Editing Pittsburg, Oklahoma (section)

== History ==
The first settlement of present day Pittsburg by non-[[indigenous peoples]] was in 1899 when Daniel Edwards, accompanied by son Thomas, placed a coal shaft two miles east of Kiowa, in [[Choctaw Nation]]. In 1903, the [[United States Postal Service]] established a post office in Cowpers and appointed Daniel Edwards as postmaster.<ref>Betty Wood Blessing, “Pittsburg,” The Encyclopedia of Oklahoma History and Culture, https://www.okhistory.org/publications/enc/entry.php?entry=PI015. Oklahoma Historical Society.</ref> Its name was changed to Edwards, Indian Territory, on September 3, 1903, and to Pittsburg, Oklahoma, on August 27, 1909. During its time as Edwards, it was named for J.R. Edwards, a coal operator. Its newest name, Pittsburg, commemorates the county which was created at Oklahoma's statehood in 1907.<ref>Shirk, George H.  'Oklahoma Place Names'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1965), pp. 70 & 167.</ref>

At the time of its founding, the community was located in the [[Moshulatubbee District]] of the [[Choctaw Nation]]. The town was in the area of the boundary between [[Atoka County, Choctaw Nation|Atoka]] and [[Tobucksy County, Choctaw Nation|Tobucksy counties]], and differing maps of the era placed it in each.<ref>Morris, John W. ''Historical Atlas of Oklahoma'' (Norman: University of Oklahoma Press, 1986), plate 38.</ref>