January 4, 1815 the Ohio General Assembly created Pike county from parts of Adams, Ross and Scioto counties and named after General Zebulon Montgomery Pike who had recently been killed in the War of 1812.  The legislation took effect on February 1 and stipulated that on the first Monday of March the initial election of county officers was to be held.  Arthur Chenoweth's home was designated as the court house until a permanent court could be established. Commissioners appointed were Edward W. Tupper of Gallia County; George W. Barrere and John Davidson, both from Highland County. Forty-three acres on the east side of the Scioto River were set aside at twenty dollars an acre to lay out Piketon. Eli Sargent was appointed the director to pay Elisha Fitch for the land to lay off the town of Piketon. On June 1, 1815, the first sale of lots was held.  Four lots were reserved for public square and buildings. 

Elisha Fitch had acquired the land from George and Sarah Guthrey, March 1815.  Colonel John Gurthey came to the county in 1798 with a family of 12 children and had purchased the land for a full mile down river and east toward Beaver. John Nolan of Pennsylvania was the first settler to arrive on the site of Piketon in 1796.

The prehistoric Indians had built an enclosure at Piketon which contained a circle and a square, connected by 12 smaller circles and crescents.  On a hill east of Piketon was a circular excavation 30 feet in diameter at the top and enclosed by a low wall.

The second jail was built in 1853 and still stands, unlike Waverly's Jail which was torn down September 2009. The brick courthouse was started in 1817 and was finished by 1819. The 1820 census showed 4,131 whites and 122 Negroes.

Everything went smoothly in the county till 1829 when the battle to move the county seat was started by James Emmitt.  He hoped to increase the value of his holdings.  The war lasted till 1861, when a referendum settled the issue. Emmitt had promised to build the Beaver Pike to a point opposite Waverly.  This set him back $15,00 for the road and $20,000 for the bridge across the Scioto River.

On February 7, 1843 the boundaries of the county was changed when six sections were taken from Jackson County to become part of Beaver Township and nine sections form Pike county was given to Jackson County.

Abt. 1915 Main Street Piketon, OH

View of Piketon showing Opera House, Old Court House, Old Jail etc. probably taken from the steeple of the Piketon Methodist Church   Piketon Hotel

The Pike County Court House in Piketon until 1861 when the county seat was moved to Waverly.  Construction started in 1817 and was finished by 1819. First court house was a log structure where the park is now.   Gas Station on Main Street in Piketon, OH  Armintrout's Garage and was also a Chevrolet dealer. In the later 70's and early 80's the building was used as Pike County Tire This building replaced the Hotel that sat at this site.

Veterans Park the former site of the Piketon Opera House. Note Court House behind the Park. New Opera House in Piketon 22 November 1909     The opera house first activity held was a large dance to initiate the building. The building had a slant floor to start with and was used for live operas and high school commencement programs. A newspaper item on May 12, 1904 read "the opera house was closed due to a lack of patronage."       During its early years the east side of the building was used as village offices and the west side was used as township offices.      In the early 1930's is was used as a motion picture theatre and films were shown there until the 1940's.       In the 1950's the slant floor was removed and the opera house was made into a youth center.       Sometime later, square dances started in the building and a stage was rebuilt and was used as a home for a Theatre group.       Piketon Opera House that burned down about 1985.            Information curtsey Jim Henry

Howe-Wheeler-Boyer-Hornback Funeral Home 724 Main Street Piketon

Picture of Stage Coach Inn from a painting by Goodsell McCoy Green Parrott Restaurant was located in building at one time. From information about the death of John Wesley Breitenbach on 15 Oct 1949,  The cause of death shows "fell from a stool in the Green Parrott Restaurant in Piketon"   Silver Dollar Bar, Main Street, Piketon as it looked in 1978             Stage Coach Inn--Silver Dollar Bar The building was set on fire and burned down during the early 1980s.  Supposedly by a disgruntled patron of the bar. It is now an empty lot on Market Street in Piketon near the Piketon Motel on the same side of the street. .   Piketon Fire Department Trucks   Piketon, OH Fire House & Jail

Piketon Fire Department Goes Green, no CO2 come off this pumper except for the guys breathing hard working the pump.