Pittsburg’s post office opened in 1855, and 1 of its places is on the National Register
More historic than 51% of U.S. towns · #129 of 642 in Texas. What drives it
Most of Pittsburg was built recently: 3% of its homes predate 1940 and the median home dates from 1977. Below: maps from 1885 on and the census since 1880.
Founding year: the first Pittsburg post office (Blevins & Helbock, CC0).
History grade
What drives Pittsburg’s History grade
On its age, its old homes and the National Register, Pittsburg is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #129 of 642 in Texas. Its National Register listings hold the grade up; its share of homes from before 1940 pulls it down.
B−
HistoryA character grade: shown, never part of Pittsburg’s overall grade.
Few Texas towns list much on the Register (a typical Texas town has 0.0 per 10,000 residents, the U.S. 2.4), so Pittsburg’s 151 sits above most of its state (97% of Texas towns have fewer) while its 67 historic buildings outnumber those of 87% of U.S. towns.
How sure. Graded on any two of the three inputs instead, the letter would range from C− to B+. The pre-1940 share is a Census survey estimate (±3.5 points). The founding year is the first post office, not a stated founding date.
Founding year: the first post office (other dates in Quick answers). Homes: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register: National Park Service, May 2026 list; each listing counted once (boundary changes and added documentation belong to their listing), and a historic district counts its contributing buildings. How TownRatings grades history →
What stands out about Pittsburg’s past
Read from the archive, the National Register and the record. The page puts what stands out first.
Fire insurance maps drew every building, what it was made of and what it was used for, so insurers could price the risk of fire. Pick a year, then a sheet.
1885Sheet 1 of 1
Edition
Sheets
BrickWoodStone
Sanborn Map Company, via the Library of Congress. Editions published in 1930 or earlier, which are in the public domain.
Famous people
12 famous people were born in Pittsburg
Writers, athletes, leaders and more, ranked by how widely they’re known.
Wikipedia doesn’t have a history of Pittsburg yet. The photos, dates and memories neighbors add here are how it gets written.
Pittsburg is a city in and the county seat of Camp County, Texas, United States. It is best known as the former home of the giant poultry producer Pilgrim's Corp and of racing legend Carroll Shelby, as well as the popular local sausage, Pittsburg Hotlinks. In 1902, it was the site of an early flight attempt by the Ezekiel Air Ship Mfg Co. With a 2020 census-tabulated population of 4,335, it is the most-populous city in Camp County.
Its first post office opened in 1855. Between the 2010 and 2020 censuses its population fell from 4,497 to 4,335 (-4%).
Intro from Wikipedia. Population: U.S. Census Bureau.
Timeline
Pittsburg, 1855 to 1992
Woven from the archive, old maps, post office records, the National Register and the people born here.
National Park Service, National Register of Historic Places. Photos from Wikimedia Commons, credited on each place’s page.
People over time
Pittsburg, census by census
Between 745 and 4,497 people in every census since 1880.
15 censuses, 1880–2020.
U.S. Census Bureau decennial counts, from the census table on Pittsburg’s Wikipedia page.
Places that used to be
Old corners and burying grounds
Pittsburg’s post office has been open since 1855.
Hamlets and corners on the map
Pecan Heights
1cemetery inside Pittsburg
Rosehill
US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock, CC0). Places and cemeteries from the USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
Questions about Pittsburg’s history
What year was Pittsburg founded?
The Pittsburg post office opened in 1855, the earliest record of the town by name (U.S. post office records).
How does Pittsburg rank for history?
Pittsburg is more historic than 51% of U.S. towns, #129 of 642 in Texas. The History grade combines the town’s founding era, the share of homes built before 1940 and its National Register listings. It’s a character grade, so it isn’t part of the overall grade. How it works.
What is on the National Register in Pittsburg?
One place: the Pittsburg Commercial Historic District (listed 2013).
How old are the homes in Pittsburg?
3% of Pittsburg’s homes were built before 1940 (Census estimate, ±3.5 points), against a typical 1.6% for a Texas town; the median home was built in 1977.
Founding dates: Wikidata, Wikipedia, the U.S. post office records of Blevins & Helbock (CC0) and the Census. Homes by year built: Census ACS 2020–24. National Register of Historic Places: National Park Service (list of May 22, 2026). Old photos, postcards and papers: Wikimedia Commons, the Library of Congress and other public archives, credited on each item’s page. Maps: U.S. Geological Survey historical topographic maps (via Esri) and Sanborn fire-insurance maps (Library of Congress). History text and census tables: Wikipedia (CC BY-SA 4.0). Places that used to be: USGS Geographic Names Information System (2021).
From Wikimedia Commons (4), Wikidata (1), the National Register of Historic Places (1), Wikidata and Wikipedia for famous people, U.S. Geological Survey historical maps, U.S. Census counts (via Wikipedia), the US Post Offices dataset (Blevins & Helbock), the USGS Geographic Names Information System and Sanborn fire insurance maps (Library of Congress). Archive images are copied here with their credits and licenses, shown on each photo’s page. Refreshed monthly.
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