| Butler County, Kentucky | |
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Butler County Courthouse in Morgantown, Kentucky
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Location in the state of Kentucky |
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Kentucky's location in the U.S. |
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| Founded | 1810 |
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| Named for | Major General Richard Butler (1743–1791), Revolutionary War general. |
| Seat | Morgantown |
| Area - Total - Land - Water |
431.52 sq mi (1,118 km²) 428.08 sq mi (1,109 km²) 3.44 sq mi (9 km²), 0.80% |
| Population - (2000) - Density |
13,010 14/sq mi (5/km²) |
| Time zone | Central: UTC-6/-5 |
| Website | www.morgantownbutlerco.com |
Butler County is a county located in the US state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1810, becoming Kentucky's 53rd county.[1] As of 2000, the population was 13,010. Its county seat is Morgantown, Kentucky[2]. Butler is a prohibition or dry county.
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The area now known as Butler County was settled by Richard C. Dellium and James Forgy, creating a town called Berry's Lick. The first industry in the area was salt-making.[1]
The Kentucky General Assembly created Butler County on January 18, 1810 from parts of Logan and Ohio counties. The county was named for Major General Richard Butler who died at the Battle of the Wabash in 1791.[1]
Butler County has one of only two Civil War monuments dedicated to soldiers that served and died on both sides. The zinc Civil War monument was dedicated in 1907 on the Butler County Courthouse lawn in Morgantown.
Butler County is part of the Western Coal Fields region of Kentucky. According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 431.52 square miles (1,117.6 km2), of which 428.08 square miles (1,108.7 km2) (or 99.20%) is land and 3.44 square miles (8.9 km2) (or 0.80%) is water.[3]
| Historical populations | |||
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| Census | Pop. | %± | |
| 1820 | 3,083 |
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| 1830 | 3,058 | −0.8% | |
| 1840 | 3,898 | 27.5% | |
| 1850 | 5,755 | 47.6% | |
| 1860 | 7,927 | 37.7% | |
| 1870 | 9,404 | 18.6% | |
| 1880 | 12,181 | 29.5% | |
| 1890 | 13,956 | 14.6% | |
| 1900 | 15,896 | 13.9% | |
| 1910 | 15,805 | −0.6% | |
| 1920 | 15,197 | −3.8% | |
| 1930 | 12,620 | −17.0% | |
| 1940 | 14,371 | 13.9% | |
| 1950 | 11,309 | −21.3% | |
| 1960 | 9,586 | −15.2% | |
| 1970 | 9,723 | 1.4% | |
| 1980 | 11,064 | 13.8% | |
| 1990 | 11,245 | 1.6% | |
| 2000 | 13,010 | 15.7% | |
| http://ukcc.uky.edu/~census/21031.txt | |||
As of the census[4] of 2000, there were 13,010 people, 5,059 households, and 3,708 families residing in the county. The population density was 30 per square mile (12 /km2). There were 5,815 housing units at an average density of 14 per square mile (5.4 /km2). The racial makeup of the county was 97.88% White, 0.52% Black or African American, 0.22% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.60% from other races, and 0.61% from two or more races. 1.04% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.
There were 5,059 households out of which 34.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.30% were married couples living together, 9.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.70% were non-families. 23.70% of all households were made up of individuals and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 2.98.
In the county the population was spread out with 25.30% under the age of 18, 9.50% from 18 to 24, 29.20% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 12.80% 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 96.20 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $29,405, and the median income for a family was $35,317. Males had a median income of $26,449 versus $19,894 for females. The per capita income for the county was $14,617. About 13.10% of families and 16.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.50% of those under age 18 and 22.50% of those age 65 or over.
For much of its history, Butler County's main line of transportation was the Green River. As railroads became more important economically, the county compensated by building a series of roads to major trade centers such as U.S. 231 connecting Beaver Dam with Owensboro. Green River was eventually closed to traffic after Woodbury's Lock and Dam Number 4 washed out in 1965 and Rochester's Lock and Dam Number 3 was abandoned by the United States Army Corps of Engineers in 1980. Completion of the William H. Natcher Parkway linked the area to the national interstate system in 1970.[1]
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