Pike County, Illinois

County: Pike

State: Illinois

Lat/Long: 39.6000, -90.8167

The Illinois legislature created Pike County from Madison, Bond, and Clark counties on January 31, 1821, naming it for American explorer Zebulon Pike. Only two years later, part of it was ceded to Fulton County and it was restructured to only occupy territory between the Illinois and Mississippi rivers. In 1825, the legislature again reduced Pike County, setting it at its current boundaries. Cole's Grove was the original county seat, then Atlas, before Pittsfield became the final seat in 1833.

Origin and Evolution of Illinois Counties (Springfield: Illinois Secretary of State, 2010), 7-8, 61; History of Pike County, Illinois (Chicago: Charles C. Chapman, 1880), 191-252.