Finding recent outings in Goldsboro and Clayton satisfying, I took the camera and headed west on Sunday to do photo profiles of two more communities that I'd had my eye on for a while. Today's post is about the first of those two, Pittsboro, the seat of Chatham County.
Pittsboro caught my eye because of how its longtime original and historic courthouse (shown in photo leading off the post), was built in 1881 and sits in the heart of downtown in the middle of a traffic roundabout. Its use as a courthouse was discontinued this millennium, and the present-day courthouse opened in January 2013. It is situated about two blocks south.
I also was intrigued by the original courthouse because of a controversy when a statue of a Confederate soldier on the grounds since 1907 was removed in 2019, although not without some controversy. On my drive into Pittsboro on Sunday, I noticed a Confederate flag flying from a tall pole on property along East Street (Business Highway 64) a couple miles east of the town center. I couldn’t help but wonder if the flag — on what appears to be private property — had always been there ... or represented one local opponent’s sentiment in response to the decision to remove the statue from the former courthouse grounds.
The original courthouse was seriously damaged by fire in 2010, and when it was restored, a task force recommended keeping the second floor as a courtroom and using the main level as a historical museum. It was listed on the National Register of Historic Places in 1979.
Controversy aside, my visit to Pittsboro was fruitful. Although it is the county seat, Pittsboro is not the largest municipality in Chatham County. That distinction belongs to Siler City, which is west of Pittsboro. Pittsboro’’sent population is 4,537, according to the 2020 census; Siler City’s is about 8,500.
The current Chatham County Justice Center (see photo above) is considerably larger than the 1881 building in the roundabout, with 87,000 square feet of space. It is a multi-story structure in the center flanked on both sides with wings containing one fewer floor. There is an equally expansive two-level courthouse annex (see photo below) positioned between the Justice Center and the historic former courthouse. That's the roundabout lawn you see in the foreground.
The community's town government moved its base of operation a year ago to the rear portion of Main Street Station (see photo below), which sits at 287 East Street and also houses space for retail and office use. Before that move, Town Hall had shared space with the local police department down the road at 635 East Street (second photo below). Today, this building is wholly occupied by the P.D.
In Pittsboro, I also came across and photographed the exterior of two breweries (Havoc and Red Moose), four churches (Baptist, Presbyterian, Methodist and Episcopal) and the Sheriff's Department, which, curiously, is closer to downtown Pittsboro than the local police department.
I also came across two satellite restaurants I am familiar with from visiting their locations in Cary, N.C., a large (population 180,000+) suburb of Raleigh that is part of the metro Triangle in Wake County. They are Doherty's Irish Pub and Big Mike's BBQ.
I started my day early, allowing myself time to use the afternoon to photo profile an interesting residential development in rural northeastern Chatham County. I'll devote a separate post to that visit tomorrow and a third post the following day on the churches I photographed during the trip. To see a full gallery of images from my shoot in Pittsboro (including churches), follow the link in this sentence.
A front/side view of Red Moose Brewery on East Street (above), with one of its delivery trucks (below), which I initially mistook for a fire engine. Above: The Columbus Masonic Lodge #102 AF & AM, which dates to 1838 and has a 9-inch "lean." Using my photo editing tools, I straightened a bit here. Above and below: Perspective and closeup shots of the Yoga Garden at 184 East St. A shopping center (above) on East Street in which TruValue Hardware is the dominant anchor. Below, B&T HVAC at 699 East Street.
Above: Big Mike's BBQ at 440 East Street.
Two more establishments on East Street, including First Bank (above) and an A-frame home housing several enterprises (above). Another view of the old courthouse (above) from the east side and a closeup of its three-stage cupola (below). Above: While I was doing my shoot at the courthouse roundabout, a couple of fire department engines made a real emergency run right in front of me. A tight shot of the county government annex main entrance (above) and a closer look at the objects in the entranceway (below).
Above: A peek at the first few businesses on the north side of Hillsboro Street, the road the front of the old courthouse looks out onto. Above, the beer garden of Havoc Brewery Company and a side view of its facility facing Sanford Road. Below, the brewery's artsy window facade and entrance facing West Street.
Above and below are two views of the section of businesses in a building on the west side of the old courthouse at the roundabout. The southside of the building features a mural depicted in the second and third photos below.
Above, a view of the west side of the old courthouse, taken from West Street. Below, a view of it from its north (and front) side, taken from Hillsboro Street.
Above and below: Closeups of a couple shops in that building with the mural featured above.
Above: The town's welcome center also is near the old courthouse roundabout.
Above and first nine photos below: Looks at other shops lining Hillsboro Street extending north from the old courthouse.
I turned west onto Salisbury Street and came upon the seafood restaurant Postal Fish Co. (above), the Gunn & Messick law offices (below), then turned onto Rectory Street and found the West End Kitchen (second photo below) and ended back on West Street, where I encountered Blossom Floral Artistry and its delivery van (third photo below).
Elsewhere on West Street are the Chatham County Sheriff's Office (above), the sheriff's office annex (below).
Above: At 25 S. Rectory St. is the Twin Rivers Independent Senior Living residence.
Sitting side by side on Sanford Road west of the old courthouse are Doherty's Irish Pub (above) and The Modern Life Deli (below). A closeup of the latter's mural is in the second photo below.
Above and last three photos below feature more views of the present-day Chatham County Justice Center, including a side view integrating nearby spring blossoms into the composition (second photo below) and a rear view of the structure (third photo below).
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