The Sutherland-Wilson farmstead, which is located at 797 Textile, has been acquired by Pittsfield Township to be preserved as an historic site. Restoration of the site -- and related programming -- is being undertaken by the Pittsfield Township Historical Society.

Other early families and their farms will be found in the People of Pittsfield section under History

Related Entries

1. Barn Restoration Update
2. House Restoration Update
3. Out-Buildings Restoration Update
4. Sutherland-Wilson Farm Brochure Front | Back
5. Sutherland-Wilson Farmstead: Description

6. Sutherland-Wilson Farm Land Patent, issued 1 December 1830, to Jonathan Meeds, who transferred ownership to Langford Sutherland in 1832.
7. Aerial view of Sutherland-Wilson Farmstead, 1958 Click image to enlarge.
8. Historic Structures Report: Sutherland-Wilson Farmhouse
9. Sutherland-Wilson Barn: An Assessment
10. Harold and Mary Wilson Oral History
11. Ernestine Wilson Meenan Oral History
12. Sutherland-Wilson Farmhouse and the Underground Railroad, an affidavit by Ernestine Wilson Meenan
13. Langford Sutherland Genealogy
14. Lease from Pittsfield Charter Township to the Pittsfield Township Historical Society

Sutherland-Wilson Family

Note: This introduction to Sutherland-Wilson farm and the families that lived there, was written by Mary Campbell, herself a long-time resident of Pittsfield Township.

The Sutherland-Wilson family lived on their farm at 797 Textile for six generations -- from the time Langford Sutherland purchased it in 1832 until 2000. This family may have been continuous residents of the township longer than any other.

[Note: On the Plat Map of 1840, the Langford Sutherland farm is shown northwest of the "double curve" on the Chicago Road (section 29). Langford Sutherland acquired the land from the original patentees of the land (first owners of the land) shortly after the land patents were granted.]

Over the years Langford bought more land. He and his wife, Lydia, had eight children, one of whom, Tobias, made his home on the part of the farm that now is owned and preserved by Pittsfield Township as an historic site.

Tobias married Harriet Knaouse and they had two children, Ernest and Bessie. Ernest and his wife, Delia Rheinfrank Sutherland had an only child, Mildred who married Arthur Wilson; their son, Harold and his wife Mary Roy Wilson continued to live in the beautiful old farm house until 2000. Neal, their only child and his wife Anita Bruder Wilson lived next door in the old tenant house. In later years, the Wilson's rented their land to other farmers, but continued to garden as long as they lived there.

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