Pike County

Pike County was formed in November 1833 by the Territorial Legislature from portions of Clark and Hempstead counties and was named for Zebulon Pike, for whom Pike's Peak in Colorado is named. The county seat is Murfreesboro. The landscape of the county is rugged terrain in the northern half and rolling hills in the south. The economic base of Pike County is made up of commercial forests and small family farms. The Crater of Diamonds, an 886-acre natural park south of Murfreesboro, is the only diamond mine in North America open to the public. If you find a diamond, you keep the diamond. The crater also yields amethyst, opal, jasper, agate, quartz and other minerals. The deed records for the diamond mind are housed in the county courthouse and are the only records of title in North America to a diamond mine. The Caddo River, the Little Missouri River and Lake Greeson offer excellent fishing, canoeing, swimming, picnicking sites, and other water activities. As of the 2000 census, Pike County had a population of 11,303 residents.