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Pike Road

James P. Kaetz, Auburn University
The Waters in Pike Road
Pike Road is located in northeastern Montgomery County in the south-central part of the state. It has a mayor-city council form of government.
History
The Pike Road area has been settled since around 1815; by the middle of the nineteenth century, a farming community had grown up near the intersection of two roads, Pike and Meriwether. Pike Road is so named because it was once a toll road, where people paid a fee or "pike" to travel on it. The community itself thus came to be referred to as Pike Road. A number of businesses were established along the intersection to serve the surrounding community.
Pike Road Consolidated School, ca. 1920
By 1918, the community had grown to the point that a school was needed, and the Pike Road Consolidated School opened the following year; it remained open until 1970. As the area continued to grow, the question of incorporating was regularly debated. Finally, in 1997, a vote was held among the residents of the Glynlakes, Bean, Barnes, and Meriwether Road communities to incorporate as Pike Road; the measure passed with 97 percent of the vote. A new town hall was opened in 2010, and plans are underway for a city school system. Also in 2010, a dispute with the neighboring city of Montgomery was settled, fixing the boundary between the two municipalities.
Demographics
According to 2016 Census estimates, Pike Road recorded a population of 7,790. Of that number, 69.8 percent of respondents identified themselves as white, 26.4 percent as African American, 2.0 percent as Hispanic, 2.0 percent as American Indian, 1.7 percent as two or more races, and 0.1 percent as Asian. The town's median household income was $94,805, and the per capita income was $39,466.
Employment
According to 2016 Census estimates, the workforce in Pike Road was divided among the following industrial categories:
  • Educational services and health care and social assistance (28.5 percent)
  • Professional, scientific, and management, and administrative and waste management services (16.2 percent)
  • Public administration (13.6 percent)
  • Retail trade (6.7 percent)
  • Manufacturing (6.6 percent)
  • Arts, entertainment, and recreation, and accommodation and food services (6.0 percent)
  • Transportation and warehousing, and utilities (5.8 percent)
  • Finance and insurance, and real estate and rental and leasing (5.0 percent)
  • Other services, except public administration (4.3 percent)
  • Construction (3.1 percent)
  • Information (1.7 percent)
  • Wholesale trade (1.5 percent)
  • Agriculture, forestry, fishing and hunting, and extraction (1.0 percent)
Education
Schools in Pike Road are part of the Montgomery County School District; the town has one junior high school.
Transportation
Pike Road is bisected by County Road 40 (east-west) and lies just east of State Highway 231 (northeast-southeast). Interstate 65 is located about 20 miles to the west of the city. Montgomery Regional Airport is located approximately 20 miles to the northwest of Pike Road.
Events and Places of Interest
Marks House
Pike Road holds its Summer Fest celebration each year on July 4; it includes live musical entertainment, food, and a fireworks show. Annually, the event draws about 2,000 people.
The Pike Road Arts and Crafts Fair has been held on the first Saturday in November since 1966 on the grounds of the historic Marks House (c. mid-1820s), which is on the Alabama Register of Landmarks and Heritage. Sponsored by the Pike Road Civic Club and the Pike Road Community Club, the event draws as many as 10,000 people and features more than 250 artists and crafts vendors as well as food vendors and events for children.
Pike Road has a four-mile-long nature trail and runs one park that contains picnic pavilions; a walking trail and additional picnic areas are currently under construction.

Additional Resources

Montgomery County Heritage Book Committee. The Heritage of Montgomery County, Alabama. Clanton, Ala: Heritage Publishing Consultants, 2001.
Published:  August 12, 2011   |   Last; updated:  October 8, 2020