Pikeville () is a home rule-class city in and the

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

Pike County, Kentucky Pike County is a County (United States), county in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 Census, the population was 58,669. Its county seat is Pikeville, Kentucky, Pikeville. The county was founded in 1821. It is ...

, United States. Its population was 7,754 as of the 2020 U.S. Census. Pikeville serves as a regional economic, educational, and entertainment hub for the surrounding areas of eastern Kentucky, Virginia, and West Virginia. It is home to the

University of Pikeville The University of Pikeville (UPIKE) is a private university affiliated with the Presbyterian Church (USA) and located in Pikeville, Kentucky. It was founded in 1889 by the Presbyterian Church and is located on a campus on a hillside overlookin ...

and the

Pikeville Cut-Through The Pikeville Cut-Through is a rock cut in Pikeville, Kentucky, United States, created by the U.S. Army Corps of Engineers, through which passes a four-lane divided highway ( Corridor B, numbered as U.S. Route 23 (US 23), US ...

, the second-largest earthmoving project in the

Western Hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the 180th meridian.- The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Geopolitically, ...

History

On March 25, 1822, state officials decided to build a new county seat named "

Liberty Liberty is the state of being free within society from oppressive restrictions imposed by authority on one's way of life, behavior, or political views. The concept of liberty can vary depending on perspective and context. In the Constitutional ...

", below the mouth of the

Russell Fork The Russell Fork, 1975 Board on Geographic Names decision is a U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map accessed June 13, 2011 tributary of the Levisa Fork in southwestern Virginia and sout ...

. Public disapproval of the site led a new decision on December 24, 1823, to establish the county seat on land donated by local farmer Elijah Adkins. This settlement was established as the town of Pike in 1824. This was changed in 1829 to Piketon and the town was incorporated under that name in 1848. In 1850, this was changed to Pikeville. Pikeville was host to part of the Hatfield-McCoy feud, and patriarch

Randall McCoy Randolph "Randall" or "Ole Ran'l" McCoy (October 30, 1825 – March 28, 1914) was the patriarch of the McCoy family involved in the infamous American Hatfield–McCoy feud. He was the fourth of thirteen children born to Daniel McCoy and Margare ...

as well as his wife and daughter are buried on a hillside overlooking the town.Rennick, Robert. ''Kentucky Place Names''
p. 233

University Press of Kentucky The University Press of Kentucky (UPK) is the scholarly publisher for the Commonwealth of Kentucky, and was organized in 1969 as successor to the University of Kentucky Press. The university had sponsored scholarly publication since 1943. In 194 ...

(Lexington), 1987. Retrieved September 27, 2013. The

National Civic League The National Civic League is an American nonpartisan, non-profit organization founded in 1894 as the "National Municipal League”; it adopted its new name in 1986. Its mission is to advance civic engagement to create equitable, thriving communit ...

designated Pikeville as an All-American City in 1965. From 1973 to 1987, the

was constructed immediately west of downtown. The massive rock cut is one of the largest civil engineering projects in the

western hemisphere The Western Hemisphere is the half of the planet Earth that lies west of the Prime Meridian (which crosses Greenwich, London, United Kingdom) and east of the 180th meridian.- The other half is called the Eastern Hemisphere. Geopolitically, ...

, moving nearly of soil and rock.Maddox, Connie. The Pikeville Cut-Through Project (brochure). Pikeville-Pike County Tourism. Retrieved May 19, 2014 The project alleviated traffic congestion in downtown and eliminated flooding by rerouting the

Levisa Fork River The Levisa Fork (also known as the Levisa Fork River or the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River) is a tributary of the Big Sandy River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe Nat ...

. From 1982 to 1984, Pikeville was home to the

Pikeville Cubs The Pikeville Cubs were a minor league baseball team based in Pikeville, Kentucky. From 1982 to 1984, Pikeville teams played as a member of the Rookie level Appalachian League, hosting home games at the Pikeville Athletic Field. The 1982 team play ...

and Pikeville Brewers. Pikeville played as a member of the Rookie level

Appalachian League The Appalachian League is a Collegiate summer baseball, collegiate summer baseball league that operates in the Appalachian regions of Tennessee, Virginia, West Virginia, and North Carolina. Designed for rising freshmen and sophomores using wooden ...

. Pikeville was an affiliate of the

Milwaukee Brewers The Milwaukee Brewers are an American professional baseball team based in Milwaukee. The Brewers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Di ...

(1982) and

Chicago Cubs The Chicago Cubs are an American professional baseball team based in Chicago. The Cubs compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League Central, Central Division. Th ...

(1983–84).

