Pike

Formed September 21, 1816 (16^th county)

Pike County (12,252), Petersburg (2,302)

A yellow brick Neo-Classical courthouse was built in 1921.  It is situated on a square at 9^th, Walnut, 8^th, and Main streets.  Indiana State Highway 57 is Main Street in the town.  Elmer Dunlap and Company are the building architects.  There was an 1868 courthouse also in Petersburg, the only county seat.  The county was established on September 21, 1816 as the 16^th county and named for explorer Zebulon Pike.  The county is taken from parts of Gibson and Perry counties.  The county seat is named for settler Peter Brenton. 

Pike County government consists of a sheriff, an auditor, a clerk, a coroner, a treasurer, and an assessor (executive).  It has 7 Council Members (legislative.)  A Circuit Court Judge and a prosecutor serve Pike County (judicial.) The county is in southwest Indiana.  Evansville, Indiana is southwest and Indianapolis, Indiana is northeast of the county.  The White River forms its northern border.  The county center is 6 miles South of Petersburg nearer Glezen.  The county is surrounded clockwise by Daviess, Dubois, Warrick, Gibson, and Knox counties. 

The area of the county is 334 square miles.  It is 74 out of 92 in the state.   It ranks 84 out of 92 in population in the state.  It has a density of 36.7 persons per square mile making it 85 out of 92 in the state.  Pike County has 26.4% of its population in its incorporated areas.  There are no Interstate Highways or United States Highways in the county.  The county is shaped like the number 9.  Petersburg is located in the northern quarter of the county.  Petersburg is the county seat and the largest city.  It is 18.8% of the county population.  This county is in the Jasper Micropolitan Statistical Area.