Lewis County, Kentucky

Last updated

Lewis County
Lewis County, Kentucky courthouse.jpg
Lewis County courthouse in Vanceburg
Map of Kentucky highlighting Lewis County.svg
Location within the U.S. state of Kentucky
Kentucky in United States.svg
Kentucky's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°32′N83°23′W / 38.53°N 83.39°W / 38.53; -83.39
CountryFlag of the United States.svg United States
StateFlag of Kentucky.svg  Kentucky
FoundedDecember 2, 1806
Named for Meriwether Lewis
Seat Vanceburg
Largest cityVanceburg
Area
  Total495 sq mi (1,280 km2)
  Land483 sq mi (1,250 km2)
  Water13 sq mi (30 km2)  2.5%
Population
 (2020)
  Total13,080
  Estimate 
(2023)
12,973 Decrease2.svg
  Density26/sq mi (10/km2)
Time zone UTC−5 (Eastern)
  Summer (DST) UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district 4th
Website lewiscounty.ky.gov

Lewis County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,080. [1] Its county seat is Vanceburg. [2]

Contents

History

The area presently bounded by Kentucky state lines was a part of the U.S. State of Virginia, known as Kentucky County when the British colonies separated themselves in the American Revolutionary War. In 1780, the Virginia legislature divided the previous Kentucky County into three smaller units: Fayette, Jefferson, and Lincoln. In 1791, this area was separated into the State of Kentucky; it became effective on June 1, 1792. From that time, the original three counties were divided several times. A portion of Fayette County was split off as Bourbon County in 1785; a portion of Bourbon was split off as Mason County in 1788; in 1806 the present Lewis County was split off from Mason. The new county was named for Meriwether Lewis. [3] [4] [5]

The county's hilly country, heavily forested, has produced some of the nation's best oak lumber. Lumbering has been the county's principal economic activity from the start.

The county's elevation ranges from 485 to 1400 feet above sea level.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 495 square miles (1,280 km2), of which 483 square miles (1,250 km2) is land and 13 square miles (34 km2) (2.5%) is water. [6] The county's northern border with Ohio is formed by the Ohio River. Its border with the river is the longest of all the Kentucky counties. [7]

Adjacent counties

National protected area

Demographics

Historical population
CensusPop.Note
1810 2,357
1820 3,97368.6%
1830 5,22931.6%
1840 6,30620.6%
1850 7,20214.2%
1860 8,36116.1%
1870 9,1159.0%
1880 13,15444.3%
1890 14,80312.5%
1900 17,86820.7%
1910 16,887−5.5%
1920 15,829−6.3%
1930 14,315−9.6%
1940 15,6869.6%
1950 13,520−13.8%
1960 13,115−3.0%
1970 12,355−5.8%
1980 14,54517.7%
1990 13,029−10.4%
2000 14,0928.2%
2010 13,870−1.6%
2020 13,080−5.7%
2023 (est.)12,973 [8] −0.8%
U.S. Decennial Census [9]
1790-1960 [10] 1900-1990 [11]
1990-2000 [12] 2010-2020 [1]

2000 census

As of the census of 2000, there were 14,092 people, 5,422 households, and 4,050 families residing in the county. The population density was 29 per square mile (11/km2). There were 6,173 housing units at an average density of 13 per square mile (5.0/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 98.92% White, 0.21% Black or African American, 0.21% Native American, 0.03% Asian, 0.09% from other races, and 0.55% from two or more races. 0.44% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 5,422 households, out of which 35.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.40% were married couples living together, 9.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.30% were non-families. 22.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.56 and the average family size was 2.98.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.30% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 29.40% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 12.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 99.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 97.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $22,208, and the median income for a family was $26,109. Males had a median income of $25,522 versus $18,764 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,031. About 23.50% of families and 28.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 36.40% of those under age 18 and 21.30% of those age 65 or over. Over forty percent of this county gets some kind of government benefit. [13]

Education

A view of the Lewis County Middle School near Vanceburg from KY 10 LewisCountyKYSchoolComplex.jpg
A view of the Lewis County Middle School near Vanceburg from KY 10

The residents of Lewis County are served by the Lewis County Schools school district. There are 4 elementary schools within the county, 1 middle school, and 1 high school. The elementary schools are as follows: Lewis County Central Elementary, located in Vanceburg, Garrison Elementary, located east of Vanceburg in the town of Garrison, Tollesboro Elementary, located west of Vanceburg in the town of Tollesboro, and Laurel Elementary, located south east of Vanceburg in the Laurel area of Lewis County. Upon entering 7th grade all 7th grade students attend Lewis County Middle School located west of Vanceburg on KY 10. LCMS hosts two grade levels, 7th and 8th. Upon completing 8th grade students attend Lewis County High School, which sets adjacent to the middle school. LCHS hosts grades 9-12 and was a nationally distinguished school in 2015, 2016, and 2018. Lewis County Middle School and Lewis County High School are located west of Vanceburg on KY 10, the AA Highway.