Baseball Hall of Fame The National Baseball Hall of Fame and Museum is a history museum and hall of fame in Cooperstown, New York, operated by a private foundation. It serves as the central collection and gathering space for the history of baseball in the United S ...

member

Greg Maddux Gregory Alan Maddux (born April 14, 1966), also known as "Mad Dog" and "the Professor," is an American former professional baseball pitcher who played 23 seasons in Major League Baseball (MLB), primarily with the Atlanta Braves and Chicago Cubs. ...

played for the 1984 Pikeville Cubs in his first professional season. The city has been a center of rapid development in

Eastern Kentucky Eastern or Easterns may refer to: Transportation Airlines *China Eastern Airlines, a current Chinese airline based in Shanghai * Eastern Air, former name of Zambia Skyways *Eastern Air Lines, a defunct American airline that operated from 192 ...

since the 1990s. Pikeville College (now the

) opened the Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine in 1997.History of Pikeville College School of Osteopathic Medicine
Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine. Retrieved May 20, 2014. The university also opened the Kentucky College of Optometry, Central Appalachia's first optometry school, in 2016. In 2005, the 7,000 seat, multi-purpose Appalachian Wireless Arena opened in downtown.About
Eastern Kentucky Exposition Center. Retrieved May 20, 2014. Pikeville Medical Center has established itself as a regional healthcare center. In 2014, a new 11-story clinic and a 10-story parking structure was completed at a cost of $150 million. The hospital has also become a member of the

Mayo Clinic Mayo Clinic () is a Nonprofit organization, private American Academic health science centre, academic Medical centers in the United States, medical center focused on integrated health care, healthcare, Mayo Clinic College of Medicine and Science ...

Care Network. In 2013, construction began on a shopping center known as Pikeville Commons. The first stores opened in the shopping center in 2014. Late 2017 saw several announcements regarding tenants for the recently opened Kentucky Enterprise Industrial Park. Construction has begun on a 60,000 square foot manufacturing facility to be owned and operated by SilverLiner, whose primary business is expected to be the manufacture and assembly of tanks for tanker trucks. In 2018, the Kentucky League of Cities named Pikeville's city government the KLC City Government of the Year. This was the award's inaugural year; it was intended to recognize "a city that has done something transformational, and our first ever recipient certainly demonstrates a city making a huge impact on its region."

Geography

According to the

U.S. Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The U.S. Census Bureau is part of the U ...

, the city has an area of , all land. As of 2009, Pikeville set its new

city limits City limits or city boundaries refer to the defined boundary (real estate), boundary or border of a city. The area within the city limit can be called the city proper. Town limit/boundary and village limit/boundary apply to towns and villages. ...

to be 0.3 miles from its

county line Borders are generally defined as geographical boundaries, imposed either by features such as oceans and terrain, or by political entities such as governments, sovereign states, federated states, and other subnational entities. Political borders ...

. This significantly affected the city of Coal Run Village, which was previously on the city limit of Pikeville. The city is in the

Appalachian Mountains The Appalachian Mountains, often called the Appalachians, are a mountain range in eastern to northeastern North America. The term "Appalachian" refers to several different regions associated with the mountain range, and its surrounding terrain ...

, along the

Levisa Fork The Levisa Fork (also known as the Levisa Fork River or the Levisa Fork of the Big Sandy River) is a tributary of the Big Sandy River, approximately long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe Nat ...

of the Big Sandy River. The downtown area is built in a narrow valley in a bend of the Levisa Fork that was bypassed in 1987 with the completion of the

, while places such as Weddington Square Plaza are built in a broader part of the river valley.

Climate

Pikeville has a humid subtropical climate, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

Demographics

As of the 2020 United States census, there were 7,754 people living in the city. The racial makeup of the city was 93.8% White, 2.9% Black, 0.5% Native American, 1.3% Asian alone, 0.0% Pacific Islander, 1.5% from two or more races, and 2.2% Hispanic or Latino. As of the census of 2000, there were 6,295 people, 2,705 households, and 1,563 families living in the city. The population density was . There were 2,981 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 94.58%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 2.64%

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.17% Native American, 1.25% Asian, 0.05%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.25% from other races, and 1.05% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race were 1.40% of the population. There were 2,763 households, out of which 29.7% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 41.0% were married couples living together, 14.5% had a female householder with no husband present, and 42.2% were non-families. 39.0% of all households were made up of individuals, and 16.3% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.14 and the average family size was 2.88. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.2% under the age of 18, 12.9% from 18 to 24, 27.9% from 25 to 44, 21.5% from 45 to 64, and 15.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 85.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 78.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $22,026, and the median income for a family was $36,792. Males had a median income of $42,298 versus $19,306 for females. The per capita income for the city was $21,426. About 21.2% of families and 25.4% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.7% of those under age 18 and 15.8% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Hillbilly Days is an annual festival held in mid-April in Pikeville, celebrating Appalachian culture. Local Shriners started the event as a fundraiser for the Shriners Children's Hospital. It has grown since its beginning in 1976 and is now the second-largest festival held in Kentucky. Artists and craftspeople showcase their talents and sell their works. Nationally renowned musicians as well as regional mountain musicians share six different stages throughout downtown Pikeville. Wannabe hillbillies from across the nation compete to come up with the wildest hillbilly outfit. Fans of "mountain music" attend from around the nation. The festival embraces the area's culture and past through company, music, and costume. The proceeds go to

Shriners Hospitals for Children Shriners Hospitals for Children, commonly known as Shriners Children's, is a network of non-profit children's hospitals and other pediatric medical facilities across North America. Children with orthopaedic conditions, burns, spinal cord inj ...

