Jessamine 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
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 so ...
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 52,991.
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 ...
is
Nicholasville.
The county was founded in December 1798. Jessamine County is part of the
Lexington-Fayette, KY
Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is within the Inner Blue Grass region, long a center of farming and blooded stock raising, including thoroughbred horses. The legislature established a commercial wine industry here in the late 18th century.
History
Jessamine County was established in 1798 from land given by
Fayette County. Jessamine was the 36th
Kentucky county in order of formation. The county is claimed to be named for a Jessamine Douglass, the daughter of a pioneer settler, who was either killed by Native Americans or committed suicide after being unlucky in love, but that story is dismissed by modern scholars, who say the name is from Jessamine Creek and the
jasmine
Jasmine (botanical name: ''Jasminum'', pronounced ) is a genus of shrubs and vines in the olive family of Oleaceae. It contains around 200 species native to tropical and warm temperate regions of Eurasia, Africa, and Oceania. Jasmines are wid ...
flowers that grow next to it. Most of the early pioneers were from Virginia, who came through the mountains after the
American Revolutionary War
The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...
.
In the late 18th century, the Kentucky General Assembly passed a bill to establish a commercial vineyard and winery, based in
Nicholasville and the first in the United States, known as First Vineyard. Wine making based on European grapes became widespread in the United States. After the
Prohibition era
Prohibition is the act or practice of forbidding something by law; more particularly the term refers to the banning of the manufacturing, manufacture, storage (whether in barrels or in bottles), transportation, sale, possession, and consumption ...
, which lasted from 1920 to 1933, the county voted to prohibit alcohol sales. Voters in the city of Nicholasville allowed package alcohol sales. In 2020, voters voted to allow alcohol sales, reversing the county's dry policy. The Chrisman Mill Vineyards is authorized to operate and sell its product in the "dry" portion of the county.
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 (1.4%) is water.
In 2000, nearly of the county's total area was dedicated to agriculture.
The county's entire southern border is formed by the
Kentucky River
The Kentucky River is a tributary of the Ohio River in Kentucky, United States. The river and its tributaries drain much of eastern and central Kentucky, passing through the Eastern Coalfield, the Cumberland Mountains, and the Bluegrass re ...
. Jessamine County's river bank extends roughly long due to
meander
A meander is one of a series of regular sinuous curves in the Channel (geography), channel of a river or other watercourse. It is produced as a watercourse erosion, erodes the sediments of an outer, concave bank (cut bank, cut bank or river cl ...
ing, and the river's scenic
Palisades feature heavily along this border.
Adjacent counties
*
Fayette County (northeast)
*
Madison County (southeast)
*
Garrard County (south)
*
Mercer County (southwest)
*
Woodford County (northwest)
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 39,041 people, 13,867 households, and 10,663 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 14,646 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.44%
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 ...
, 3.13%
Black
Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...
or
African American
African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...
, 0.20%
Native American, 0.58%
Asian, 0.03%
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 ...
, 0.47% from
other races, and 1.14% from two or more races. 1.31% of the population were
Hispanic
The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...
or
Latino of any race.
There were 13,867 households, out of which 38.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.90% were
married couples
Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...
living together, 11.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.10% were non-families. 18.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 6.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.69 and the average family size was 3.05.
The age distribution was 26.40% under the age of 18, 11.60% from 18 to 24, 31.10% from 25 to 44, 21.40% from 45 to 64, and 9.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 33 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.80 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $40,096, and the median income for a family was $46,152. Males had a median income of $32,340 versus $23,771 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 $18,842. About 8.40% of families and 10.50% 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 13.70% of those under age 18 and 9.90% of those age 65 or over.
Transportation
The
Lexington Area MPO is responsible for transportation planning for Fayette and Jessamine counties. This includes activities such as carpool matching, administering a commuter vanpool program, air quality forecasting, bicycle and pedestrian planning, congestion management, and developing transportation plans and documents.
Communities
Cities
*
Nicholasville (county seat)
*
Wilmore
Census-designated place
*
High Bridge
Other communities
*
Brannon Woods
*
Keene
Education
Jessamine County Schoolsprovides public education.
[ ]
Elementary schools
Brookside ElementaryJessamine Early Learning VillageNicholasville ElementaryRed Oak ElementaryRosenwald-Dunbar ElementaryWarner ElementaryWilmore Elementary
Middle schools
East Jessamine MiddleWest Jessamine Middle
Middle/High School
The Providence School
High schools
East Jessamine HighWest Jessamine HighJessamine Career and Technology Center (JCTC)
Adult Education
Jessamine County Adult Education
Post-secondary institutions
*
Asbury University
Asbury University is a Private university, private Christian university in Wilmore, Kentucky, United States. Although it is a non-denominational school, the college is aligned with the Holiness movement, Wesleyan-Holiness movement and is a memb ...
*
Asbury Theological Seminary
Asbury Theological Seminary is a Christian Wesleyan seminary in the historical Methodist tradition located in Wilmore, Kentucky. It is the largest seminary of the Wesleyan-Holiness movement. It is known for its advocacy of egalitarianism, giv ...
Politics
Elected officials
See also
*
Bethel Academy
*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Jessamine County, Kentucky
References
External links
Official website of Lexington Area Metropolitan Planning OrganizationOfficial website of Jessamine CountyOfficial website of Camp Nelson Civil War Historic SiteJessamine County Schools
{{authority control
Kentucky counties
Lexington–Fayette metropolitan area
1798 establishments in Kentucky
Populated places established in 1798