PITTSBORO, NORTH CAROLINA

'Pittsboro' is a town in Chatham County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 2,226 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Chatham County. The town is served by three local schools; Pittsboro Elementary School, Horton Middle School, and Northwood High School.

Contents

History

Development Controversy

Geography

Demographics

External links

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

Development Controversy

Pittsboro has recently become the center of a heated controversy regarding new real estate development. Because of its proximity to nearby cities such as Raleigh, Durham, and Chapel Hill, real estate and commercial developers have taken an interest in Pittsboro. This is especially true for land to the north and east of the town, which is closer to the aforementioned cities. At least one subdivision is planned for this area which will have a population larger than Pittsboro itself.
New development is controversial for several reasons:

★ The worry about environmental damage to the already endangered Jordan Lake/Haw River watershed

★ The lack of major retail means many new residents could live in Pittsboro but shop elsewhere

★ Economic growth with unpredictable effects on local businesses

★ The risk of having a Bedroom community due to limited local employment opportunities

★ Changes to the "small town" lifestyle

★ Strain on Pittsboro's aging and fragile water infrastructure

★ Population increase may overcrowd local schools

★ Anti-growth activists may block new retail shops that could serve the community

★ Rising property taxes due to increase in land value that may not be affordable to long-time residents

★ Increased traffic and congestion, leading to lower air quality and noise pollution
The influx of developers has led to the formation of some citizens' action groups, such as the Chatham Coalition, Chatham Conservative Voice, Chatham Citizens for Effective Communities, and Chatham First. Through active involvement in local government, some of these groups have urged town and county politicians to closely examine the effects of urbanization and create regulations which protect the natural resources and rural character of the area at the expense of local land owner's property rights. Others have defended property owner's rights to use their land as they please, including as a nest egg as many long time residents do.

Geography

Pittsboro is located at (35.720332, -79.176393).
According to the United States Census Bureau, the town has a total area of 8.8 km² (3.4 mi²). 8.7 km² (3.4 mi²) of it is land and 0.1 km² (0.04 mi²) of it (0.89%) is water.

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 255.8/km² (663.1/mi²). There were 939 housing units at an average density of 107.9/km² (279.7/mi²). The racial makeup of the town was 64.38% White, 27.54% African American, 0.49% Native American, 0.67% Asian, 0.04% Pacific Islander, 4.99% from other races, and 1.89% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 8.81% of the population.
There were 855 households out of which 29.0% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 40.9% were married couples living together, 18.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 37.4% were non-families. 32.3% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.7% 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% from 18 to 24, 28.7% from 25 to 44, 19.6% from 45 to 64, and 21.5% 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% of families and 18.3% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.3% of those under age 18 and 13.7% of those age 65 or over.

External links