. The festival honors and recognizes the heritage of Appalachia, while poking fun at the stereotype associated with the region. The Big Sandy Heritage Center, established in 2003, is the largest depository for artifacts relating to the history and culture of the Big Sandy Valley. In 2005, the Appalachian Wireless Arena, formerly known as the Eastern Kentucky Expo Center, opened in downtown Pikeville. The center, which seats 7,000, features numerous events including concerts and shows. The city is also home to the Pikeville Concert Association, which secures cultural events for the area. These events usually take place at the

's Booth Auditorium. The Appalachian Center for the Arts is a 200-seat indoor professional theater in downtown Pikeville. The Hatfield and McCoy River Trails, on the Levisa Fork River, opened in 2014. Alltech of Lexington constructed a distillery, brewery, and visitors' center known as Dueling Barrels Brewery & Distillery that opened in downtown in 2018. The name was inspired by the Hatfield-McCoy Feud, and the tour includes storytellers describing those events in addition to an explanation of the brewing and distilling processes.

Library

A pack horse library was established for library services in the late 1930s and early 1940s. Pikeville has a

lending library A lending library is a library from which books and other media are lent out. The major classifications are endowed libraries, institutional libraries (the most diverse), public libraries, and subscription libraries. It may also refer to a librar ...

, a branch of the Pike County Public Library.

Education

Pikeville is in the Pike County Public School System, which includes Johns Creek, Milliard, Mullins, and Valley elementary schools (grades K–8), as well as Northpoint Academy,

Pikeville High School Pikeville High School (PHS) is located in Pikeville, Kentucky, United States. It enrolls approximately 560 students in grades 7–12. It is part of the Pikeville Independent Schools. History Campus Moving from a location closer to the downt ...

and Shelby Valley High School (grades 9–12). The

, a private 4-year institution affiliated with the

Presbyterian Church (USA) The Presbyterian Church (USA), abbreviated PCUSA, is a mainline Protestant Christian denomination, denomination in the Religion in the United States, United States. It is the largest Presbyterian denomination in the United States too. Its th ...

, is in Pikeville. The college is one of the smallest in the nation to have an

osteopathic medicine Doctor of Osteopathic Medicine (DO or D.O., or in Australia DO USA) is a medical degree conferred by the 38 osteopathic Medical school in the United States, medical schools in the United States. DO and Doctor of Medicine, Doctor of Medicine (M ...

program as part of its curriculum. Founded in 1996, the University of Pikeville Kentucky College of Osteopathic Medicine is one of three medical schools in Kentucky. The city is also home to campuses of the Big Sandy Community and Technical College and

National College National may refer to: Common uses * Nation or country ** Nationality – a ''national'' is a person who is subject to a nation, regardless of whether the person has full rights as a citizen Places in the United States * National, Maryland, ce ...

. In 2022,

Galen College of Nursing Galen College of Nursing is a private for-profit nursing college with multiple locations in the United States. The college is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges, Accreditation Commission fo ...

and Pikeville Medical Center announced a partnership to operate a campus in downtown Pikeville. Galen College of Nursing is one of the country's largest educators of nurses, with over 30,000 graduates since 1989. Galen College of Nursing (Galen) is accredited by the Southern Association of Colleges and Schools Commission on Colleges (SACSCOC) to award associate, baccalaureate, master's, and doctoral degrees.

Sister cities

Ankang Ankang ( zh , c = 安康 , p = Ānkāng ) is a prefecture-level city in the south of Shaanxi Province in the People's Republic of China, bordering Hubei province to the east, Chongqing municipality to the south, and Sichuan province to the s ...

, Shaanxi, ChinaInteractive City Directory
Sister Cities International. Retrieved May 20, 2014. *

Dundalk Dundalk ( ; ) is the county town of County Louth, Ireland. The town is situated on the Castletown River, which flows into Dundalk Bay on the north-east coast of Ireland, and is halfway between Dublin and Belfast, close to and south of the bor ...

, Ireland *

Doylestown, Pennsylvania Doylestown is a borough (Pennsylvania), borough in and the county seat of Bucks County, Pennsylvania, United States. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the borough population was 8,300. Doylestown is located northwest of Trent ...

