Pikeville is a city in and the county seat of Bledsoe County, Tennessee, United States. The population was 1,824 at the 2020 census, and was estimated at 1,879 in 2024.
thumb|left|[[Carl Mydans photo showing local residents "spelling" themselves in front of a Pikeville store in 1936]]
Pikeville was established in 1816 on lands purchased from Charles Love a land speculator from Virginia. The origin of the town's name is unknown, although some have suggested that it was named for explorer General Zebulon Pike. By 1818, the Bledsoe County seat had been moved from Madison to Pikeville. The town was incorporated in 1830. 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. Wigle is buried with his wife in Pikeville City Cemetery in the family plot, along with Tom Wigle.
Geography
right|210px|thumb|Courthouse Square in Pikeville
Pikeville is located at (35.6056232, -85.1888499). The city is situated in the northern half of the Sequatchie Valley, a deep, narrow, and fertile valley that presents as a large rupture in the southern Cumberland Plateau. The walls of the plateau, namely Walden Ridge and Little Mountain, rise prominently to the east and west, respectively. The Sequatchie River passes through the eastern section of Pikeville.
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 , all land.
