History of Pittsboro, NC

Pittsboro was established as a town in 1785; the Chatham County Court House stood on land belonging to Mile Scurlock. In 1787, however, 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.

Pittsboro was once considered as a potential site for both the University of North Carolina and the state capitol. UNC was eventually sited in Chapel Hill and the state capitol was located approximately 30 miles to the east of Pittsboro, in Raleigh.