214 of 254 Camp County Courthouse, Pittsburg, Texas. County Population: 12,401
Camp County, Texas
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"Camp County, the third smallest Texas county, comprises 203 square miles of the East Texas timberlands, an area that is heavily forested with a great variety of softwoods and hardwoods, especially pine, cypress, and oak. The terrain ranges from nearly level to hilly; the largest portion of the county is undulating to rolling. The county is located in northeastern Texas, forty miles from the state's eastern boundary and fifty miles from the state's northern boundary. The elevation ranges from 250 to 450 feet above mean sea level.
"The earliest communities in the area were Pittsburg, near the center, and Lilly and Pine, in the southwestern and south central part. In 1855 a post office was also established at Pittsburg, and by 1860 this town had become the most important supply center for northern Upshur County farmers. "Camp County was separated from Upshur County in 1874 and named for John Lafayette Camp, who was serving as state senator from Upshur County and presented the petitions that led to the action of the legislature. A county seat election was held, and Pittsburg won with 500 votes. Leesburg, to the west, received 228, and Center Point, in the southeastern part, received sixty-nine." Cecil Harper, Jr., "CAMP COUNTY," Handbook of Texas Online I visited Camp County on Saturday, June 7, 2014 and photographed the courthouse in Pittsburg, along with the bust of Lonnie "Bo" Pilgrim on US 271, north of Pittsburg. You can't miss it!
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Camp County Courthouse 187?
The first Camp County courthouse. Image courtesy of courthousehistory.com
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This is the 1904-5 Prairie style First Methodist Church in Pittsburg, architect unknown, at least to me. The awkward application of "Sullivanesque" ornament to vaguely "Wrightian" forms is not particularly successful, but it does attract one's attention in this small, east Texas town. And, it allows me to fill in a leftover corner in this webpage. Time to move along...
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Camp County Courthouse 1928
Image courtesy of courthousehistory.com
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Photograph, circa 1939, courtesy of TXDOT
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The front of the Camp County courthouse, on North Avenue. Regardless, the courthouse faces east and slightly south
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The southeast corner of the building. The courthouse cornerstone is visible in this view
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The east façade. The county jail is on the right
The view from the courthouse steps, on North Avenue. That's the county annex across the street
The Camp County Annex. (stone is not a wallpaper)
The south façade with its off-center doors
The city police station is south of the courthouse
A close-up view of the south porch
The west side of the building is truly the back of the courthouse
The Camp County Jail is housed in a variety of buildings on the north side of the courthouse
The south side of the courthouse, viewed from Jefferson Street, the main street of Pittsburg
This is logging country