Indiana Local History <-> Genealogy 
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PIKE COUNTY, Indiana
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*First created in 1817.
*County seat: Petersburg.
Located in southwestern Indiana, with the White River at it's northern boundary.
*Cities, Towns & Communities include: Alford, Algiers, Arda, Arthur, Ashby, Augusta, Ayrshire, Bowman, Cato, Chandler, Coats Spring, Coe, Enos Corner, Fritz Corner, Glezen, Hartwell, Hartwell Junction, Littles, Marysville, Muren, Otwell, Petersburg, Pikeville, Spurgeon, Stendal, Survant, Union, Velpen, Whiteoak, White Sulphur Springs, and Winslow.

Please note:  Though the information on this web page is believed to be correct, the possibility of error remains.  Please notify the webmaster should an error be found.
 

 

Pike County, Indiana and it's Townships Are Formed.
   Primarily abstracted, by Ann Mensch, from: History of Pike and Dubois Counties, Indiana, Chicago : Goodspeed Bros. & Co., Publishers, 1885.

   Indiana was organized as a state in 1816.  The population was growing rapidly, and thus it became necessary to form new counties.  Prior to 1817, the territory now called Pike County was included in Gibson County, Indiana, however, by the act for its formation, approved 21 December 1816, Pike County was formed. 

     When first formed, it encompassed a much larger geographic area.  Pike County originally included all of its present territory, except a portion of Clay Township, and additionally included all of what is now Columbia Township, and a large part of Barton Township, in eastern Gibson County; small parts of Warrick and Perry Counties; the area of Martin County south of Lick Creek, and all of Dubois County.

     The present eastern boundary of Pike County was established with the formation of Dubois County, during the 1817-18 session, and the General Assembly of 1823-24 fixed the present western boundary.

     At an election, held in February, 1817, Paul TISLOW, James CAMPBELL, and Harrison BLACKGROVE were elected county commissioners, and on the following Monday they met at the house of Hosea SMITH.  At that meeting, the county was divided into townships as follows:  "All of the county west of the second section line east of the line dividing Ranges 8 and 9 constituted Madison Township; Washington Township included all of the territory between the east line of Madison and the second section line east of the line dividing Ranges 7 and 8; Jefferson Township embraced all the remainder of what is now Pike County, with two additional rows of sections of the south, and Harbison Township included all of what is now Dubois County, and a small additional area now belonging to the counties of Perry and Martin.

     Harbison Township was taken off, in 1818, to form the new Dubois County.  In February, 1820, all of that part of the county south of a line running due east and west across the county three miles south of the base line, was cut off and called Monroe Township.  In November, 1820, a new township called Adams was formed to included all of Monroe south of Patoka and west of the South Fork of Patoka.  Most of this territory was soon after annexed to Gibson County.  Prior to 1824, the area now included in Clay Township, belonged to Gibson County, with the exception of the eastern row of sections which were added in 1825.  In that year it area was annexed to Pike County, and the area was organized as Clay Township.  In September, 1838, Patoka Township was formed.  When first formed, Patoka Township included its present area and the area that was eventually formed into Marion Township, in 1857.  The other townships later organized were Logan Township, in 1846, and Lockhart Township, in 1852.

Surrounding Counties:
           NNW = Knox County, IN          NNE = Daviess County, IN
W = Gibson County, IN     PIKE COUNTY    E = Dubois County, IN
                                        S = Warrick County, IN

PIKE COUNTY, INDIANA
Established in 1817, from Gibson, Knox, and Perry Counties; County seat is Petersburg.
See: Pike County, Indiana and it's Townships Are Formed, for a description of the development of Pike County and its Townships.

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+ PROFESSIONAL HISTORICAL GENEALOGY RESEARCH +

MAPS
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  • Interactive Census Bureau Map of Pike County, Indiana
  • 1875 Map of Pike County, Indiana, from Higgins Belden & Co. ( see citation )
  • 1895 Map of Pike County, Indiana, by Pam Rietsch at: prietsch@ismi.net
  • Use the query form, at USGS, to map features including cemeteries, churches, populated places, and more.  Please note that the map town listed with a feature may be used as a map reference for the site, and may not be the town where the feature is actually located...Select a map to see the location of the actual feature.  This database may not be complete, and, as with any database, there may be errors.

NATIVE AMERICAN
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MUSEUMS & HISTORIC SITES
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CHURCHES
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CEMETERIES
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   140 North Senate Avenue - Indianapolis, IN 46204-2296

·         Indiana Cemetery Locator Database

  • Use the query form, at USGS, to map features including cemeteries, churches, populated places, and more.  Please note that the map town listed with a feature may be used as a map reference for the site, and may not be the town where the feature is actually located...Select a map to see the location of the actual feature.  This database may not be complete, and, as with any database, there may be errors.

COMMERCE, TOURISM & ONLINE COMMUNITY
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NATURE
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NEWS & NEWSPAPERS
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   140 North Senate Avenue - Indianapolis, IN 46204-2296.

