Pittsboro, North Carolina

Pittsboro, North Carolina is a town located in Chatham County, 34 miles southwest of Raleigh, 47 miles southeast of Greensboro, and 17 miles south of Chapel Hill. The population was 3,743 at the 2010 census. It is the county seat of Chatham County.

Town history
Pittsboro was established as a town in 1785. The Chatham County Court House stood on land belonging to Miles Scurlock; however, in 1787, the legislature declared that a town could not be established on Scurlock's land. The town's trustees instead purchased adjacent land belonging to William Petty and laid out the town. That same year, Pittsboro was officially named the county seat. Although Chatham County is named for William Pitt, 1st Earl of Chatham, Pittsboro is named for his son, William Pitt the Younger.

Pittsboro was once considered as a potential site for both the University of North Carolina and the state capitol. UNC was eventually sited in Chapel Hill, while the state capitol was located approximately 34 miles to the northeast of Pittsboro, in Raleigh.

Charles M. Stedman, the last Civil War veteran to serve in Congress, was born in Pittsboro on January 29, 1841.

City government

 * Mayor: Randy Voller
 * Commissioners: Pamela Baldwin, Gene Brooks, Clinton Bryan III, Hugh Harrington, Michael A Fiocco

Educational facilities
The town is served by four local schools; Pittsboro Elementary School, Horton Middle School, Northwood High School, and Central Carolina Community College (CCCC), Chatham County Campus.

Media outlets

 * Newspapers
 * Chatham Journal (weekly, based in Pittsboro)
 * The Chatham News (daily, based in Siler City)
 * The Chatham Record (daily, based Pittsboro)


 * Network television
 * WTVD (ABC affiliate)
 * WRAL-TV (CBS affiliate)
 * WGHP (FOX affiliate)
 * WNCN (NBC affiliate)

Geography
Pittsboro is located at °N, °W (35.720332, -79.176393).

According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 3.4 square miles (8.8 km²), of which, 3.4 square miles (8.7 km²) of it is land and 0.04 square miles (0.1 km²) of it (0.89 percent) is water.

Pittsboro is located twelve miles from Chapel Hill and the University of North Carolina, twenty-five miles from Durham, Duke and NC Central Universities, and thirty five miles from Raleigh, the state capital, NC State University, Meredith and Peace Colleges. At the geographic center of the state, it is one hundred fifty miles from Wilmington at the coast and the same from Boone in the Blue Ridge Mountains.

Jordan Lake is five miles east, providing recreation, fishing, boating and scenic panoramas. The lake is fourteen thousand acres of surface and provides water for Raleigh and the town of Cary.

Demographics
As of the census of 2000, there were 2,226 people, 855 households, and 535 families residing in the town. The population density was 663.1 people per square mile (255.8/km²). There were 939 housing units at an average density of 279.7 per square mile (107.9/km²). The racial makeup of the town was 64.38 percent White, 27.54 percent African American, 0.49 percent Native American, 0.67 percent Asian, 0.04 percent Pacific Islander, 4.99 percent from other races, and 1.89 percent from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.81 percent of the population.

There were 855 households out of which 29.0 percent had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9 percent were married couples living together, 18.7 percent had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4 percent were non-families. 32.3 percent of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7 percent had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.34 and the average family size was 2.97.

In the town the population was spread out with 22.9% under the age of 18, 7.3 percent from 18 to 24, 28.7 percent from 25 to 44, 19.6 percent from 45 to 64, and 21.5 percent who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 39 years. For every 100 females there were 80.7 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 75.0 males.

The median income for a household in the town was $35,800, and the median income for a family was $42,391. Males had a median income of $29,500 versus $26,719 for females. The per capita income for the town was $16,863. About 19.2 percent of families and 18.3 percent of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.3 percent of those under age 18 and 13.7 percent of those age 65 or over.

Economy
Once home to textiles, the largest clothing label mill in the world, and poultry, it now depends on commuter income, retail stores and a developing business in genetics. Housing developments provide relief from loss of industry as the town adjusts to a new economy.

The water supply is abundant, derived from the Haw River and, in the future, Jordan Lake. In 2010, the wastewater allotment was expanded. Being fifteen and twenty-five miles from major power plants, the supply of power is plentiful. Major corridor highways, US 15-501 and US 64, a four lane divided highway, intersect there.

Pittsboro is home to the Chatham county government and many non-profit agencies. and other social service organizations.
 * American Livestock Breeds Conservancy
 * Chatham County Arts Council
 * Carolina Farm Stewardship Association
 * Rural Advancement Fund

Local currency: the PLENTY
Some citizens of Pittsboro have revitalized a local form of currency called the PLENTY. It was created in 2002. In 2009, it was being exchanged at a local bank at the rate of $9 for every $10 of PLENTY. Local resident Lyle Estill, president of a Pittsboro company named Piedmont Biofuels, which accepts the PLENTY, told USA Today that: "We're a wiped-out small town in America. This will strengthen the local economy ... The nice thing about the PLENTY is that it can't leave here." Estill claims to have been misquoted, but regardless, the article brought Pittsboro into the spotlight of national and international media.

Chatham County Courthouse fire
On March 25, 2010, the Chatham County Courthouse (pictured above), while undergoing a $415,000 exterior renovation, caught fire. Smoke was first reported in the area around 4:15 p.m.; the fire was dispatched to the Pittsboro Fire Department around 4:45 p.m. By 5 p.m., smoke was reported to be rising from out of the clock tower, which was surrounded by scaffolds. The building was evacuated safely.

The building suffered severe damage to the clock tower and the third floor. It was reported that the fire had destroyed all the computers and records, but that there are offsite copies and the information should be recoverable.

On March 26, 2010, at approximately 1 a.m., the clock tower collapsed onto the main building, causing the entire structure to collapse onto its foundation and leaving only the building's facade intact. Overall, 11 local fire companies participated in extinguishing the blaze.

The fire marshal's investigation into the fire, determined that it was caused by a lit soldering torch that fell onto some wood, which in turn, started a small fire. Workers attempted to extinguish the blaze, but were unsuccessful in their efforts. On Wednesday, March 31, 2010, the Chatham County Commissioners voted in favor of rebuilding the courthouse.