different locations. Pleasure Park and Pontowne Park (maybe a mis-spelling ?) and Pontoosuc Park. The lake was a major destination for the Trolley. The names I think were obtained from the above book. (above is an image) I have been in contact with the author.


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Some confusion if this area was a Park or a general recreation area. In older days it was designated as a Park.


Below is an email I obtained some years ago. (another source)


Email----jesjmskali-at-aol.com

Jim Shulman - May 02, 2004---E-mail:jesjmskali-at-aol.com--Location: Galena, OH---USA---Comments:Pittsfield, MA. Pontoosuc Lake, Gillette Brothers had three carousels in the 50s. I would love to have scans of photos of these or similar carousels. One was likely a carnival style 40 foot Herschell-Spillman, one was a pony cart smaller ride and the last was a wet boat ride. Thanks, Jim


Pittsfield is truly the heart of the Berkshires. The Berkshire Hills of western Massachusetts have long been a cultural mecca and an area of exceptional natural beauty, and Pittsfield, the area's largest community, has always been at the center. The town was the adopted home of such literary luminaries as Oliver Wendell Holmes and Herman Melville, who wrote his classic novel Moby-Dick at his home, Arrowhead. The common at the center of town, now known as Park Square, was the site of the first agricultural fair ever held in the United States. The town's commerce and industry have fueled the region from the early days when Arthur Scholfield operated the only wool-carding machine in America, to the city's more recent role as an innovator in the electrical industry. Pittsfield celebrates the scenic beauty, the cultural heritage, and the inventiveness of the people and places of the town using nearly two hundred vintage images. Inside find Pittsfield's famous sons and daughters, scenic novelties like Balance Rock, the diving horses that performed at Pontoosuc Lake, and the famous trolley wreck that almost killed Pres. Theodore Roosevelt. Also see images from 1850 to 1950 that document life in Pittsfield and illustrate the town's pivotal role in the cultural and economic life of the Berkshires.


CREDITS: EXCERPTS: Berkshire Street Railway-O.R. Cummings-Transportation Bulletin-National Railway Historical Society-1972.


In 1949 two young brothers, Jules and Art Gillette, who worked in one of the mills near Pontoosuc Lake installed some carousels in a grove of trees above the lake off Hancock Road near the dam. The main carousel was a carved horse machine made by the Herschel Spillman Company in Tonanwanda, New York. The other two rides were smaller. One was a wet boat ride with a half dozen aluminum boats taking riders around a circular tub. The other involved a dozen or so small ponies pulling carts also going in a circle. The rides were popular in the summer and remained at the lake for about 20 years. The Gillette brothers went on to greater amusements as a full-time business, developing a traveling carnival, small theme parks and other rides. The Pittsfield based company is still operated by the widow of Jules, Betty, and their son, Jules, and is primarily in the traveling carnival business. No one knows for sure why the carousel at Pontoosuc was discontinued as the carousels were gone by the time Jules and Betty married. Art left the partnership and opened a couple of small amusement parks in NY State, one of which, Magic Forest is operated by his son, Jack. The Gillettes believe the larger carousel was destroyed in a barn fire where it was stored. The wet boat ride decayed and the pony cart ride was used for parts for other carousels.


CREDITS: EXCERPTS: Jim Shulman


The last entry was written by Jim Shulman formerly of Pittsfield, Massachusetts. I received much information from him via emails and even BOUGHT a bunch of postcards off his dotphoto.com site. hmmm..I bought..are they mine ?? I appreciate all assistance BUT this site was never meant to go into detail about any 'so-called Amusement Park' but more of a 'master index of known parks' with a little information if known. (not in-depth)

The last email I got from this person was kinda NASTY and saying to WRITE NO MORE !!! hmmm I exchanged a few emails over YEARS.

He rants about not appreciating ownership of information and images, etc. Everything I have ever posted to the web I try to get permission if the material is not mine. It is not me that is stealing 'web images' (i.e his or his partners) and posting them as mine. geezzz I'm making NO MONEY here. (the last image above of a Carousel was the one at Pontoosuc from 1949 until maybe the 1960's. If it came from the Berkshire Carousel site I have permission to use but actually I got if from ebay..with permission)

I am too sarcastic to deal with. Everybody has their good/bad days and my personality might not be at it's best at times. A 'sorry' is fine in my books but to some people NEVER.

One of the reasons for the contacts to such individuals is to be on the OK as to what is 'theirs' and they do not want public, etc. A major problem evolves when such people seem to own all history (that they got from other people) and a person sort of feels like posting anything about the area is some kind of violation. hey...I lived in Western Massachusetts and have been snooping history since birth and I'm now age 59 ??

I have tons (literally) of old photocopies and to a lesser extent images/pictures except my old slide collections. As to some of the old photocopies I do not have the slightest idea decades later where some things came from.

I do not think one thing on this page came from 'parties' that complain except some text. -excerpts---text




Then I meet the postcard sellers. They own all images ? One postcard seller is telling me all information at the Berkshire Historical Society is under THEIR COPYRIGHT. Books, everything... Books ? I doubt it. If a Copyright the book author or their heirs ? They have the only copy ? Many of these Historical Societies are nothing but big for-profit operations although they love to accept everything for free.

Ironically most everything posted to the web becomes under ownership of the web host. Read the fine print. There are exceptions if posted in 'the fine print'.

My rant is over....