BIOGRAPHIES
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HISTORY <-> GENEALOGY: Articles and Online Databases
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   140 North Senate Avenue - Indianapolis, IN 46204-2296

o        Online Databases

o        Indiana Cemetery Locator Database

o        Indiana Biography Index

o        Index of Indiana Marriages Through 1850.

o        Index of Indiana Marriages, 1993 through 2000

o        Newspaper Holdings: Holdings by county

o        Images of Indiana: 92 Counties // from Adams to Whitley

o        Indiana Public Libraries

o        Map of Indiana Libraries.

o        WWII Servicemen Database

o        Indiana Plat Books

ARCHIVES & LIBRARIES for Further Research
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  • Pike County Historical Society

    1104 Main Street - P.O. Box 216 - Petersburg, IN  47567
     Phone: (812) 354-1043,    E-mail:  <mcbeth@sigecom.net

 

COUNTY GOVERNMENT & Vital Records

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Contacts to obtain many documents and certified copies:
Pike County Clerk:  (For Marriage, Divorce and Probate Records)
   Courthouse: 801 Main Street - Petersburg, IN 47567  Phone: (812) 354-6025.
Pike County Health Department: (For Birth & Death Records from ca. 1882)
   Courthouse: 801 Main Street - Petersburg, IN 47567-1298  Phone: (812) 354-8796. Pike County Recorder: (For Land Records)
   Courthouse: 801 Main Street - Petersburg, IN 47567  Phone: (812) 354-6747.
Pike County Auditor
    801 Main Street -. Petersburg, IN 47567   Phone: (812) 354-6451.

·         Obtaining Indiana Birth and Death Certificates

 

Pike County Communities

Clay Township [est. ca. 1824-25, see townships' formation history]
Communities include:  Union.


Jefferson Township [est. 1817, as one of the original townships, boundaries later changed]
Communities include:  Algiers, Cato and Otwell.

    • 2301 N. Spring Street - Otwell, IN 47564  Phone: (812) 380-0066.


Lockhart Township [est. 1852, see townships' formation history]
Communities include: Augusta, Fritz Corner, Hartwell, Pikeville, and Stendal.


Logan Township  [est. 1846, see townships' formation history]
Communities include:  Chandler and Coats Spring.


Madison Township  [est. 1817, as one of the original townships, boundaries later changed]
Communties include:  Bowman.


Marion Township [est. 1857, see townships' formation history]
Communities include:  Hartwell Junction, Survant, Velpen, Whiteoak, and White Sulphur Springs.


Monroe Township [est. 1820, see townships' formation history]
Communities include:  Coe, Enos Corner, and Spurgeon (Spurgeon was known as Pleasantville until 1887).

·  An Account of Spurgeon, Indiana, by Kathie Julian Smith.

·  History of Spurgeon, Indiana, by Sandy McBeth and Rose Evans - In 1881, B.E. Dyer was reported to be the Proprietor of "Honey Springs", which were celebrated for the medicinal properties of their waters.  These Springs were located in section 16, of Monroe Township.


Patoka Township [est. 1838, see townships' formation history]
Communities include:  Arthur, Ayrshire, Glezen, Littles, Marysville, Muren, and Winslow.

Washington Township communities include: Alford, Arda, and Petersburg.

PROFESSIONAL HISTORICAL GENEALOGY RESEARCH
Ann McRoden Mensch, Professional Historical Genealogist

Researching onsite, and with the vast resources of the Allen County Public Library, holding one of the largest genealogical collections in North America.  Search the Library's online catalogue to see some of the printed resources available for a location or topic.

Printed resources for this page include:

  • Indiana Atlas & Gazetteer.  First Edition, Second Printing.  Yarmouth, Maine:  Delorme.  1998.
  • School and Library Atlas of the World.  Fred W. Foster, Ph.D. (Editor).  Sycamore, Illinois:  School and Library Publishing Company.  1982.
  • History of Pike and Dubois Counties, Indiana, Chicago : Goodspeed Bros. & Co., Publishers, 1885.
  • History and Families, Pike County, Indiana, 1816-1987.  Pike County Historical Society.  (Author). Petersburg, Indiana : Pike County Historical Society. (Call no. Gc977.201 P63PIK).

Pike County Historical Society Address: P.O. Box 216 - Petersburg, IN 47567.

  • Pike County History : Bicentennial edition, 1776-1976.  1st ed.  Ruth Miley McClellan. (Compiler).  Published by Petersburg, Indiana : Pike County Historical Society, Printed by Evansville, Indiana : Unigraphic, Inc.  1976.  (Call no. Gc977.201 P63M).
  • New Sectional Township Map of Indiana.  Chicago, Illinois : Higgins Belden & Co., 1875.


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Copyright 1998, 1999, 2000, 2001, 2002-2007, by Ann Mensch.  All Rights Reserved.