Cumberland County, Kentucky

Not to be confused with Cumberland, Kentucky.

Cumberland County
County
Cumberland County courthouse in Burkesville
Location within the U.S. state of Kentucky
Kentucky's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 36°47′N85°23′W / 36.78°N 85.39°W / 36.78; -85.39
Country	United States
State	Kentucky
Founded	1798
Named for	Cumberland River
Seat	Burkesville
Largest city	Burkesville
Government
•  Judge/Executive	Luke King
Area
• Total	311 sq mi (810 km2)
• Land	305 sq mi (790 km2)
• Water	5.7 sq mi (15 km2)  1.8%
Population  (2020)
• Total	5,888
• Estimate  (2023)	6,000
• Density	19/sq mi (7.3/km2)
Time zone	UTC−6 (Central)
• Summer (DST)	UTC−5 (CDT)
Congressional district	1st
Website	explorecumberlandcounty.com

Cumberland County is a county located in the Pennyroyal Plateau region of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 5,888. ^[1] Its county seat is Burkesville. ^[2] The county was formed in 1798 and named for the Cumberland River, which in turn may have been named after the Duke of Cumberland ^[3] or the English county of Cumberland. ^[4]

History

Cumberland County was created in 1798 from land given by Green County. ^[5] In 1829, the first commercial oil well in the United States was dug three miles north of Burkesville. It is usually not recognized as a commercial well because the drillers were looking for salt brine, but the oil was bottled and sold.

It was the first county in the United States to elect a female sheriff, Pearl Carter Pace.

Burkesville is the first town downstream from Wolf Creek Dam, so it is considered flood-proof, but there have been concerns about leaks at the dam. The U.S. Army Corps of Engineers completed repairs in 2013.

Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 311 square miles (810 km²), of which 305 square miles (790 km²) is land and 5.7 square miles (15 km²) (1.8%) is water. ^[6] Major waterways include the Cumberland River and a small branch of Dale Hollow Lake which covers the southern end of the county.

Adjacent counties

• Adair County (north)
• Russell County (northeast)
• Clinton County (east)
• Clay County, Tennessee (south)
• Monroe County (west)
• Metcalfe County (northwest)

Demographics

Historical population

Census	Pop.	Note	%±
1800	3,284		—
1810	6,191		88.5%
1820	8,058		30.2%
1830	8,624		7.0%
1840	6,090		−29.4%
1850	7,005		15.0%
1860	7,340		4.8%
1870	7,690		4.8%
1880	8,894		15.7%
1890	8,452		−5.0%
1900	8,962		6.0%
1910	9,846		9.9%
1920	10,648		8.1%
1930	10,204		−4.2%
1940	11,923		16.8%
1950	9,309		−21.9%
1960	7,835		−15.8%
1970	6,850		−12.6%
1980	7,289		6.4%
1990	6,784		−6.9%
2000	7,147		5.4%
2010	6,856		−4.1%
2020	5,888		−14.1%
2023 (est.)	6,000	[7]	1.9%
U.S. Decennial Census [8] 1790-1960 [9] 1900-1990 [10] 1990-2000 [11] 2010-2021 [12]

As of the census ^[13] of 2000, there were 7,147 people, 2,976 households, and 2,038 families residing in the county. The population density was 23 per square mile (8.9/km²). There were 3,567 housing units at an average density of 12 per square mile (4.6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.28% White, 3.41% Black or African American, 0.14% Native American, 0.04% Asian, 0.06% Pacific Islander, 0.15% from other races, and 0.91% from two or more races. 0.60% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,976 households, out of which 29.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.00% were married couples living together, 11.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.50% were non-families. 28.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 14.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.37 and the average family size was 2.89.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 23.60% under the age of 18, 6.90% from 18 to 24, 26.80% from 25 to 44, 24.80% from 45 to 64, and 17.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 92.70 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.10 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $21,572, and the median income for a family was $28,701. Males had a median income of $21,313 versus $16,548 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,643. About 16.40% of families and 23.80% of the population were below the poverty line, including 30.30% of those under age 18 and 33.00% of those age 65 or over.

Ancestry/ethnicity

As of 2017 the largest self-identified ancestry groups/ethnic groups in Cumberland County, Kentucky were: ^[14]

Largest ancestries (2017)	Percent
English	32.8%
"American"	15.7%
Irish	10.2%
German	4.4%
Scots-Irish	1.1%
Italian	1.1%
Scottish	1.1%
French (except Basque)	1.0%
Polish	0.9%

^[14]

Communities

City

• Burkesville (county seat)

Census-designated place

• Marrowbone

Other unincorporated places

• Amandaville
• Bakerton
• Bow
• Dubre
• Green Grove
• Grider
• Judio
• Kettle
• Modoc
• Peytonsburg
• Waterview

Politics

Like all of the heavily Unionist eastern Pennyroyal, a region of largely small farms that did not rely heavily on slavery, Cumberland County provided an exceptionally large number of soldiers for the Union Army during the Civil War. ^[15] Reflecting that, the county became and has remained overwhelmingly Republican following the end of the Reconstruction Era. As of 2012, Cumberland County had the fewest registered Democrats, 844, out of all of Kentucky's counties. ^[16]

The last Democrat to carry Cumberland County at the Presidential level was Horatio Seymour in 1868. And since at least 1896, Lyndon Johnson in his 1964 landslide is the solitary Democrat to top forty percent of the county's vote.

