Lincoln 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 ...

located in south-central

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 census, the population was 24,275. 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 ...

Stanford Stanford University, officially Leland Stanford Junior University, is a Private university, private research university in Stanford, California. The campus occupies , among the largest in the United States, and enrolls over 17,000 students. S ...

. Lincoln County is part of the Danville, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Lincoln County—originally Lincoln County,

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a state in the Mid-Atlantic and Southeastern regions of the United States, between the Atlantic Coast and the Appalachian Mountains. The geography and climate of the Commonwealth are ...

—was established by the

Virginia General Assembly The Virginia General Assembly is the legislative body of the Commonwealth of Virginia, the oldest continuous law-making body in the Western Hemisphere, the first elected legislative assembly in the New World, and was established on July 30, 16 ...

in June 1780, and named in honor of Revolutionary War general Benjamin Lincoln. It was one of three counties formed out of Virginia's

Kentucky County Kentucky County (then alternately spelled Kentucke County) was formed by the Commonwealth of Virginia from the western portion (beyond the Cumberland Mountains) of Fincastle County effective December 31, 1776. The name of the county was taken ...

(The other two were Fayette and Jefferson), and is one of Kentucky's nine original counties. The county's original seat was at Harrodsburg; but in 1785, Lincoln County was partitioned, and Harrodsburg became the seat of the new Mercer County. Afterward, Stanford became Lincoln County's permanent seat. Kentucky County, Virginia 1780

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 th ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.7%) is water. Lincoln County is located in south-central Kentucky astride the southern part of the ring of Knobs, which separate the Bluegrass region from the Eastern Pennyroyal Plateau, the Lincoln County part of which includes the source and headwaters of the Green River. It is considered part of the

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, C ...

region of Kentucky.

Adjacent counties

* Boyle County (northwest) * Garrard County (northeast) * Rockcastle County (east) * Pulaski County (south) *

Casey County Casey County is a county located in the U.S. Commonwealth of Kentucky. Its county seat is Liberty. The county was formed in 1806 from the western part of Lincoln County and named for Colonel William Casey, a pioneer settler who moved his fam ...

(west)

Demographics

As of the

census A census is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording and calculating information about the members of a given population. This term is used mostly in connection with national population and housing censuses; other common censuses inc ...

of 2000, there were 23,361 people, 9,206 households, and 6,729 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical term.Matt RosenberPopu ...

was . There were 10,127 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.2%

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 ...

, 2.53%

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 ha ...

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 ...

, 0.15% Native American, 0.10% Asian, 0.38% from other races, and 0.72% from two or more races. 0.89% 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 for ...

or Latino of any race. There were 9,206 households, out of which 33.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.60% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognized union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children, and between ...

living together, 10.30% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.90% were non-families. 23.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.51 and the average family size was 2.95. By age, 25.70% of the population was under 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 29.80% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 13.10% were 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 96.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $39,833, and the median income for a family was $32,284. Males had a median income of $26,395 versus $20,517 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or total income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. It is calculated by dividing the area's total income by its total population. Per capita i ...

for the county was $13,602. About 16.40% of families and 21.10% 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 27.10% of those under age 18 and 22.90% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Lincoln County has been reliably Republican for several decades now, last voting for a Democratic candidate for President in 1976. In 2020,

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who served as the 45th president of the United States from 2017 to 2021. Trump graduated from the Wharton School of the University of P ...

won the highest share of the vote ever for a presidential candidate in the county, garnering 77.8% of the vote.

Communities

Cities

* Crab Orchard *

Eubank Eubank is a surname of Old English origin in use since the 13th century, derived from the phrase yew-bank, referring to those who lived near a ridge of yew. Historical spellings include Ewbanke, Ewbanck, Ewbancke, Ewbanche, Ubank, Yuebanc, and Ewba ...

(shared with Pulaski County) * Hustonville * McKinney, Kentucky *

(county seat) * Waynesburg, Kentucky

Census-designated place

* McKinney

Other unincorporated places

* Kings Mountain * Waynesburg *

Highland Highlands or uplands are areas of high elevation such as a mountainous region, elevated mountainous plateau or high hills. Generally speaking, upland (or uplands) refers to ranges of hills, typically from up to while highland (or highlands) is ...

* Preachersville * Moreland * Ottenheim * Halls Gap

References

External links

Lincoln County Kentucky Web Site

The Kentucky Highlands Project
{{authority control Kentucky counties Danville, Kentucky micropolitan area 1780 establishments in Virginia Populated places established in 1780 Former counties of Virginia