Breathitt County ( ) is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposes Chambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...

in the eastern Appalachian portion of the

U.S. state In the United States, a state is a constituent political entity, of which there are 50. Bound together in a political union, each state holds governmental jurisdiction over a separate and defined geographic territory where it shares its sove ...

Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a state in the Southeastern region of the United States and one of the states of the Upper South. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north; West Virginia and Virginia ...

. As of the

2020 United States Census The United States census of 2020 was the twenty-fourth decennial United States census. Census Day, the reference day used for the census, was April 1, 2020. Other than a pilot study during the 2000 census, this was the first U.S. census to of ...

, the population was 13,718. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or civil parish. The term is in use in Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, Taiwan, and the United States. The equivalent term shire town is used in the US st ...

Jackson Jackson may refer to: People and fictional characters * Jackson (name), including a list of people and fictional characters with the surname or given name Places Australia * Jackson, Queensland, a town in the Maranoa Region * Jackson North, Qu ...

. The county was formed in 1839 and was named for

John Breathitt John Breathitt (September 9, 1786 – February 21, 1834) was the 11th Governor of Kentucky. He was the first Democrat to hold this office and was the second Kentucky governor to die in office. Shortly after his death, Breathitt County, Kentucky ...

, who was

Governor of Kentucky The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; since 1992, incumbents have been able to seek re-e ...

from 1832 to 1834. Breathitt County was a prohibition or dry county, until a public vote in July 2016 that allowed alcohol sales.

History

The area now encompassed by Kentucky's Breathitt County was first bounded in 1772, when all of what is now the state of Kentucky was in the frontier county of Fincastle County, Virginia. Fincastle was divided in 1776, with the western portion named Kentucky County, Virginia. In 1780, Virginia set aside all land in Kentucky County for soldiers who had served in the Revolutionary War. In 1780, Kentucky County was divided into 3 counties, Jefferson, Fayette, and Lincoln. Lincoln County was divided in 1799, with part becoming Knox County. In 1807, the Legislature partitioned the upper part of Knox to create Clay County. On February 6, 1839, a portion of Clay (along with portions of Estill and Perry Counties) was partitioned off to create Breathitt County. It was named for Governor

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau (USCB), officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the U.S. Federal Statistical System, responsible for producing data about the American people and economy. The Census Bureau is part of t ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.6%) is water. The North and Middle Forks of the

Kentucky River The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River, long,U.S. Geological Survey. National Hydrography Dataset high-resolution flowline dataThe National Map , accessed June 13, 2011 in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. The river and its tri ...

pass through the county as the main water drainages.

Adjacent counties

* Wolfe County - northwest * Magoffin County - northeast * Knott County - east * Perry County - southeast * Owsley County - southwest * Lee County - west

Demographics

As of the

2000 United States Census The United States census of 2000, conducted by the Census Bureau, determined the resident population of the United States on April 1, 2000, to be 281,421,906, an increase of 13.2 percent over the 248,709,873 people enumerated during the 1990 cen ...

, there were 16,100 people, 6,170 households, and 4,541 families in the county. The population density was . There were 6,812 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.69%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no hue). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully reflect and scatter all the visible wavelengths of light. White o ...

, 0.39%

Black Black is a color which results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without hue, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness. Black and white ...

African American African Americans (also referred to as Black Americans and Afro-Americans) are an ethnic group consisting of Americans with partial or total ancestry from sub-Saharan Africa. The term "African American" generally denotes descendants of ens ...

, 0.09% Native American, 0.29%

Asian Asian may refer to: * Items from or related to the continent of Asia: ** Asian people, people in or descending from Asia ** Asian culture, the culture of the people from Asia ** Asian cuisine, food based on the style of food of the people from Asi ...

, 0.02%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the Pacific Islands. As an ethnic/racial term, it is used to describe the original peoples—inhabitants and diasporas—of any of the three major subregions of O ...

, 0.08% from

other races Other often refers to: * Other (philosophy), a concept in psychology and philosophy Other or The Other may also refer to: Film and television * ''The Other'' (1913 film), a German silent film directed by Max Mack * ''The Other'' (1930 film), a ...

