Pike County, Kentucky facts for kids

Quick facts for kids Pike County
U.S. county
Pike County courthouse in Pikeville
Flag Seal
Location within the U.S. state of Kentucky
Kentucky's location within the U.S.
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
Founded	December 19, 1821
Named for	Zebulon Pike
Seat	Pikeville
Largest city	Pikeville
Area
• Total	789 sq mi (2,040 km2)
• Land	787 sq mi (2,040 km2)
• Water	1.8 sq mi (5 km2)  0.2%
Population  (2020)
• Total	58,669
• Estimate  (2023)	55,973
• Density	74.36/sq mi (28.710/km2)
Time zone	UTC−5 (Eastern)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district	5th

Pike County is a county in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 Census, the population was 58,669. Its county seat is Pikeville. The county was founded in 1821. It is a moist county—a county in which alcohol sales are prohibited but which contains a "wet" city. In three of the county's cities—Pikeville, Elkhorn City, and Coal Run Village—package alcohol sales are legal.

History

Pike County is Kentucky's easternmost county and its largest by land area. It is Kentucky's 11th most populous county, immediately preceded by Bullitt County and followed by Christian County. It is Kentucky's third largest banking center, with financial institutions and holding companies with more than $1 billion in assets. Between 1995 and 2000, personal income increased by 28%, and the county's per capita income exceeded the national and state average growth rates of the previous decade. Pike County is the 71st Kentucky county in order of creation.

Pike County was founded on December 19, 1821, from a portion of Floyd County. The county was named for General Zebulon Pike, the explorer who discovered Pikes Peak and became a national hero and namesake after his death in the War of 1812. Between 1860 and 1891 the Hatfield-McCoy feud raged in Pike and in bordering Logan County, West Virginia (now Mingo County). On May 6, 1893, Pikeville officially became a city and the county seat.

Pike County is also home to former governor of Kentucky Paul E. Patton.

The Appalachian News Express, published in Pikeville, is preserved on microfilm by the University of Kentucky Libraries. The microfilm holdings are listed in a master negative database on the university's Libraries Preservation and Digital Programs website.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has an 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. It is Kentucky's largest county by area.

The county's population centers include Pikeville and its surrounding suburbs, Elkhorn City, and the unincorporated town of South Williamson.

Major highways

U.S. Route 23 passes through the Pikeville Cut-Through, the second largest earthmoving project in the Western Hemisphere.

Pike County has 486.285 miles of classified roads.

Adjacent counties

Demographics

Economy

A coal breaker in Pike County in 1938

A mountaintop removal mine just off of U.S. Route 23 in 2010

Pike County has vast fossil fuel, (coal and natural gas) reserves. It is one of the nation's leading coal and natural gas producers. In April 2007, Pike County announced the first-in-the-nation comprehensive energy strategy developed in partnership with the Southern States Energy Board.

As of 2013 Pike County was Kentucky's second-largest coal producing county, after Union County. Including Harlan County, Perry County, and Martin County, Eastern Kentucky produces nearly 3/4 of all coal produced in the state. Over 150 million tons are produced annually in the state.

The poverty level of counties in the Appalachian region of Kentucky is 24.4%, as compared to the United States Poverty Level of 12.4%. Of the top eight coal-producing counties in eastern Kentucky, Pike County is the only one that does not have a higher poverty rate than Appalachian Kentucky as a whole.

Coal companies in Pike County

• Alliance Resource Partners
• Alpha Natural Resources
• James River Coal Company
• Rhino Resource Partners
• TECO Coal

Economic growth

Tourism is also a major component of the economy in Pike County. In 2012, nearly 300,000 people visited the Breaks Interstate Park on the Kentucky-Virginia border.

Over 1,400 businesses exist in Pikeville. From 2005 to 2011, downtown Pikeville experienced major growth. The Eastern Kentucky Exposition Center was constructed in 2005 and seats 7,000. It features numerous events, such as concerts and shows. The county is also home to the Pikeville Concert Association, which secures events that usually take place at the University of Pikeville's Booth Auditorium.