Elementary Schools:

Middle Schools:

High Schools:

Closed Schools:

Politics

Lewis County is one of the most Republican leaning counties in Kentucky. The last Democrat to win the county in a presidential election was Samuel J. Tilden in 1876. [14]

United States presidential election results for Lewis County, Kentucky [15] [16]
Year Republican Democratic Third party
No.%No.%No.%
2020 4,98684.75%82313.99%741.26%
2016 4,36382.35%78514.82%1502.83%
2012 3,32669.74%1,34228.14%1012.12%
2008 3,21367.06%1,51031.52%681.42%
2004 3,77868.89%1,66730.40%390.71%
2000 3,21770.42%1,29328.31%581.27%
1996 2,36554.12%1,41532.38%59013.50%
1992 2,49350.84%1,71334.93%69814.23%
1988 3,10866.18%1,56833.39%200.43%
1984 3,44569.64%1,48430.00%180.36%
1980 2,80263.78%1,54335.12%481.09%
1976 2,38355.01%1,92944.53%200.46%
1972 3,12471.57%1,20027.49%410.94%
1968 2,76064.83%1,01723.89%48011.28%
1964 2,30050.58%2,23049.04%170.37%
1960 3,81669.41%1,68230.59%00.00%
1956 3,33367.65%1,58532.17%90.18%
1952 3,31767.86%1,55631.83%150.31%
1948 2,70864.68%1,44934.61%300.72%
1944 3,27569.43%1,43430.40%80.17%
1940 3,37164.22%1,87835.78%00.00%
1936 3,25561.92%1,98537.76%170.32%
1932 3,21255.88%2,48843.28%480.84%
1928 4,07778.36%1,12021.53%60.12%
1924 3,06765.13%1,44730.73%1954.14%
1920 4,18671.84%1,55026.60%911.56%
1916 2,32462.66%1,27634.40%1092.94%
1912 1,18534.52%1,01729.62%1,23135.86%
1908 2,54965.26%1,26832.46%892.28%
1904 2,37462.74%1,28633.99%1243.28%
1900 2,31160.01%1,48238.48%581.51%
1896 2,34861.29%1,43337.41%501.31%
1892 1,53153.36%1,04436.39%29410.25%
1888 1,88057.02%1,37941.83%381.15%
1884 1,49855.94%1,15243.02%281.05%
1880 1,38854.28%1,07542.04%943.68%
1876 1,13449.72%1,14750.28%00.00%
1872 95259.65%64440.35%00.00%
1868 98355.16%79944.84%00.00%
1864 64562.26%39137.74%00.00%
1860 312.79%736.57%1,00790.64%
1856 00.00%63151.85%58648.15%
1852 40044.05%50355.40%50.55%
1848 52147.93%56652.07%00.00%
1844 50648.24%54351.76%00.00%
1840 52361.97%32138.03%00.00%
1836 34553.32%30246.68%00.00%

Communities

Cities

Census-designated place

Other unincorporated places

Notable people

See also

Related Research Articles

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Shelby County, Kentucky</span> County in Kentucky, United States

Shelby County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 48,065. Its county seat is Shelbyville. The county was established in 1792 and named for Isaac Shelby, the first Governor of Kentucky. Shelby County is part of the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY–IN Metropolitan Statistical Area. Shelby County's motto is "Good Land, Good Living, Good People".

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Washington County, Kentucky</span> County in Kentucky, United States

Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 12,027. Its county seat is Springfield. The county is named for George Washington. Washington County was the first county formed in the Commonwealth of Kentucky when it reached statehood, and the sixteenth county formed. The center of population of Kentucky is located in Washington County, in the city of Willisburg. The county is dry, meaning that the sale of alcohol is prohibited, but it contains the "wet" city of Springfield, where retail alcohol sales are allowed. This classifies the jurisdiction as a moist county. Three wineries operate in the county and are licensed separately to sell to the public. Jacob Beam, founder of Jim Beam whiskey, sold his first barrel of whiskey in Washington County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union County, Kentucky</span> County in Kentucky, United States

Union County is a county in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,668. Its county seat is Morganfield. The county was created effective January 15, 1811.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Pendleton County, Kentucky</span> County in Kentucky, United States

Pendleton County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,644. Its county seat is Falmouth. The county was founded December 13, 1798. Pendleton County is included in the Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Meade County, Kentucky</span> County in Kentucky, United States

Meade County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,003. Its county seat is Brandenburg. The county was founded December 17, 1823, and named for Captain James M. Meade, who was killed in action at the Battle of River Raisin during the War of 1812. Meade County is part of the Elizabethtown-Fort Knox, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Louisville/Jefferson County-Elizabethtown-Madison, KY-IN Combined Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">McLean County, Kentucky</span> County in Kentucky, United States

McLean County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 9,152. Its county seat is Calhoun and its largest city is Livermore. McLean is a prohibition or dry county. McLean County is part of the Owensboro, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area, which has a population of some 114,752.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Mason County, Kentucky</span> County in Kentucky, United States

Mason County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 17,120. Its county seat is Maysville. The county was created from Bourbon County, Virginia in 1788 and named for George Mason, a Virginia delegate to the U.S. Constitutional Convention known as the "Father of the Bill of Rights". Mason County comprises the Maysville, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is included in the Cincinnati-Wilmington-Maysville, OH-KY-IN Combined Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Laurel County, Kentucky</span> County in Kentucky, United States

