Pittsburg

Duane's take

Here's how the official marker tells it, and I'm gonna give it to you straight. Anglo settlement of this area started in the eighteen fifties, and one of the first families to put down roots was the W. H.

Pitts family. They came all the way from Georgia, arriving in eighteen fifty-four, and they didn't come alone for long. More settlers followed, drifting in from across the southern United States, and before you knew it, there was something worth calling a community.

Now, Pitts himself, who lived from eighteen fifteen to eighteen ninety-eight, did something that a lot of founding figures talk about but few actually do. He donated land for a townsite. And that town, in his honor, was named Pittsburg.

One letter shorter than the Pennsylvania city, and every bit as proud of it. Then came eighteen seventy-four, and that's when things got official. Camp County was created out of Upshur County, and Pittsburg was named the county seat.

That's the kind of vote of confidence a town doesn't forget. The railroads came knockin' too. Not one but two railroad lines were built through the area by eighteen eighty, which in those days was about as close to a golden ticket as a Texas town could hope for.

And the citizens themselves, in eighteen ninety-one, voted to incorporate. Took the wheel, so to speak. Pittsburg today still stands as the transportation, business, marketing, and cultural center of Camp County.

Some towns fade when the moment passes. Pittsburg just kept showing up.

What the marker says

Anglo settlement of this area began in the 1850s. The W. H. Pitts (1815-1898) family arrived from Georgia in 1854, and soon were joined by more settlers from the southern United States. Pitts donated land for a townsite, which was named in his honor. In 1874, when Camp County was created from Upshur County, Pittsburg became county seat. Two railroad lines were built through the area by 1880, and in 1891 the citizens voted to incorporate their town. Pittsburg continues to serve as a transportation, business, marketing, and cultural center for the county.