Campbell County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

located in the northern part of the U.S. state of

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 93,076. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

s are

Alexandria Alexandria ( ; ) is the List of cities and towns in Egypt#Largest cities, second largest city in Egypt and the List of coastal settlements of the Mediterranean Sea, largest city on the Mediterranean coast. It lies at the western edge of the Nile ...

and Newport.Nolan v. Campbell County Fiscal Court
Kentucky Court of Appeals. November 24, 2010. Retrieved May 28, 2015. The county was formed on December 17, 1794, from sections of Scott, Harrison, and Mason Counties and was named for

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), officer rank used in many countries. It is also used in some police forces and paramilitary organizations. In the 17th, 18th, and 19th centuries, a colon ...

John Campbell (1735–1799), a Revolutionary War soldier and Kentucky legislator. Campbell County, with Boone and Kenton Counties, is part of the Northern Kentucky metro community, and the Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Campbell County was founded December 17, 1794, two years after the creation of the Commonwealth of

, becoming the state's 19th county. Campbell County was carved out of Scott, Harrison and Mason counties. The original county included all of present Boone, Kenton, Pendleton, and most of Bracken and Grant counties. Campbell County is named in honor of John Campbell, an Irish immigrant who was a soldier, explorer, statesman and one of the drafters of the Kentucky Constitution. The first courthouse, built of logs, was replaced in 1815 by a brick structure. The present courthouse dates from 1884.

County seat

Wilmington, a pioneer settlement, was the original county seat of Campbell County from 1794 until 1797. The original justices in the Campbell County Court were John Roberts, Thomas Kennedy, Samuel Bryan, John Cook, James Little, Robert Benham and John Bush. Newport was designated as the county seat until 1823, when it was moved to Visalia, at that time closer to the geographical center of the county. This was an unpopular action, however, as the overwhelming majority of residents lived in the north, along the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

. The county court returned to Newport in 1824 and remained there until 1840. In 1840, Kenton County was created, primarily out of a significant portion of Campbell. The Kentucky General Assembly forced the county to move its seat to

, closer to the center of the new, smaller Campbell County. In 1883, after years of lobbying, the General Assembly established a special provision to allow Newport to designate a Court House District separate from the offices in Alexandria. The special Courthouse Commission legislation led to the misconception that the county was dual seated, but Alexandria remained the sole ''de jure'' county seat.'' The Kentucky Enquirer'': "Judge: Alexandria the only county seat". May 12, 2009. It was not until November 24, 2010, that a court ruling granted Newport equal status as a county seat.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (5.1%) is water. It is the fourth-smallest county in Kentucky by land area and fifth-smallest by total area. It lies along the

Ohio Ohio ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Erie to the north, Pennsylvania to the east, West Virginia to the southeast, Kentucky to the southwest, Indiana to the ...

and Licking Rivers.

Adjacent counties

* Hamilton County, Ohio (north) * Clermont County, Ohio (east) * Pendleton County (south) * Kenton County (west)

Major highways

* * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * * *

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 88,616 people, 34,742 households, and 23,103 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing stock (disambiguation), standing stock or plant density) is a measurement of population per unit land area. It is mostly applied to humans, but sometimes to other living organisms too. It is a key geog ...

was . There were 36,898 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.64%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 1.57% Black or African American, 0.17% Native American, 0.54% Asian, 0.01%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe th ...

, 0.31% from other races, and 0.76% from two or more races. 0.86% of the population were Hispanics or Latinos of any race. This number has decreased to about 0.2% based on a 2006 Census Estimate by the United States Census Bureau. There were 34,742 households, out of which 32.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 50.30% were married couples living together, 12.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 33.50% were non-families. 28.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.90% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.49 and the average family size was 3.09. The age distribution was 25.60% under 18, 9.80% from 18 to 24, 30.60% from 25 to 44, 21.30% from 45 to 64, and 12.60% who were 65 or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 93.20 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 89.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $41,903, and the median income for a family was $51,481. Males had a median income of $37,931 versus $27,646 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $20,637. About 7.30% of families and 9.30% of the population were below the

poverty line The poverty threshold, poverty limit, poverty line, or breadline is the minimum level of income deemed adequate in a particular country. The poverty line is usually calculated by estimating the total cost of one year's worth of necessities for ...

, including 12.20% of those under age 18 and 7.90% of those age 65 or over.

Education

There are six school districts in Campbell County. * Bellevue Independent Schools, Bellevue * Campbell County Schools, Alexandria * Dayton Independent Schools, Dayton * Fort Thomas Independent Schools, Fort Thomas * Newport Independent Schools, Newport * Southgate Independent School District has but one PreK-8th school in it. ; former * Silver Grove Independent Schools, Silver Grove - merged with the Campbell County district on July 1, 2019. Northern Kentucky University located in Highland Heights provides the area with access to higher education.

Public high schools

Students in the county attend one of 6 public and 2 parochial high schools.

Private high schools

* Roman Catholic Diocese of Covington ** Bishop Brossart High School, Alexandria ** Newport Central Catholic High School, Newport

Communities

Cities

(county seat) * Bellevue *

California California () is a U.S. state, state in the Western United States that lies on the West Coast of the United States, Pacific Coast. It borders Oregon to the north, Nevada and Arizona to the east, and shares Mexico–United States border, an ...

* Cold Spring * Crestview *

Dayton Dayton () is a city in Montgomery County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. It is the List of cities in Ohio, sixth-most populous city in Ohio, with a population of 137,644 at the 2020 United States census, 2020 census. The Dayton metro ...

* Fort Thomas * Highland Heights *

Melbourne Melbourne ( , ; Boonwurrung language, Boonwurrung/ or ) is the List of Australian capital cities, capital and List of cities in Australia by population, most populous city of the States and territories of Australia, Australian state of Victori ...

* Mentor * Newport (county seat) * Silver Grove * Southgate * Wilder * Woodlawn

Census-designated place

* Claryville

Other unincorporated places

* Brayville * Camp Springs * Oneonta - probably named after Oneonta, New York. Located midway between Ross and California, the settlement was conveniently located beside the Ohio River as a docking place for ferrying people and supplies especially from New Richmond, Ohio (once the largest and most flourishing village in Clermont County) toward Alexandria, Kentucky.

Politics

Politically, Campbell County is very Republican. In presidential elections it has only voted Democratic once since 1948. The county voted "No" on 2022 Kentucky Amendment 2, an anti-abortion ballot measure, by 57% to 43%, and backed

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

with 58% of the vote to

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

's 40% in the 2020 presidential election.

Elected officials

References

External links

Campbell County government's website

Campbell County Public Library

Campbell County Search & Rescue

{{authority control 1794 establishments in Kentucky Kentucky counties Kentucky counties on the Ohio River Populated places established in 1794