Piketon

Piketon is a village in Pike County, Ohio, United States, along the Scioto River. The village is best known for the uranium enrichment plant located there (one of only three such plants in the United States). The population was 2,181 at the 2010 census. Originally called Jefferson, it was the county seat of Pike County 1815–1845, when it was decided by James Emmitt, a wealthy local entrepreneur, to move the county seat to Waverly due to its closer proximity to the then new Ohio & Erie Canal. Piketon is the location of the Pike County Fairgrounds and is served by the Scioto Valley School District.Perhaps the best-known historic resident of Piketon was Robert Lucas, the governor of Ohio and territorial governor of Iowa. Around 1824, Lucas built a large brick house two miles east of Piketon, named Friendly Grove, which became a center of local political activity.Piketon is served by the Western and Piketon branches of the Garnet A. Wilson Public Library.GeographyPiketon is located at .According to the United States Census Bureau, the village has a total area of 2.55sqmi, of which 2.50sqmi is land and 0.05sqmi is water.EconomyThe initial operation of the lead cascade of the American Centrifuge Demonstration Facility in Piketon, Ohio in 2005 by Centrus Energy Corp. comprised the first publicly visible component of next-generation uranium enrichment technology in the United States that employed a gas centrifuge process rather than gaseous diffusion to produce enriched uranium. Piketon was expected to exhibit a growth economy during the early 21st century with the establishment of a full-size commercial uranium enrichment plant by 2012. However, in September 2015 the Department of Energy halted the project. Ohio Senator Rob Portman said "This news is a major blow to the Piketon community and southeast Ohio".