Pike County, Kentucky

Pike County Education, Geography, and History

Pike County is a county located in the state of Kentucky. Based on the 2010 census, the population was 65,024.  The county was founded in 1821. The county seat is Pikeville. The county is named for General Zebulon Pike, the explorer who discovered Pikes Peak.

Etymology - Origin of Pike County Name

General Zebulon M. Pike (1779-1813), frontier explorer who founded Pikes Peak and hero of the War of 1812.

Demographics:

County QuickFacts: CensusBureau Quick Facts

Pike County History

Pike County was founded on December 19, 1821. This county is located in the Eastern Coal Field region of the state.  In 2000 the county population was 68,736 in a land area of 787.69 square miles, an average of 87.3 people per square mile. The county seat is Pikeville. This county is the largest county in the state. Pike is Kentucky's easternmost county, it is also the state's largest county in terms of land area. Pike County is the 11th largest county in Kentucky in terms of population preceded by Bullitt County and followed by Christian County. Pike County is Kentucky's third largest banking center, with financial institutions and holding companies having more than $1 billion in assets. In the five years spanning 1995-2000, personal income increased by 28%, and the county's per capita income exceeded the national and state average growth rates of the past decade. Pike County is the seventy-first Kentucky county in order of creation.

The main population areas of the county include the city of Pikeville and surrounding suburbs and the unincorporated town of South Williamson which is located in the northeast portion of the county.

Geography: Land and Water

As reported by the Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 789 square miles (2,040 km²), of which 787 square miles (2,040 km²) is land and 1.8 square miles (4.7 km²) (0.2%) is water. The elevation in the county ranges from 610 to 3149 feet above sea level.

 Pike county is located in east Kentucky. This county is the largest county in Kentucky. Pike County is drained exclusively by the two forks of the Big Sandy River the Levisa River and the Tug Fork River.

Neighboring Counties

Bordering counties are as follows:

• Northeast: Mingo County, W.Va.
• Southeast: Buchanan County, Va.
• South: Dickenson County, Va.
• Southwest: Wise County, Va.; Letcher County; Knott County
• Northwest: Floyd County; Martin County

Education

Pike County Colleges

University of Pikeville (UPike), Pikeville, Kentucky

Pike County Schools

The Pike County School System consists of 25 high, middle, and elementary schools.

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