Boyd County, Kentucky
From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia
| County motto: "Where Coal Meets Iron" | |
 Location in the state of Kentucky |
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 Boyd County Courthouse, Catlettsburg, Kentucky |
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| Area - Land - Water |
162 sq. miles / 419 km² 160 sq. miles / 415 km² 2 sq. mile / 4 km² |
| Population - Total (2000) - Metropolitan |
49,752 288,649 |
 View Entering Boyd County from West Virginia |
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Boyd County is located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1860. Its 160 square miles are found at the northeastern edge of the state the near the Ohio River and Big Sandy River, nestled in the verdant rolling hills of Appalachia. The county seat is Catlettsburg. Its largest municipality is the city of Ashland.
As of 2000, the county population was 49,752. Boyd County is a part of the Huntington-Ashland, WV-KY-OH, Metropolitan Statistical Area (MSA). As of the 2000 census, the MSA had a population of 288,649. 6.
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[edit] History
Boyd County was the 107th of 120 counties formed in the state of Kentucky. The county was established in 1860 from parts of surrounding Greenup, Carter, and Lawrence counties. It was named for Linn Boyd of Paducah, former U.S. congressman, Speaker of the United States House of Representatives, who died in 1859 soon after being elected lieutenant governor of Kentucky.
The earliest evidence of human habitation in Boyd County exists in the forms of numerous earthen mounds containing human skeletons and burial goods giving evidence that prehistoric Native Americans inhabited the area. A 1973 archeological find revealed a serpent-shaped mound built of rocks dating to 2000 B.C and stretching for nine hundred feet along a ridge parallel to the Big Sandy River south of Catlettsburg.
One of the early settlers in what is now Boyd County was Charles ("One-handed Charley") Smith, from Virginia. A veteran of the French and Indian War who had served under Col. George Washington in 1754, Smith received for that service roughly four hundred acres around Chadwicks Creek, where he built a cabin in 1774. Smith died in 1776 and in 1797 this land passed to Alexander Catlett for whom the town of Catlettsburg is named.
The Poage family arrived from Staunton, Virginia, in October 1799 and formed Poage’s Landing, later renamed the city of Ashland.
[edit] Industry
Members of the Poage family built the steam-powered Clinton iron furnace in 1832, the earliest industry in present-day Boyd County. A total of twenty-nine charcoal-fueled iron furnaces operated on the Kentucky side of the Ohio River, seven of them in present-day Boyd County.
The Kentucky Iron, Coal and Manufacturing Company was incorporated on March 8, 1854, and it laid out the town of Ashland, then within Greenup County. The company purchased thousands of acres of coal, timber, and ore lands throughout the county. It invested $210,000 in bonds of the Lexington & Big Sandy River Railroad Company, with the stipulation that the eastern division of that line extend into Ashland instead of ending, as originally planned, in Catlettsburg. The early presence of the railroad in Ashland was largely responsible for this city becoming the dominant municipality of the county.
Ashland furnace was sold to American Rolling Mill Company in 1921, which developed into Armco Steel Corporation. In 1969 Armco constructed the Amanda furnace, one of the largest blast furnaces in the world. Known today as AK Steel, the industry remains a major employer in northeastern Kentucky.
Ashland Oil, Inc., at one time the largest corporation headquartered in Kentucky, was started in 1924 at Leach Station, south of Catlettsburg, by Paul G. Blazer. Best known for their Valvoline Oil products, Ashland Oil relocated to Covington, Kentucky in 1999, merged with Marathon Oil, and sold its remaining petroleum shares to Marathon in 2005, dissolving their petroleum division. The original oil refinery, located in Catlettsburg, is still in operation today and is currently owned by Marathon Oil.
[edit] Geography
According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 419 km² (162 mi²). 415 km² (160 mi²) of it is land and 4 km² (2 mi²) of it (1.02%) is water.
[edit] Education
Public school districts:
- Boyd County Public School District serves the city of Catlettsburg and the surrounding county communities outside Ashland city and Westwood CDP limits. The Boyd County Public School District consists of
- Cannonsburg Elementary, Catlettsburg Elementary, Summit Elementary, Ponderosa Elementary, Boyd County Middle School, and Boyd County High School.
- The Boyd County High School Lions' school colors are red and white.
- Boyd County High School was home to the 2001 State Baseball Champions
- Ashland Independent School District serving the city of Ashland.
- Fairview Independent School District serving the census-designated place of Westwood .
Private schools:
- Holy Family. Holy Family is affiliated with the Holy Family Catholic Church and currently offers K-8 education.
- Rose Hill Christian. Rose Hill is affiliated with the Rose Hill Baptist Church and offers K-12.
Colleges:
Other Schools
[edit] Adjacent counties
- Greenup County (northwest)
- Lawrence County, Ohio (northeast – across the Ohio River)
- Wayne County, West Virginia (east)
- Lawrence County (south)
- Carter County (west)
[edit] Demographics
| Boyd County Population by year |
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2000 49,752 |
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As of the census² of 2000, there were 49,752 people, 20,010 households, and 14,107 families residing in the county. The population density was 120/km² (311/mi²). There were 21,976 housing units at an average density of 53/km² (137/mi²). The racial makeup of the county was 95.97% White, 2.55% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.30% Asian, 0.14% from other races, and 0.88% from two or more races. 1.12% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 20,010 households out of which 28.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.70% were married couples living together, 11.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.50% were non-families. 26.50% of all households were made up of individuals and 12.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.86.
In the county the population was spread out with 21.80% under the age of 18, 8.30% from 18 to 24, 28.70% from 25 to 44, 25.60% from 45 to 64, and 15.60% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40 years. For every 100 females there were 96.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.10 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $32,749, and the median income for a family was $41,125. Males had a median income of $35,728 versus $22,591 for females. The per capita income for the county was $18,212. About 11.50% of families and 15.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.40% of those under age 18 and 12.10% of those age 65 or over.
[edit] Cities and towns
[edit] External links
[edit] Sources
- History and Industry sections adapted from Evelyn Scyphers Jackson work in The Kentucky Encyclopedia, edited by John Kleber.