Laurel County is a county located in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 62,613. Its county seat is London. After a special election in January 2016 alcohol sales are permitted only in the city limits of London. The ordinance went into effect on March 27, 2016, 60 days after results of the election. Laurel County is included in the London, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Harrison County, Kentucky</span> County in Kentucky, United States

Harrison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 18,692. Its county seat is Cynthiana. The county was founded in 1793 and named for Colonel Benjamin Harrison, an advocate for Kentucky statehood, framer of the Kentucky Constitution, and Kentucky legislator.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Franklin County, Kentucky</span> County in Kentucky, United States

Franklin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 51,541, making it the 2nd least populous capital county in the United States after Hughes County, South Dakota. Its county seat is Frankfort, the state capital. The county was formed in 1795 from parts of Woodford, Mercer and Shelby counties, and was named after the American inventor and statesman Benjamin Franklin. Franklin County is part of the Frankfort, Kentucky Micropolitan Statistical Area. It shares a name with Franklin County in Ohio, where Columbus is located. This makes it one of two pairs of capital cities in counties of the same name, along with Marion Counties in Oregon and Indiana.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Campbell County, Kentucky</span> County in Kentucky, United States

Campbell County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 93,076. Its county seats are Alexandria and Newport. The county was formed on December 17, 1794, from sections of Scott, Harrison, and Mason Counties and was named for Colonel John Campbell (1735–1799), a Revolutionary War soldier and Kentucky legislator. Campbell County, with Boone and Kenton Counties, is part of the Northern Kentucky metro community, and the Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Bracken County, Kentucky</span> County in Kentucky, United States

Bracken County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 8,400. Its county seat is Brooksville. The county was formed in 1796. Bracken County is included in the Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Boyle County, Kentucky</span> County in Kentucky, United States

Boyle County is a county located in the central part of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,614. Its county seat is Danville. The county was formed in 1842 and named for John Boyle (1774–1835), a U.S. Representative, chief justice of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, and later federal judge for the District of Kentucky, and is part of the Danville, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Union, Kentucky</span> City in Kentucky, United States

Union is a home rule-class city in Boone County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 7,416 as of the 2020 United States Census. The area was rural until residential growth in the 1990s and 2000s. Union is located 17 miles (27 km) southwest of Cincinnati, Ohio.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">West Point, Kentucky</span> City in Kentucky, United States

West Point is a home rule-class city in Hardin County, Kentucky, United States, near the edge of Fort Knox military reservation on Dixie Highway. It is located in a former meander bend of the Ohio River. The population was 952 as of the 2020 Census, up from 797 from the 2010 census, but still down from 1,100 at the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Cynthiana, Kentucky</span> City in Kentucky, United States

Cynthiana is a home rule-class city in Harrison County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 6,402 at the 2010 census. It is the seat of its county.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">London, Kentucky</span> City in Kentucky, United States

London is a home rule-class city in Laurel County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 8,053 at the time of the 2020 census. It is the second-largest city named "London" in the United States and the fourth-largest in the world. It is part of the London, Kentucky micropolitan area. Of the seventeen micropolitan areas in Kentucky, London is the largest; the London micropolitan area's 2010 Census population was 126,368. London is also home to the annual World Chicken Festival that celebrates the life of Colonel Sanders and features the world's largest skillet.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Fleming-Neon, Kentucky</span> City in Kentucky, United States

Fleming-Neon also known as Neon, is a home rule-class city in Letcher County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 770 at the 2010 census, down from 840 at the 2000 census.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Vanceburg, Kentucky</span> City in Kentucky, United States

Vanceburg is a home rule-class city in Lewis County, Kentucky, United States, along the Ohio River. The population was 1,428 at the 2020 census. It is the county seat of Lewis County.

<span class="mw-page-title-main">Knox County, Kentucky</span> County in Kentucky, United States

Knox County is a county located in Appalachia near the southeastern corner of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,193. Its county seat is Barbourville. The county is named for General Henry Knox. It is one of the few coal-producing counties in Kentucky that has not suffered massive population loss. Knox County is included in the London, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area.

References

  1. 1 2 "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 24, 2023.
  2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  3. "Lewis County". The Kentucky Encyclopedia. 2000. Retrieved August 22, 2014.
  4. The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Vol. 1. Kentucky State Historical Society. 1903. p. 36.
  5. Collins, Lewis (1877). History of Kentucky. p. 464. ISBN   9780722249208.
  6. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  7. Commonwealth of Kentucky Lewis County
  8. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  9. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  10. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  11. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  12. "Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000" (PDF). United States Census Bureau. Archived (PDF) from the original on March 27, 2010. Retrieved August 17, 2014.
  13. The Geography of Government Benefits
  14. County Voting Map
  15. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved July 3, 2018.
  16. The leading "other" candidate, Progressive Theodore Roosevelt, received 1,063 votes, while Socialist candidate Eugene Debs received 168 votes.

38°32′N83°23′W / 38.53°N 83.39°W / 38.53; -83.39