United States presidential election results for Cumberland County, Kentucky ^[17]

Year	Republican		Democratic		Third party
	No.	%	No.	%	No.	%
2020	2,769	83.68%	508	15.35%	32	0.97%
2016	2,502	81.60%	459	14.97%	105	3.42%
2012	2,216	77.65%	599	20.99%	39	1.37%
2008	2,056	73.51%	697	24.92%	44	1.57%
2004	2,356	72.74%	848	26.18%	35	1.08%
2000	2,220	73.85%	736	24.48%	50	1.66%
1996	1,654	62.13%	753	28.29%	255	9.58%
1992	1,866	60.96%	917	29.96%	278	9.08%
1988	2,231	74.49%	753	25.14%	11	0.37%
1984	2,729	77.77%	766	21.83%	14	0.40%
1980	2,216	71.92%	821	26.65%	44	1.43%
1976	1,653	65.41%	853	33.76%	21	0.83%
1972	2,294	76.42%	686	22.85%	22	0.73%
1968	2,116	67.82%	646	20.71%	358	11.47%
1964	1,794	56.70%	1,348	42.60%	22	0.70%
1960	2,697	76.25%	840	23.75%	0	0.00%
1956	2,584	71.76%	1,000	27.77%	17	0.47%
1952	2,426	72.44%	909	27.14%	14	0.42%
1948	1,947	69.31%	794	28.27%	68	2.42%
1944	2,619	78.27%	717	21.43%	10	0.30%
1940	2,533	74.30%	872	25.58%	4	0.12%
1936	2,127	69.40%	935	30.51%	3	0.10%
1932	2,369	65.53%	1,235	34.16%	11	0.30%
1928	2,593	82.79%	538	17.18%	1	0.03%
1924	2,143	69.60%	918	29.81%	18	0.58%
1920	2,380	71.60%	931	28.01%	13	0.39%
1916	1,394	67.60%	653	31.67%	15	0.73%
1912	972	56.91%	577	33.78%	159	9.31%

Cumberland County was a dry county prior to a special election held June 28, 2016, where the measure passed 1,441 votes to 1,069 votes.

Notable people

• William M. Branham, American Christian minister and faith healer who initiated the post–World War II healing revival.
• Cumberland County was the birthplace of Joel Cheek who later made Maxwell House coffee. ^[18]
• Edwin L. Norris, fifth Governor of Montana ^[19]
• David L. Williams, judge of the Kentucky 40th Circuit Court, former President of the Kentucky Senate, 1992 Republican candidate for U.S. Senate, and the 2011 Republican gubernatorial nominee

See also

• Morgan's Raid
• National Register of Historic Places listings in Cumberland County, Kentucky
• Cumberland River
• Dale Hollow Lake

• United States portal

References

1. "Census - Geography Profile: Cumberland County, Kentucky". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved December 30, 2022.
2. "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
3. Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. pp.  97.
4. The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Volume 1. Kentucky State Historical Society. 1903. pp.  35.
5. Collins, Lewis (1882). Collins' Historical Sketches of Kentucky: History of Kentucky, Volume 2. Collins & Company. p. 26.
6. "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
7. "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
8. "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
9. "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Archived from the original on August 11, 2012. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
10. "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 13, 2014.
11. "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 13, 2014.
12. "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
13. "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau . Retrieved January 31, 2008.
14. "American FactFinder - Results". Archived from the original on February 13, 2020. Retrieved May 25, 2019.
15. Copeland, James E.; ‘Where Were the Kentucky Unionists and Secessionists’; The Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, volume 71, no. 4 (October, 1973), pp. 344-363
16. VOTER REGISTRATION STATISTICS REPORT; Kentucky Secretary of State
17. Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
18. Applegate, Kris; Miller, Jarenda (2009). Around Lake Cumberland. Arcadia Publishing. p. 35. ISBN   978-0-7385-6819-5.
19. "Montana Governor Edwin Lee Norris". National Governors Association. Archived from the original on December 2, 2012. Retrieved October 10, 2012.

External links

• The Kentucky Highlands Project
• Cumberland County Public Library ^{[ permanent dead link ]}
• Wolf Creek Dam

36°47′N85°23′W / 36.78°N 85.39°W / 36.78; -85.39