[3][4][5] The area of the modern Pictou County was a part of the Miꞌkmaq nation of Mi'kma'ki (mi'gama'gi) at the time of European contact.

A number of families from that company left Philadelphia aboard the Hope in May 1767, and arrived at Pictou Harbour in June.

[7]: 67 Pictou was a receiving point for many Scottish immigrants moving to a new home in northern Nova Scotia and Cape Breton Island following the Highland Clearances of the late 18th and early 19th centuries.

After surveying mines in Nova Scotia, they chose to start at the East River of Pictou and in the summer of 1827 they began operations there.

By the end of the year the first steam engine in Nova Scotia was operating at Albion Mines.

[7]: 398–401 In 1839 the first locomotive in Canada to run on iron rails, the Samson, was put into service at Albion Mines.

Pictou Harbour and its three rivers played a vital role in the early days of settlement, as a port of entry, a means of transport and for the export of lumber and coal.

Pictou County is wholly within the federal electoral district of Central Nova.

Resource based industries include coal mining, forestry, fishing, and agriculture.

Manufacturing industries include Michelin Tire, Northern Pulp and Scotsburn Dairy.

Rail car manufacturer Trenton Works was closed in 2007 when owners Greenbrier moved production to Mexico.

The Cape Breton and Central Nova Scotia Railway is a freight line connecting Truro to Sydney, with spurs at Stellarton and Trenton serving local industries such as Trenton Generating Station.

A separate passenger-only ferry service is also operated seasonally from Caribou to Pictou Island.

Pictou County has two locally based radio station is CKEC-FM & CKEZ-FM.

Read By The Sea is an annual literary festival held in the village of River John.

The New Scotland Days Festival in Pictou each September is a celebration of the county's Scottish heritage.