Prince Pig in Pittsfield

A long time ago, in a far away land (actually, Pike County), there was a statue of a pig.

This pig statue's home was on the courthouse lawn in my hometown of Pittsfield, Illinois. It was on the south east side of the courthouse lawn where everybody could see it as they drove into town. I think the pig was made back in the 1960s. But what made it so great that many people came to see it was the way it was made. Several men helped in making the pig, or as we call him in Pike County, "Prince Pig."

He was made out of iron, and he stood proudly for many years on that same corner in Pittsfield. But through rain, snow, ice and vandalism, it began to fall apart and rust like crazy. Something else happened to Prince Pig. Someone stole him from the courthouse lawn. Nobody knew how it happened, the statue just vanished. The sheriff, the state police and the local police did not have a clue as to where Prince Pig was.

So the local men who made Prince Pig in the first place got to work and made a brand new Prince Pig, bigger and much stronger. So this weekend in Pittsfield, Prince Pig 2 will be basking in the sunshine on that same corner where he was in the first place. So if you are at the Pittsfield Fall Festival this weekend, say hi to the pig, Prince Pig of Pike County!