, and 0.43% from two or more races. 0.66% of the population were

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or Hispanidad. The term commonly applies to countries with a cultural and historical link to Spain and to viceroyalties forme ...

Latino Latino or Latinos most often refers to: * Latino (demonym), a term used in the United States for people with cultural ties to Latin America * Hispanic and Latino Americans in the United States * The people or cultures of Latin America; ** Latin A ...

of any race. There were 6,170 households, out of which 34.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.00% were married couples living together, 14.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.40% were non-families. 23.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.00. The county population contained 25.50% under the age of 18, 10.00% from 18 to 24, 28.90% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 11.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.40 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $19,155, and the median income for a family was $23,721. Males had a median income of $26,208 versus $20,613 for females. The per capita income for the county was $11,044. About 28.10% of families and 33.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 42.90% of those under age 18 and 26.80% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Economy

Coal companies

Arch Coal Arch Resources, previously known as Arch Coal, is an American coal mining and processing company. The company mines, processes, and markets bituminous and sub-bituminous coal with low sulfur content in the United States. Arch Resources is the se ...

* US Coal

Education

Jackson Independent Schools

Jackson Independent Schools is a school district that educates students inside and outside the city limits of

Jackson, Kentucky Jackson is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Breathitt County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was 2,231 according to the 2010 U.S. census. It was the home of the Jackson Academy, which became Lees College. Histo ...

. *

Jackson City School Jackson City School (under the Jackson Independent School system) is a school district serving grades pre-k through 12. It is located in the hills of Eastern Kentucky, in Jackson, Kentucky—the county seat A county seat is an administrative ...

– a single K-12 facility.

Breathitt County Schools

Breathitt County Schools is another school district with an array of schools within the city limits of

and throughout the county. * Sebastian Elementary School – Jackson, Kentucky (Opened 1970) * Highland-Turner Elementary School – Canoe, Kentucky (Opened 1992) * Rousseau Elementary School (Closed 2013) – Rousseau, Kentucky * Marie Roberts-Caney Elementary School – Lost Creek, Kentucky (Expanded School Opened 1996) * *

Breathitt County High School Breathitt County High School (aka Breathitt High School) is a public high school located in the city of Jackson, Kentucky nestled in the Appalachian Mountains of Eastern Kentucky. The 2009-2010 enrollment is around 520 students. The school colors a ...

– Jackson, Kentucky (New School Opened 1982)

Private schools

* Mount Carmel School – Vancleve, Kentucky *

Oakdale Christian Academy Oakdale Christian Academy is a private, Methodist, co-educational boarding and day school in Jackson, Kentucky Jackson is a home rule-class city in and the county seat of Breathitt County, Kentucky, in the United States. The population was ...

– Jackson, Kentucky * Riverside Christian School – Lost Creek, Kentucky

Higher education

Lees College Lees College Campus of Hazard Community and Technical College is a campus in Jackson, Kentucky of Hazard Community and Technical College, a public community college. It was founded in 1883 as Jackson Academy, an elementary and high school for Bre ...

Campus of

Hazard Community and Technical College Hazard Community and Technical College (HCTC) is a Public college, public community college in Hazard, Kentucky. It is part of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). Established as Hazard Community College in 1968, the name o ...

(part of the

Kentucky Community and Technical College System The Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS) comprises 16 community and technical colleges in Kentucky with over 70 campuses. Programs offered include associate degrees, pre-baccalaureate education to transfer to a public 4-year in ...

) – Jackson, Kentucky *

Kentucky Mountain Bible College Kentucky Mountain Bible College (KMBC) is a private Holiness bible college in Vancleve, Kentucky. It is a ministry of the Kentucky Mountain Holiness Association. The college claims that over 70% of its graduates have entered Christian ministry, ...