In 2010, the Pikeville Medical Center received a $44 million loan from the U.S. Department of Agriculture Rural Development program to construct an 11-story office building and adjacent parking garage downtown. Construction was completed in 2014.

The University of Pikeville broke ground on a nine-story building (the Coal Building) on Hambley Boulevard in downtown Pikeville in early 2011 to house the University of Pikeville's School of Osteopathic Medicine.

In 2011, Jenny Wiley Theatre group announced its collaboration with the city of Pikeville to construct a 200-seat indoor professional theater in downtown Pikeville. The theatre opened in 2014.

Healthcare

Hospitals

• Pikeville Medical Center, Pikeville, Kentucky
• Appalachian Regional Healthcare, South Williamson, Kentucky

Education

University of Pikeville

Pike County colleges

• University of Pikeville (UPike), Pikeville, Kentucky
• Big Sandy Community and Technical College Pikeville Campus
• Galen College of Nursing Pikeville Campus

Pike County Schools

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

High schools

• Belfry High School, Belfry, Kentucky
• East Ridge High School, Lick Creek, Kentucky
• Phelps High School, Phelps, Kentucky
• Pike County Central High School, Pikeville, Kentucky
• Shelby Valley High School, Pikeville, Kentucky

Middle and elementary schools

The following lists of middle and elementary schools are categorized by the high school they feed:

• Belfry High School System
  • Belfry Middle School
    • Bevins Elementary
    • Belfry Elementary
• East Ridge High School System
  • Elkhorn City Elementary School
  • Feds Creek Elementary School
  • Millard Elementary School
• Phelps High School System
  • Phelps Elementary School
• Pike County Central High School System
  • Johns Creek Elementary School
  • Kimper Elementary School
  • Mullins School
• Shelby Valley High School System
  • Dorton School
  • Valley Elementary School

Shelby Valley Day Treatment Center, Phelps Day Treatment Center, are all discipline facilities. Northpoint Academy is a high school dropout prevention program that focuses on the students' individual needs. All Northpoint students are there voluntarily.

Pikeville Independent Schools

• High School
  • Pikeville High School, Pikeville
• Elementary School
  • Pikeville Elementary School

Private schools

• St. Francis of Assisi Pikeville, Kentucky
• Christ Central Pikeville, Kentucky

Sports

Baseball

Pike County has had several minor league teams based out of Pikeville. In 1982 the Pikeville Brewers were located in the city. They were part of the Appalachian League and affiliated with the Milwaukee Brewers. In 1983 the team became affiliated with the Chicago Cubs and changed its name to the Pikeville Cubs. In 2010 Pikeville Independent's baseball team finished in the final four at the KHSAA Baseball State Tournament. In 2012 and 2013 Pikeville Junior High baseball finished second in the Kentucky Middle School State Tournament.

Basketball

In 2007, the East Kentucky Miners came to Pike County after the Eastern Kentucky Exposition Center opened. The team played in Pikeville from 2007 to 2010. In 2010, the American Basketball Association opened an expansion franchise in Pikeville called the East Kentucky Energy. In 2010, Shelby Valley High School won the KHSAA Men's Basketball State Championship. In 2011, UPike Men's Basketball won the national championship, defeating Mountain State University.

Football

In 2010, it was announced that the Pike County Crusaders, an Indoor Arena Football team, were coming to the Eastern Kentucky Expo Center, but the initiative failed. In 2011, The East Kentucky Drillers, an Indoor Arena Football franchise, came to the Eastern Kentucky Expo Center. In 2012, the team changed its name to the Kentucky Drillers.

Communities

Cities

• Coal Run Village
• Elkhorn City
• Pikeville (county seat)

Census-designated places

Other unincorporated places

Notable people

See also

In Spanish: Condado de Pike (Kentucky) para niños