Pittsburg, Texas

Pittsburg, Texas (population 4,347), the Camp County Seat, is 19 miles N of Gilmer and 14 miles S of Mount Pleasant.

Pittsburg is the largest and the oldest town in the county. Caddo and Cherokee Indians resided in the area during the early 1800s, but they had for the most part abandoned the area before settlers began arriving from Georgia, Tennessee, and Alabama in the late 1830s. A community began to emerge in the 1850s, and when the post office was established in 1855 it was named Pittsburgh, in honor of the family of William Harrison Pitts. (from Handbook of Texas Online)

The Prayer Tower in Witness Park - the tower features four Paccard bells from France and a chapel that never closes.

Witness Park - the statue is titled Jesus Washing Peter's Feet
Pilgrim Bank - Pilgrim's Pride has a strong presence in Pittsburg


1931 Frank Sexton Lodge


Camp County Courthouse (c. 1928, Texas Renaissance style - dominant design from about 1900 until the 1930s)

The brick, Prairie Style, First Methodist Church (c. 1904-05)
One can't escape from Pilgrim's Pride in Pittsburg.



W.L. Garrett Building (c. 1890s)

Main Street, with Pilgrim's Pride silos looming in background
I can imagine for employees of Pilgrim's Pride who live in or near Pittsburg, it must feel like there is never an escape from their employer. First of all, Pittsburg is the company's headquarters and the location of the distribution center and recently opened Pilgrim's Pride World Headquarters Park. Sitting in front of the distribution center is something that almost caused me to run off the road (a frequent experience for me on these explorations of Texas towns). This is just a tad bit megalomaniacal, and completely bizarre:

Giant Bo Pilgrim head
Statue of Bo Pilgrim with a chicken (Henrietta) sitting in an unfortunate location (for a chicken).