Montgomery County is a county 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 sov ...

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

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 28,114. Its county seat is Mount Sterling. With regard to the sale of alcohol, it is classified as a

moist county In the United States, a moist county is a county in between a "dry county" (in which the sale of alcoholic beverages is prohibited) and a " wet county" (in which alcohol is sold). The term is typically used for any county that allows alcohol t ...

—a county in which alcohol sales are prohibited (a

dry county A dry county is a county in the United States whose government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. Dozens of dry counties exist across the ...

), but containing a "wet" city where package alcohol sales are allowed, in this case Mount Sterling. Montgomery County is part of the Mount Sterling, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area, which is also included in the Lexington-Fayette- Richmond- Frankfort, KY

Combined Statistical Area Combined statistical area (CSA) is a United States Office of Management and Budget (OMB) term for a combination of adjacent metropolitan (MSA) and micropolitan statistical areas (µSA) across the 50 US states and the territory of Puerto Ric ...

History

In 1793 Shoe Boots (''Tarsekayahke'') led Cherokee and Shawnee warriors in a raid on Morgan's Station, in what was known as the last Indian raid in Kentucky. Some settlers were killed and two adolescent girls, including Clarinda Allington, were taken captive and the party returned to Cherokee territory. Believing he had saved Clarinda's life, Shoe Boots later married her, and they had three children together. He was a wealthy, successful leader. Several years later, Clarinda gained a visit back to her family in Kentucky with her children and decided to stay. They could not support her, but the state voted a 3-year pension for her.Tiya Miles, ''Ties That Bind: The Story of an Afro-Cherokee Family in Slavery and Freedom'', University of California Press, 2nd edition, 2015, pp. 19-21
Montgomery County was established in 1796 from land given by Clark County. Montgomery was the 22nd

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 ...

in order of formation. Montgomery County was named in honor of

Richard Montgomery Richard Montgomery (2 December 1738 – 31 December 1775) was an Irish soldier who first served in the British Army. He later became a major general in the Continental Army during the American Revolutionary War, and he is most famous for l ...

, an

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 a major war of the American Revolution. Widely considered as the war that secured the independence of t ...

Brigadier General Brigadier general or Brigade general is a military rank used in many countries. It is the lowest ranking general officer in some countries. The rank is usually above a colonel, and below a major general or divisional general. When appointed to ...

killed in 1775 while attempting to capture Quebec City, Canada. An alternative story holds that the county was named for Thomas Montgomery from Virginia, who served in the Revolutionary War. In 1793 Thomas Montgomery settled in Mt. Sterling. In 1805, Thomas Montgomery moved on to Gibson County, Indiana.

Geography

According to the United States Census Bureau, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.7%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Bourbon County (northwest) * Bath County (northeast) * Menifee County (southeast) * Powell County (south) * Clark County (west)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 22,554 people, 8,902 households, and 6,436 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 9,682 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.07% White, 3.48%

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 have of ...

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 enslav ...

, 0.15% Native American, 0.11% Asian, 0.03%

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 Oce ...

, 0.35% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. 1.15% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race. There were 8,902 households, out of which 33.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.70% were married couples living together, 11.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.70% were non-families. 23.90% 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 2.49 and the average family size was 2.93. The age distribution was 24.90% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 30.20% from 25 to 44, 23.40% from 45 to 64, and 12.90% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was $31,746, and the median income for a family was $36,939. Males had a median income of $31,428 versus $20,941 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,701. About 12.50% of families and 15.20% of the population were below the poverty line, including 18.10% of those under age 18 and 17.30% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Communities

* Camargo * Jeffersonville * Judy * Levee * Mount Sterling (county seat)

References

External links

The Kentucky Highlands Project

{{authority control Kentucky counties Mount Sterling, Kentucky micropolitan area Counties of Appalachia 1796 establishments in Kentucky Populated places established in 1796