Joseph Keeler, Jr

Joseph Keeler from Ridgefield, CT went to Pittsfield in 1762, approaching the age of 50 years old. He uprooted his family of 10 from Ridgefield Connecticut to setter in Pittsfield, MA. Pittsfield was just incorporated, in 1761, and had a promise of jobs (maybe for his sons). He settled first in Lanesboro, then moved to the sough shore of the large lake just across from the town border. This lake had no name at this time. Keeler purchased over 200 acres from one of the town's original settlers, Col. William Williams. His new plot ranged from the soughernmost tip of the lake extending over 100 yards further sough. There, in 1763, Keeler and his sons built the first dam, in order to power two mills he also constructed: a grist mill for grinding flour, and a saw mill. In one respect, it was an ideal spot since his neighbor, Hosea Merrill, ran a lumber operation, taking advantage of the abundance of tall white pines....but there was no road between the center of the new town and this outpost.

 It took four more years for another entrepeneur, Charles Goodrich, to build that road, only to receive the news that the town refused to reimburse him for the cost.  Goodrich had started an iron forge downstream, perhaps taking advantage of the swiftly moving water from Keeler's dam to fuel the bellows for heating the coal fires at the forge.  

  From these origins, from this dam, Keeler's mills and Goodrich's iron forged spawned the early industry of the town.  As ownership passed from these two men on to others, the advantages of the upper reaches of the Housatonic attracted still more enterprising and innovative men.

   The Kee;ers had unloaded their properties by 1813, selling off parcels, including one to James Strandring who set up a tool-making factory about 300 yards south of the dam. Arthur Schofield set up shop in is attic..brought to Pittsfield the makings of a carding machine that would transform the production of wool from a hand-spun industry to the heavy industrial output from the massive brick factories that dominated Pittsfield's landscape over the next 150 years- all powered by water.

  The first upgrade to Keller's dam accommodated a group of investors who bought the site and Strandring's small factory and, half-way between the two, they started the Pontoosuc Woolen Mill in 1826. This mill outlasted 10 other woolen mills in the town, which before the Civil War, helped make Bershire County the largest producer of woolen cloth in the nation, and helped attract to the region the thosands of immigrants from Ireland, Italy, Quebec, Poland, and elsewhere who make up so much of the population now.

Source: John Dickson, local historian of Berkshire and servs on the Pittsfield Historical Commission. published article in the Berkshire Eagle: Present at the creation-the stone marker at Pontoosuc Lake Wed., Jan. 20, 2016, p. 5. Joan Nathan was on family vacation at Jiminy Peak, staying at Vacation Village in Hancock, NY. The paper was read while relaxing in the room, and while granddaughter Coco was sleeping.

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U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Find A Grave 1,60525::0

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1,60525::81188289

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Family Data Collection - Individual Records Edmund West, comp. Ancestry.com Operations Inc 1,4725::0

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Birth year: 1713; Birth city: Ridgefield; Birth state: CT 1,4725::1424273

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@R250381011@ Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,2495::0

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1,2495::8040376

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U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Find A Grave 1,60525::0

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1,60525::81188289

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Family Data Collection - Individual Records Edmund West, comp. Ancestry.com Operations Inc 1,4725::0

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Birth year: 1713; Birth city: Ridgefield; Birth state: CT 1,4725::1424273

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@R250381011@ Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,2495::0

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1,2495::8040376

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U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Find A Grave 1,60525::0

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1,60525::81188289

GEDCOM Source

U.S., Find A Grave Index, 1600s-Current Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. Find A Grave 1,60525::0

GEDCOM Source

1,60525::81188289

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Family Data Collection - Individual Records Edmund West, comp. Ancestry.com Operations Inc 1,4725::0

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Birth year: 1713; Birth city: Ridgefield; Birth state: CT 1,4725::1424273

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@R250381011@ Massachusetts, Town and Vital Records, 1620-1988 Ancestry.com Ancestry.com Operations, Inc. 1,2495::0

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1,2495::8040376

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