Pike County, Ohio
county in Ohio, United States
Pike County is a county located in the Appalachian (southern) region of the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2020 census, the population was 27,088. Its county seat is Waverly, and the county is named for explorer Zebulon Pike.
History
Pike County was organized on February 1, 1815, from portions of Scioto, Ross, and Adams Counties, and was named in honor of Zebulon Pike, the explorer and soldier who had recently been killed in the War of 1812.
Pike County was the site of the Pike County Massacre where eight members of the Rhoden family were shot and killed the evening of April 21–22, 2016.
Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 444 square miles (1,150 km2), of which 440 square miles (1,100 km2) is land and 3.7 square miles (9.6 km2) (0.8%) is water.
Adjacent counties
Ross County (north)
Jackson County (east)
Scioto County (south)
Adams County (southwest)
Highland County (west)
Demographics
2020 census
As of the 2020 census, the county had a population of 27,088. The median age was 41.2 years. 23.9% of residents were under the age of 18 and 18.2% of residents were 65 years of age or older. For every 100 females there were 98.2 males, and for every 100 females age 18 and over there were 95.5 males age 18 and over.
Begin with the source’s own compact description: “Pike County, Ohio” is county in Ohio, United States. The dossier treats that line as a proposition to test through Pike, County and Ohio, not as a finished interpretation.
Why this record matters
The phrase “county in Ohio, United States” supplies a clear boundary for inquiry. It also exposes the unanswered questions: who defined that boundary, when it became stable and which sources sit outside it.
The strongest evidence will usually combine a dated visual record with documents produced by the authority responsible for the place. The source revision retrieved here is dated Sep 17, 2026. The linked authority identifier is Q489919. VIAF identifies the subject as 157092183. The Library of Congress control number is n79043984. Authority coordinates are 39.080, -83.070. 4 of 5 selected statements include explicit references; 1 carry qualifiers and 0 use preferred rank. The first chronological checks are 2020, 1815, 1812 and 2016.
Modern boundaries and familiar names can conceal earlier jurisdictions or structures that do not align with the present site. The lead is largely declarative, so disagreement and counter-evidence require a deliberate search beyond the opening account. Authority statements aid reconciliation but still require their own references, qualifiers and ranks to be checked.
How to read it
Treat names, boundaries and functions as historically changeable. Maps, plans, inventories and administrative records can clarify what the place meant at different dates.
- Historic place names
- Jurisdictional context
- Routes into maps and plans
Contemporary maps, plans, listed-building records, estate papers and the responsible local or national archive.
Three-step research path
- Establish the record: confirm the title “Pike County, Ohio”, its source revision and the description used here.
- Expand the search: follow Pike County, Ohio primary sources, Pike County, Ohio archive and Pike research across catalogues and specialist indexes.
- Test the account: compare the strongest cited source with the responsible institution’s current record and note any disagreement.
Questions for further research
- Which source most directly establishes the central claim about “Pike County, Ohio”?
- What physical evidence or contemporary plan supports the description?
- Which authority defined the place, boundary or structure at the relevant date?
Search terms from this dossier
This entry incorporates text from “Pike County, Ohio” on English Wikipedia. Contributors are listed in the page history. Text is available under the Creative Commons Attribution-ShareAlike 4.0 License. Selected authority identifiers and statements are retrieved from Wikidata under CC0; their references and qualifiers remain part of the verification path.