Pike County, Kentucky

Pike County is a located in the  of. As of 2000, the population was 68,736. Its is. Pike is the largest county in land area in.

With regard to the sale of, it is classified as a —a county in which alcohol sales are prohibited (a ), but containing a "wet" city, in this case Pikeville, where package alcohol sales are allowed.

Office of Pike County Judge Executive
The office of Pike County is one of Kentucky's most powerful local offices and served as a launching pad for the governorship of  (1995-2003).

Pike County Judge/Executives Since 1942

 * 1938-1942 Ted Kennedy (D)
 * 1942-1946 Hi Pauley (R)
 * 1946-1948 J.W. Pruitt (D)
 * 1948-1965 Ervin S. Pruitt (D)
 * 1965-1970 Bill Pauley (R)
 * 1970-1974 Wayne T. Rutherford (D)
 * 1974-1978 Wayne T. Rutherford (D)
 * 1978-1982 Wayne T. Rutherford (D)
 * 1982-1986 Paul E. Patton (D)
 * 1986-1990 Paul E. Patton (D)
 * 1990-1991 Paul E. Patton (D)
 * 1991-1992 Stirl Eddie Harris (D)
 * 1992-1994 Wayne T. Rutherford (D)
 * 1994-1999 Donna Damron (D)
 * 1999-2003 Karen F. Gibson (R)
 * 2003-2007 William M. Deskins (D)
 * 2007-    Wayne T. Rutherford (D)*

* Marks a record 5th term for Democrat Wayne T. Rutherford after defeating William M. Deskins in the Primary and Stirl Eddie Harris (R) in the General Election

History
Pike county was founded on,. The county was named for, the explorer who discovered. Between and  the  raged in Pike and bordering.

Pike County is also home to former governor,.

Pike County has trademarked itself as America's Energy CapitalTM, because of its vast coal and natural reserves. Pike County 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 which was developed in partnership with the Southern States Energy Board in Atlanta, Georgia.

Geography
According to the, the county has a total area of 2,043 (789 ). 2,040 km² (788 sq mi) of it is land and 3 km² (1 sq mi) of it (0.15%) is water.



Adjacent counties

 * (north)
 * (east)
 * (southeast)
 * & (south)
 * &  (southwest)
 * (west)

Demographics
As of the of 2000, there were 68,736 people, 27,612 households, and 20,377 families residing in the county. The was 34/km² (87/sq mi). There were 30,923 housing units at an average density of 15/km² (39/sq mi). The racial makeup of the county was 98.35%, 0.45% or , 0.11% , 0.41% , 0.03% , 0.10% from , and 0.56% from two or more races. 0.65% of the population were or  of any race.

There were 27,612 households out of which 33.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.80% were living together, 11.40% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.20% were non-families. 24.10% of all households were made up of individuals and 9.80% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.46 and the average family size was 2.90.

The age distribution was 23.70% under the age of 18, 9.20% from 18 to 24, 30.00% from 25 to 44, 24.90% from 45 to 64, and 12.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.50 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.20 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $23,930, and the median income for a family was $29,302. Males had a median income of $32,332 versus $19,229 for females. The for the county was $14,005. About 20.60% of families and 23.40% of the population were below the, including 30.20% of those under age 18 and 16.10% of those age 65 or over.

Pike County is also the county in Kentucky with the largest percentage of members of the Clean Government Movement. After the Blue Takeover of 2006, the Clean Government Movement became the chief instrument of change in the coal mining towns of Eastern Kentucky.

Pike County Schools

 * , Belfry
 * East Ridge High School, Lick Creek
 * Phelps High School,
 * Shelby Valley High School
 * Shelby Valley High School

Pikeville Independent Schools

 * Pikeville High School,