Pikeville, Tennessee

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

Pikeville is a city in Bledsoe County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,781 at the 2000 census. It is the county seat of Bledsoe County^GR6.

1 Geography
2 Demographics
3 History
4 Notable residents
5 References
6 External links

[edit] Geography

Pikeville is located at 35°36′27″N, 85°11′29″W (35.607470, -85.191340)^GR1, in the Sequatchie Valley.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has a total area of 6.3 km² (2.4 mi²), all land.

[edit] Demographics

As of the census^GR2 of 2000, there were 1,785 people, 748 households, and 479 families residing in the city. The population density was 284.2/km² (734.5/mi²). There were 859 housing units at an average density of 137.1/km² (354.3/mi²). The racial makeup of the city was 94.95% White, 3.09% African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.39% Asian, 0.28% from other races, and 1.01% from two or more races. Hispanic or Latino of any race were 0.84% of the population.

There were 747 households out of which 29.5% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 46.1% were married couples living together, 14.7% had a female householder with no husband present, and 36.0% were non-families. 34.0% of all households were made up of individuals and 15.1% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.30 and the average family size was 2.94.

In the city the population was spread out with 26.3% under the age of 18, 7.0% from 18 to 24, 26.6% from 25 to 44, 22.7% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 87.5 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 77.8 males.

The median income for a household in the city was $23,438, and the median income for a family was $30,365. Males had a median income of $27,500 versus $19,097 for females. The per capita income for the city was $12,754. About 19.5% of families and 25.2% of the population were below the poverty line, including 29.3% of those under age 18 and 22.3% of those age 65 or over.

[edit] History

J.V. Wigle (1890-1970), a combustion engineer from Michigan, first brought electricity to Pikeville. He first electrified the house where he lived near the corner of Poplar & Wiegle streets. (Wiegle Street, named after J.V. Wigle, is misspelled) Later electricity was brought to other parts of Pikeville. In addition to bringing electricity to Pikeville, he bottled Coca-cola and made wrought iron railings in the community. His two sons attended the engineering school at Vanderbilt University. His son, Tom Wigle (1933-2006), helped build the portion of US route 127 north of town as it rises up the mountain near the county line during a summer job between semesters at Vanderbilt. J.V. Wigle is buried with his wife, Mattie Lawson, in Pikeville City Cemetery. His son, Tom Wigle, is also buried in the family plot.