Pittsburg

Pittsburg, Kansas
—  City  —
Location of Pittsburg, Kansas
Coordinates: 37°24′37″N 94°41′59″W / 37.41028°N 94.69972°W / 37.41028; -94.69972Coordinates: 37°24′37″N 94°41′59″W / 37.41028°N 94.69972°W / 37.41028; -94.69972
Country	United States
State	Kansas
County	Crawford
Area
- Total	12.5 sq mi (32.4 km2)
- Land	12.4 sq mi (32.2 km2)
- Water	0.1 sq mi (0.2 km2)
Elevation	942 ft (287 m)
Population (2000)
- Total	19,243
- Density	1,546.2/sq mi (597.0/km2)
Time zone	Central (CST) (UTC-6)
- Summer (DST)	CDT (UTC-5)
ZIP codes	66762
Area code(s)	620
FIPS code	20-56025[1]
GNIS feature ID	0469594[2]
Website	http://www.pittks.org/

Pittsburg is a city in Crawford County, in Southeast Kansas, United States. It lies 90 miles west of Springfield, Missouri, and 137 miles northeast of Tulsa, Oklahoma. It is the most populous city in Crawford County and in Southeastern Kansas. The population was 19,243 at the 2000 census.

It was founded on May 20, 1876 and named after and in honor of the city of Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania. Franklin Playter is credited with being the city's founder, establishing a government from its earlier incarnation as a coal mining camp in the 1870s.

Pittsburg is the home to Pittsburg State University, founded as a normal training institution. It has always had a strong manual and industrial arts program and has trained many of the area's public and private school teachers.

A relic of the city's coal mining days was the Pittsburg & Midway Coal Company, founded in 1885, and one of the oldest continuously running coal companies in the United States (even though its headquarters moved several years ago to Denver, Colorado after the Kansas mines closed). In September 2007, Chevron which owned the company merged it with its Molycorp Inc. coal mining division to form Chevron Mining thus ending the Pittsburg corporate name.^[3] Midway referred to a coal camp in eastern Crawford County, Kansas that was "midway" between Baxter Springs, Kansas and Fort Scott, Kansas.^[4] Kenneth A. Spencer whose father was among the founders of the company was to play an important role in Kansas and Missouri philanthropy.

Geography

Pittsburg is located at 37°24′37″N 94°41′59″W / 37.410320°N 94.699816°W / 37.410320; -94.699816.^[5]

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 12.5 square miles (32.4 km²), of which, 12.4 square miles (32.2 km²) of it is land and 0.1 square miles (0.2 km²) of it (0.48%) is water.

Education

• Meadowlark Elementary School
• George Nettels Elementary School
• Lakeside Elementary
• Westside Elementary
• Pittsburg Middle School
• Pittsburg High School- 749 students
• St. Mary's-Colgan High School- Private Catholic School
• Countryside Christian School- Private Christian School (K-2)
• Covenant Harvest- Christian School

Higher Education

• Pittsburg State University
• Fort Scott Community College- School of cosmotology & School of Dentistry
• Labette Community College - Cherokee Campus

Public Library

• Pittsburg Public Library
• Leonard H. Axe Library - Library at Pittsburg State University offers community library cards.

Medical

• Mt. Carmel Regional Medical Center serves the area with services such as Regional Cancer and Heart Centers.

Airport

• Atkinson Municipal Airport- Aircraft based on the field 41

Public Transportation

• Bus System – Pittsburg Area Community Transportation (P.A.C.T) has served over 34,000 riders
• Taxi services

Heritage

The city has a rich cultural heritage from many Southern and Eastern European mine workers who settled in and around Pittsburg and Southeastern Kansas. The city was founded in 1876 and incorporated in 1880. It is situated in a once productive coal field. It now relies heavily on education and government-related employment.

Little Balkans Days is a celebration that is unique to Pittsburg. This celebration of the community's European ethnic heritage features games, entertainment, a parade, competitions, and arts and crafts. It is held in conjunction with the Labor Day holiday.

The city is the birthplace and childhood home of broadcast journalism pioneer Paul White, legendary news director for CBS in the 1930s and 1940s.

Demographics

As of the census^[1] of 2000, there were 19,243 people, 7,980 households, and 4,213 families residing in the city. The population density was 1,546.2 people per square mile (596.8/km²). There were 8,855 housing units at an average density of 711.5/sq mi (274.6/km²). The people are 89.73% White, 3.11% Black/African American, 1.08% Native American, 1.94% Asian, 0.17% Pacific Islander, 1.90% from other races, and 2.08% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 3.75% of the population.

There were 7,980 households out of which 25.1% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 38.0% were married couples living together, 11.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 47.2% were non-families. 34.5% 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 2.23 and the average family size was 2.91.

In the city the population was spread out with 20.8% under the age of 18, 24.1% from 18 to 24, 24.1% from 25 to 44, 16.8% from 45 to 64, and 14.1% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females there were 94.1 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.0 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $24,221, and the median income for a family was $36,674. Males had a median income of $26,312 versus $20,132 for females. The per capita income for the city was $15,318. About 13.6% of families and 22.5% of the population were below the poverty line, including 24.2% of those under age 18 and 10.3% of those age 65 or over.

Media

Print

Pittsburg has one daily newspaper, The Morning Sun, published since 1914.^[6][7]

Radio

The following radio stations are licensed to Pittsburg:

AM

FM

Television

The following television stations are licensed to Pittsburg:

Notable natives

• P.J. Forbes — former Major League Baseball player
• Roy Glenn — actor
• Don Gutteridge — former Major League Baseball player and manager
• Vance Randolph — folklorist
• Bill Russell (baseball) – former Major League Baseball player, coach, and manager
• Paul White — broadcast journalism pioneer and CBS news director
• Ralph Berry – Professional wrestler
• Hugh Gillin - actor
• Dennis Rader BTK Serial Killer- Born in Pittsburg

References

External links

• Pittsburg, Kansas in the Kansas Encyclopedia
• Pittsburg, Kansas

v • d • e Municipalities and communities of Crawford County, Kansas County seat: Girard Cities Arcadia | Arma | Cherokee | Frontenac | Girard | Hepler | McCune | Mulberry | Pittsburg | Walnut Townships Baker | Crawford | Grant | Lincoln | Osage | Sheridan | Sherman | Walnut | Washington Unincorporated communities Beulah | Chicopee | Farlington | Franklin | Greenbush