This information and more can be found at: http://www.ci.pickerington.oh.us

The first settlers in the attractive, growing community that is now Pickerington, arrived in the area in 1808. In 1815, Abraham Pickering laid out the original plat of old Pickerington. One hundred fifty years later relatively few people lived in the area, and Pickerington slumbered as an agricultural and dairy community, seemingly distant from both the county seat, Lancaster, and the state capital, Columbus.

The growth and prosperity since 1965 have forever changed Pickerington from an old country village to a major city in northwest Fairfield County. Equidistant between Lancaster and Columbus, today's Pickerington is both a Columbus suburban community and a transition zone leading to agricultural and open spaces to the east and southeast.

The City's population as estimated by the Mid Ohio Regional Planning Commission (MORPC) for 2005 was 13,063. The unincorporated Violet Township estimated population (excluding Pickerington and Columbus) was approximately 18,600.

As a result of reaching an official population of over 5,000 persons, Pickerington was certified as a city by the Ohio Secretary of State in 1991. Pickerington is the second largest city in Fairfield County and is second in size only to Lancaster.

An official Pickerington seal, designed by local resident Nancy Brackbill, was adopted in 1989 and gradually replaced other symbols as the official Pickerington identification. The seal appears on the cover of the Annual Report and Annual Budget, identifies city vehicles, and is used on all City correspondence and publications. In 1996 the City was designated as by the Ohio Legislature as the "Violet Capital of Ohio."

The Municipal Charter, which was enacted in 1980, set up a Mayor-Council-Manager form of government. The Charter was amended by the voters in 1990, and again in 2000.

The Mayor is elected by popular vote, performs ceremonial functions, recommends appointment of and acts as supervisor of, the City Manager, is presiding officer of Council, is an ex-officio member of all Council Committees, appoints the Clerk of Court, may veto Council-passed legislation.

The popularly elected seven member City Council is the legislative body and possesses exclusive appropriations powers. Council appoints the Law Director, Finance Director, City Engineer, and concurs on the Mayor's appointment of the City Manager. Council also makes citizen appointments to several boards and commissions. There are four standing Council Committees which Council appoints: Finance, Rules, Safety, and Service.

The City Manager is the chief administrator of the City, is responsible for the day-to-day operations of the municipality and municipal employees and appoints all employees not appointed by Council.

Growth management issues continue to dominate the public agenda. Elected officials as well as citizens of the area hold strong and varying views regarding housing density, growth of industrial and commercial areas, transportation, residential growth, and provisions of utility services, comprehensive planning, annexation by Pickerington and other cities, and ultimate appropriate area growth.