Pike Expedition
On November 15, Pike recorded the first sight of the distant mountain he called "Grand Peak". It has since been called Pikes Peak in his honor. Pike tried to climb the peak, hoping to get a view of the surrounding area to record on maps, the 14,000-foot summit. Pike's group ascended a lesser summit nearby—likely Mount Miller, which was named for Theodore Miller, one of the soldiers who accompanied Pike. With winter threatening, Pike pressed onward up the Arkansas, and on December 7 the party reached Royal Gorge, a spectacular canyon on the Arkansas at the base of the Rocky Mountains.
Pikeville, North Carolina
Samuel Pike moved to the area and settled on the south side of Nahunta Swamp which had been granted by King George II of Great Britain in 1763. This grant of land included between 2,500 and . In 1785, Pike deeded most of this land to his only son Nathan. It was this Nathan Pike for whom the township, the Post Office, and later the town was named.