– Vancleve, Kentucky

Breathitt Area Technology Center

The Breathitt Area Technology Center serves both the Jackson Independent and the Breathitt County school districts. It is located in

on the campus of

. The school is operated by the state of

. While most of the funding comes from the state, much of the equipment is purchased with federal Carl D. Perkins Vocational and Technical Education Act funds, which are aimed at advancing technical education. The school is focused on

technical education In the United States, a technical school is a type of two-year college that covers specialized fields such as business, finance, hospitality, tourism, construction, engineering, visual arts, information technology and community work. Asso ...

, offering these technical programs: * Automotive Technology * Construction Technology * Electrical Technology * Health Sciences * Office Technology

UK Robinson Station

The community of

Quicksand Quicksand is a colloid consisting of fine granular material (such as sand, silt or clay) and water. It forms in saturated loose sand when the sand is suddenly agitated. When water in the sand cannot escape, it creates a liquefied soil that los ...

is the location for the University of Kentucky Robinson Station. This agriculture research facility is a pivotal asset in Breathitt County, furthering the scientific studies in the areas of agriculture and forestry.

Health care

* Breathitt County Family Health Center, Jackson, Kentucky Breathitt County health care providers were featured in a November 23, 2013 article in ''

The Washington Post ''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...

'': "In Rural Kentucky, Health-Care Takes Back Seat as the Long-Uninsured Line Up". As of 2014 the county had the highest morbidity rate in the state of Kentucky.

Communities

* Altro * Bays * Caney * Canoe * Chenowee * Clayhole * Cockrell Fork (on line between Breathitt and Perry Counties) * Crockettsville * Elkatawa * Evanston * Fishtrap * Flintville * Frozen/Frozen Creek * Fugates Fork * * Haddix * Hardshell Caney * Hayes Branch *

(county seat) * Leatherwood * Lost Creek * Morris Fork * Ned * Nix Branch * Noble * Noctor * Oakdale * Portsmouth *

* River Caney * Riverside * Rose Branch * Rousseau * Rowdy * Saldee * Sebastians Branch * Shoulder Blade/Shoulderblade * Smith Branch * South Fork * Stevenson * Troublesome Creek * Turners Creek * Vancleve * War Creek * Watts * Whick * Wilstacy * Wolf Coal

Notable people

Kim Davis Kimberly Jean Davis (; born September 17, 1965) is a former county clerk for Rowan County, Kentucky, who gained international attention in August 2015 when she defied a U.S. federal court order to issue marriage licenses to same-sex couples. ...

, the Rowan County

clerk A clerk is a white-collar worker who conducts general office tasks, or a worker who performs similar sales-related tasks in a retail environment. The responsibilities of clerical workers commonly include record keeping, filing, staffing service ...

known for her refusal to comply with a federal court order directing her to issue

marriage license A marriage license (or marriage licence in Commonwealth spelling) is a document issued, either by a religious organization or state authority, authorizing a couple to marry. The procedure for obtaining a license varies between jurisdictio ...

s to same-sex couples, was born in Breathitt County. *

Jeffrey Reddick Jeffrey Reddick (born 12 July 1969) is an American screenwriter and film director, best known for creating the ''Final Destination'' franchise. Life and career Reddick was born in Jackson, Kentucky and attended Breathitt County High School. H ...

, writer for the ''

Final Destination ''Final Destination'' is an American horror franchise that includes five films, two comic books, and nine novels. It is based on an unproduced spec script by Jeffrey Reddick, originally written for ''The X-Files'' television series, and was ...

'' franchise, was born in Jackson. * Sturgill Simpson, country music artist/singer was born in Jackson, the county seat of Breathitt County and spent much of his childhood there.

References

External links

The Kentucky Highlands Project

The Breathitt County Museum
– Provides a wealth of information on the rich history of Breathitt County.
UK Robinson Station
* http://www.breathittcounty.com – hundreds of photos and articles about Breathitt County
Breathitt County Public Schools

Breathitt Area Technology Center

Breathitt County History & Ancestry
{{Coord, 37.52, -83.32, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-KY_source:UScensus1990 1839 establishments in Kentucky Populated places established in 1839 Kentucky counties Counties of Appalachia