Pike Township is one of the seventeen townships

Civil township

A civil township is a widely used unit of local government in the United States, subordinate to, and geographic divisions of, a county. Specific responsibilities and the degree of autonomy vary based on each state. Civil townships are distinct from survey townships, but in states that have both,...

 of Stark County

Stark County, Ohio

Stark County is a county located in the U.S. state of Ohio. As of the 2010 census, the population was 375,586. It is included in the Canton-Massillon, Ohio Metropolitan Statistical Area....

, Ohio

Ohio

Ohio is a Midwestern state in the United States. The 34th largest state by area in the U.S.,it is the 7th‑most populous with over 11.5 million residents, containing several major American cities and seven metropolitan areas with populations of 500,000 or more.The state's capital is Columbus...

, United States

United States

The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...

. The 2000 census

United States Census, 2000

The Twenty-second United States Census, known as Census 2000 and conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2% over the 248,709,873 persons enumerated during the 1990 Census...

 found 4,088 people in the township, 3,282 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.

Geography

Located in the southern part of the county, it borders the following townships:

• Canton Township
  Canton Township, Stark County, Ohio
  Canton Township is one of the seventeen townships of Stark County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 13,882 people in the township, 13,402 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - north
• Osnaburg Township
  Osnaburg Township, Stark County, Ohio
  Osnaburg Township is one of the seventeen townships of Stark County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 5,886 people in the township, 4,257 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - northeast corner
• Sandy Township
  Sandy Township, Stark County, Ohio
  Sandy Township is one of the seventeen townships of Stark County, Ohio, United States. The 2010 census found 3,675 people in the township; this was a slight decrease from the 2000 census, which found 3,679 people in the township, 2,059 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the...
  
   - east
• Rose Township, Carroll County
  Rose Township, Carroll County, Ohio
  Rose Township is one of the fourteen townships of Carroll County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 1,603 people in the township, 1,289 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - southeast corner
• Sandy Township, Tuscarawas County
  Sandy Township, Tuscarawas County, Ohio
  Sandy Township is one of the twenty-two townships of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 3,354 people in the township, 2,513 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - south
• Lawrence Township, Tuscarawas County
  Lawrence Township, Tuscarawas County, Ohio
  Lawrence Township is one of the twenty-two townships of Tuscarawas County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 5,241 people in the township, 4,154 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - southwest
• Bethlehem Township
  Bethlehem Township, Stark County, Ohio
  Bethlehem Township is one of the seventeen townships of Stark County, Ohio, United States. The 2000 census found 5,650 people in the township, 4,210 of whom lived in the unincorporated portions of the township.-Geography:...
  
   - west
• Perry Township
  Perry Township, Stark County, Ohio
  Perry Township is one of the seventeen townships of Stark County, Ohio, United States. It is an urban township; the 2000 census found 29,167 people in the township.-Geography:Located in the western part of the county, it borders the following townships:...
  
   - northwest corner

The village of East Sparta

East Sparta, Ohio

East Sparta is a village in Stark County, Ohio, United States. The population was 806 at the 2000 census. It is part of the Canton–Massillon Metropolitan Statistical Area.-Geography:...

 is located in southeastern Pike Township.

Name and history

In 1806, George Young and his wife Catherine moved to what is now known as East Sparta, becoming the first permanent settlers of Pike Township. However, there are inconstancies in government and family records that instead put him in Pike in 1800, which would make him the first settler of Stark County.

In 1815, the township was named after Zebulon Pike

Zebulon Pike

Zebulon Montgomery Pike Jr. was an American officer and explorer for whom Pikes Peak in Colorado is named. As a United States Army captain in 1806-1807, he led the Pike Expedition to explore and document the southern portion of the Louisiana Purchase and to find the headwaters of the Red River,...

. It is one of eight Pike Townships statewide

Pike Township, Ohio

Pike Township, Ohio may refer to:*Pike Township, Brown County, Ohio*Pike Township, Clark County, Ohio*Pike Township, Coshocton County, Ohio*Pike Township, Fulton County, Ohio*Pike Township, Knox County, Ohio*Pike Township, Madison County, Ohio...

.

Government

The township is governed by a three-member board of trustees, who are elected in November of odd-numbered years to a four-year term beginning on the following January 1. Two are elected in the year after the presidential election and one is elected in the year before it. There is also an elected township fiscal officer, who serves a four-year term beginning on April 1 of the year after the election, which is held in November of the year before the presidential election. Vacancies in the fiscal officership or on the board of trustees are filled by the remaining trustees.

External links

• Township website
• County website