Pike County is named for Zebulon Pike, who was the discoverer of Pikes Peak, and who lived from 1779 to 1813.
Surrounding County Courthouses:
N – Ralls County and Pike County, Illinois
E – Pike County, Illinois and Calhoun County, Illinois
S – Lincoln County and Montgomery County
W – Audrain County and Ralls County
Created: December 14, 1818 
County Seat:
Louisiana 1819 – 1824
Bowling Green 1824 – present
County Courthouse – Bowling Green
Location: 115 West Main Street / North Main Cross Street
Built: 1917 – 1919
Style: Classical Revival
Architect: Henry H Hohenschild
Contractor: McCarthy Construction Company
Description: The building faces south and is a three story gray colored Bedford limestone, Georgia granite and concrete structure. The building is located on spacious landscaped grounds in the center of Bowling Green. The building is 85 feet square. The south front and all sides of the building have a projecting portico with two large columns rising from the second story to the top of the third story with pediment above at the roof line. The first floor entrances are framed with limestone. In the interior, the County Circuit Court courtroom is located on the second story. The building houses the County Circuit Court of the 45th Judicial Circuit. The architect was Henry H Hohenschild and the contractor was McCarthy Construction Company.
See: The architect, Henry H Hohenschild, also designed courthouses in Barry County, Christian County, Osage County, Pemiscot County, Pulaski County, Scott County and Washington County.
See: The 45th Judicial Circuit includes Lincoln County and Pike County.
History: The county was created in 1818 and Louisiana was selected as the county seat in 1819 when the county was organized. The first courthouse was built in Louisiana in 1819 to 1820. The county seat was moved to Bowling Green in 1824. The second courthouse was built by Nathaniel Montgomery in 1823 to 1824 at a cost of $114. The third courthouse was built by Walter Crow and John Crow under the supervision of Levi Pettibone in 1829. The fourth courthouse was built in 1844 by W W Blain and Samuel Kem under the supervision of The Reverend J W Campbell at a cost of $11,200. The building burned in 1864. The fifth courthouse was designed by George I Barnett and A H Piquenard of St. Louis and was constructed under the supervision of Conrad Smith in 1865 to 1867 at a cost of $70,000. Fire destroyed the building October 16, 1915. The cost of construction of the sixth and present courthouse in 1917 to 1918 was $100,000.
County Courthouse – Bowling Green
Photos taken 2009