Harrison County, Kentucky

Harrison County, Kentucky
Harrison County Courthouse in Cynthiana, Kentucky.

Location in the state of Kentucky

Kentucky's location in the U.S.
Founded 1794
Named for Colonel Benjamin Harrison, co-author of the Kentucky Constitution.
Seat Cynthiana
Area
 - Total
 - Land
 - Water

309.88 sq mi (803 km²)
309.68 sq mi (802 km²)
0.20 sq mi (1 km²), 0.06%
Population
 - (2000)
 - Density

17,983
58/sq mi (22/km²)
Time zone Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website www.harrisoncountyfiscalcourt.com

Harrison County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. It was formed in 1794. As of 2010, the population was 18,846. Its county seat is Cynthiana[1]. The county is named for Colonel Benjamin Harrison, an advocate for Kentucky statehood, framer of the Kentucky Constitution, and Kentucky legislator.

Contents

Geography

According to the 2000 census, the county has a total area of 309.88 square miles (802.6 km2), of which 309.68 square miles (802.1 km2) (or 99.94%) is land and 0.20 square miles (0.52 km2) (or 0.06%) is water.[2]

Adjacent counties

History

Harrison County was formed on December 21, 1793 from portions of Bourbon County and Scott County. It was named after Colonel Benjamin Harrison, an early settler in the area. On June 11–12, 1864 the Civil War Battle of Cynthiana was fought near Kellar Bridge. On the first day, Confederate General John Hunt Morgan and his 1,200 Kentucky cavalrymen captured the town, making prisoners of its Union garrison and the entire 171st Ohio Infantry Regiment. Despite being low on ammunition, Morgan chose to stay and fight the enemy forces he knew were on their way. Union General Stephen G. Burbridge and his 2,400 cavalry and mounted infantry attacked him the next morning, driving the outnumbered Confederates from the town and freeing the prisoners.

Demographics

Historical populations
Census Pop.
1800 4,350
1810 7,752 78.2%
1820 12,278 58.4%
1830 13,234 7.8%
1840 12,472 −5.8%
1850 13,064 4.7%
1860 13,779 5.5%
1870 12,993 −5.7%
1880 16,504 27.0%
1890 16,914 2.5%
1900 18,570 9.8%
1910 16,873 −9.1%
1920 15,798 −6.4%
1930 14,859 −5.9%
1940 15,124 1.8%
1950 13,736 −9.2%
1960 13,704 −0.2%
1970 14,158 3.3%
1980 15,166 7.1%
1990 16,248 7.1%
2000 17,983 10.7%
2010 18,846 4.8%
http://ukcc.uky.edu/~census/21097.txt

As of the census[3] of 2000, there were 17,983 people, 7,012 households, and 5,062 families residing in the county. The population density was 58 per square mile (22 /km2). There were 7,660 housing units at an average density of 25 per square mile (9.7 /km2). The racial makeup of the county was 95.65% White, 2.52% Black or African American, 0.28% Native American, 0.13% Asian, 0.02% Pacific Islander, 0.63% from other races, and 0.77% from two or more races. 1.15% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 7,012 households out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.00% were married couples living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.80% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 2.99.

In the county the population was spread out with 25.00% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 29.80% from 25 to 44, 23.60% from 45 to 64, and 13.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 95.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.50 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,210, and the median income for a family was $42,065. Males had a median income of $31,045 versus $23,268 for females. The per capita income for the county was $17,478. About 9.40% of families and 12.00% of the population were below the poverty line, including 15.80% of those under age 18 and 10.70% of those age 65 or over.

Cities and towns

See also

References