Pittsfield Township Introduces Historic District

When the Pittsfield Township Board of Trustees met for the November meeting, they were met with the final report from the Historic District Study Committee.  The committee, which was created in February of 2010, finalized its findings and urged the Board to designate the Sutherland-Wilson Farmstead as the inaugural piece of Pittsfield Township’s Historic District.

“For the first property to be put into [the Historic District], you have to do the study for the property and propose the ordinance for the district simultaneously. After that, if others want to protect their property under that, the ordinance is there to do so,” said Tom Dodd, chairman of the Pittsfield Township Historic Commission.

The idea of a Historic District in Pittsfield Township started in 2000, when Harold and Mary Wilson sold the Sutherland-Wilson Farmstead to the township to be a museum. The Historical Commission oversaw the restoration plan for the farmstead. In 2009, the commission’s annual report asked for the creation of a Historic District to protect the property. The committee was formed in February of the following year.

The Historic District Committee, comprised of eight members of the area, worked diligently for over a year to research and create their recommendation for Pittsfield Township, focusing mainly on the Sutherland-Wilson Farmstead, but also recognizing other locations that could be considered for future additions.  The final report from the committee recommended that Pittsfield Township use the Sutherland-Wilson property as the first piece of the Historic District for the township.

“Janice Harwood has been talking about getting the Harwood Farm included [in the Historic District].  Her great-great grandfather was one of the original settlers of Ypsilanti in the 1820s,” said Dodd. 

At the November meeting, the Board of Trustees received the report and also introduced an ordinance for the creation, maintenance and other functions surrounding the Historic District.  Ordinance #299, if adopted, will not only use the Sutherland-Wilson Farmstead as the first dedicated Historic District, but also outline the requirements and procedures that would be required for a property to be added to the Historic District and the creation of the Historic District Commission, adapting the Historical Commission to fulfill the needs of the new ordinance.

“[The Historic District] protects and preserves history. We want something of the past preserved so that we have a connection to our history and our roots,” said Dodd.