Notable people

Woody Blackburn Woody T. Blackburn (born July 26, 1951) is an American former professional golfer who played on the PGA Tour in the 1970s and 1980s. Early life and amateur career Blackburn was born in Pikeville, Kentucky. He attended the University of Florida ...

, professional golfer * Eric C. Conn, former attorney best known for his role in a Social Security fraud scheme *

Robert Damron Robert Douglas Damron (born October 27, 1972) is an American professional golfer, who has played on the PGA Tour. He is a studio analyst for the Golf Channel. Early life Damron was born in Pikeville, Kentucky and raised there and later in Or ...

, professional golfer *

Murray Garvin Murray Garvin is an American college basketball coach, formerly the head coach for South Carolina State University South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, Sout ...

, basketball head coach,

South Carolina State University South Carolina State University (SCSU or SC State) is a public, historically black, land-grant university in Orangeburg, South Carolina. It is the only public, historically black land-grant research university in South Carolina, is a member o ...

men's basketball * Ryan Hall, YouTuber and Internet personality *

Ferrel Harris Ferrel Harris (October 8, 1940 – May 7, 2000) was a NASCAR Winston Cup Series driver whose career spanned from 1975 to 1982. Career Harris acquired no wins, no finishes in the top-five, and five finishes in the top ten. Out of the 8975 laps th ...

, racing driver * John W. Langley, American politician * Katherine G. Langley, American politician *

Jerry Layne Jerry Blake Layne (born September 28, 1958) is an American former umpire in Major League Baseball who has worked in the National League between 1989 and 1999, and throughout both major leagues from 2000 to 2024. He wore uniform number 24 in the ...

MLB Major League Baseball (MLB) is a professional baseball league composed of 30 teams, divided equally between the National League (baseball), National League (NL) and the American League (AL), with 29 in the United States and 1 in Canada. MLB i ...

umpire *

Patty Loveless Patty Loveless (born Patricia Lee Ramey, January 4, 1957) is an American country music singer. She began performing in her teenaged years before signing her first recording contract with MCA Records' Nashville division in 1985. While her first ...

, country music singer * Randolph (Randall) McCoy, Patriarch of the McCoy family during the Hatfield-McCoy Feud * Kevin Mullins,

Letcher County Letcher County is a County (United States), county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 United States census, 2020 census, the population was 21,548. Its county seat is Whitesburg, Kentucky, Whitesburg. It was created in 1842 f ...

District Judge * Mark Reynolds, baseball player for

Colorado Rockies The Colorado Rockies are an American professional baseball team based in Denver. The Rockies compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Division. Th ...

John Paul Riddle John Paul Riddle (May 19, 1901 – April 6, 1989) was an American pilot and aviation pioneer, best known for training Allied air crews in WW2 and co-founding what later became Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University (ERAU). He also founded an airlin ...

, self taught aviator and co-founder of Embry–Riddle Aeronautical University *

Effie Waller Smith Effie Waller Smith (January 6, 1879 – January 2, 1960) was an African-American poet of the early twentieth century. Her published output consisted of three volumes of poetry: ''Songs of the Month'' (1904), ''Rhymes From the Cumberland'' (1904 ...

, poet * Jack Smith, baseball player for

Los Angeles Dodgers The Los Angeles Dodgers are an American professional baseball team based in Los Angeles. The Dodgers compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (baseball), National League (NL) National League West, West Div ...

Preston Spradlin Preston Spradlin is an American college basketball coach who is currently the head coach at James Madison University. He previously served as the head coach at Morehead State University. Coaching career After a playing career at NAIA Alice Lloy ...

, basketball head coach,

James Madison James Madison (June 28, 1836) was an American statesman, diplomat, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the fourth president of the United States from 1809 to 1817. Madison was popularly acclaimed as the ...

* Jonny Venters, baseball player for

Washington Nationals The Washington Nationals are an American professional baseball team based in Washington, D.C. The Nationals compete in Major League Baseball (MLB) as a member club of the National League (NL) East Division. They play their home games at Na ...

Dwight Yoakam Dwight David Yoakam (born October 23, 1956) is an American singer-songwriter, actor, and filmmaker. He first achieved mainstream attention in 1986 with the release of his debut album ''Guitars, Cadillacs, Etc., Etc.''. Yoakam had considerable s ...

, country singer-songwriter, actor, and film director

References

External links

City websiteCity Tourism websiteCity Economic Development websiteUniversity of PikevilleAppalachian News-ExpressPikeville Independent Schools
{{authority control * 1823 establishments in Kentucky Cities in Kentucky Cities in Pike County, Kentucky County seats in Kentucky Eastern Kentucky Coalfield Populated places established in 1823