By the late 18th century, the valley had been identified by hunters, one of whom, Anthony Bledsoe (1739-1788), became the county's namesake.

In addition to bringing electricity to Pikeville, Wigle bottled Coca-Cola and made wrought iron railings in the community.

He was granted two U.S. patents in 1931 (1,798,289 & 1,814,535) for a coin selecting device and a braking mechanism.

[8] His son Tom (1933–2006) helped build U.S. Route 127 heading north out of town as it rises up the mountain near the county line, during a summer job between semesters at Vanderbilt.

The walls of the plateau, namely Walden Ridge and Little Mountain, rise prominently to the east and west, respectively.

The primary highway running through Pikeville is U.S. Route 127, which connects the city to Crossville atop the plateau to the north and Dunlap to the south.

In Pikeville, US-127 splits, with the main route running along Main Street through the city's business district and courthouse square, and a bypass running through a newer commercial area in the western part of the city.

State Route 30, which connects Pikeville with Spencer and the Fall Creek Falls State Park area atop the plateau to the west and Dayton across the plateau to the east, runs congruent with US-127 through most of the city.

According to the United States Census Bureau, the city has an area of 12.118 square miles (31.39 km2), all land.

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.