Pike County, Alabama

Pike County History, Geography, Demographics, Cities and Towns, and Education

County Seat: Troy
Year Organized: 1821
Square Miles: 671

Court House:

P.O. Box 1147
County Courthouse
Troy, AL 36081-1147
Phone: (334)566-6374
Fax: (334)566-0142

Named: The county was named for Gen. Zebulon Pike (New Jersey), a soldier in the War of 1812.

State & County QuickFacts: Census Bureau Quick Facts

History

Pike County, Alabama

Formed on 1821 Dec. 17. The county boundaries changed several times before being set at their current locations in 1866. The county was named for Gen. Zebulon Pike (New Jersey), a soldier in the War of 1812. The first county seat was established at Louisville, later moved to Monticello and finally located in Troy in 1839.

Pike County is located in the southeastern section of the state, in the coastal plain or "Wiregrass" area. It encompasses 672 square miles. A teachers' training college, Troy Normal School, was established in Troy in 1887. Today it exists as Troy State University. Other towns located in the county include Brundidge, Spring Hill and Henderson.

According to the census of 2000, there were 29,605 people, 11,933 households, and 7,649 families living in the county. The population density was 17/km² (44/mi²). There were 13,981 housing units at an average density of 8/km² (21/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 60.77% White, 36.60% Black or African American, 0.66% Native American, 0.35% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.26% from other races, and 1.35% from two or more races. 1.23% of the population was Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 11,933 households out of which 29.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 43.60% were married couples living together, 16.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 35.90% were non-families. 29.80% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county the population was spread out with 24.40% under the age of 18, 15.80% from 18 to 24, 26.00% from 25 to 44, 21.20% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 32 years. For every 100 females there were 89.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 84.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $25,551, and the median income for a family was $34,132. Males had a median income of $27,094 versus $18,758 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,904. About 18.50% of families and 23.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.90% of those under age 18 and 21.90% of that age 65 or over.

Neighboring Counties:

Northeast: Bullock County
East: Barbour County
Southeast: Dale County
South: Coffee County
West: Crenshaw County
Northwest: Montgomery County

Cities:

Banks
Brundidge
Goshen
Troy (County Seat)

County Resources:

Enter County Resources and Information Here

Pike County, Alabama

County Resource Guide

The history of our nation can be seen as a prolonged struggle to define the relative roles and powers of our governments: federal, state, and local. And the names we've given our counties, our most locally based jurisdictions, reflects the "characteristic features of our country!"

But age, size and colorful names of our counties isn't the only reason to explore counties' role in American history, or the history of county government itself. In fact, the story of county government reflects the larger meanings of American history.

Today's counties are the most flexible, locally responsive and creative governments in the US. They are the most diverse, varying in size, population, geography, and governmental structure. In their politics and policies, they express a 1990's political slogan "Think globally, act locally."

Penn Foster High School

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