Breckinridge County, Kentucky
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Breckinridge County is a
county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers Dictionary, L. Brookes (ed.), 2005, Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, Edinburgh in certain modern nations. The term is derived from the Old French ...
located in the Commonwealth of
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 to ...
. As of the 2020 census, the population was 20,432. 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 ...
is
Hardinsburg, Kentucky Hardinsburg is a home rule-class city in Breckinridge County, Kentucky, in the United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 2,343 at the 2010 census. Hardinsburg was named after Captain William Hardin. History In August ...
. The county was named for
John Breckinridge John Breckinridge or Breckenridge may refer to: * John Breckinridge (U.S. Attorney General) (1760–1806), U.S. Senator and U.S. Attorney General * John C. Breckinridge (1821–1875), U.S. Representative and Senator, 14th Vice President of the Unit ...
(1760–1806), a
Kentucky Attorney General The Attorney General of Kentucky is an office created by the Kentucky Constitution. (Ky.Const. § 91). Under Kentucky law, they serve several roles, including the state's chief prosecutor (KRS 15.700), the state's chief law enforcement officer (K ...
,
state legislator A state legislature is a legislative branch or body of a political subdivision in a federal system. Two federations literally use the term "state legislature": * The legislative branches of each of the fifty state governments of the United Stat ...
,
United States Senator The United States Senate is the Upper house, upper chamber of the United States Congress, with the United States House of Representatives, House of Representatives being the Lower house, lower chamber. Together they compose the national Bica ...
, and
United States Attorney General The United States attorney general (AG) is the head of the United States Department of Justice, and is the chief law enforcement officer of the federal government of the United States. The attorney general serves as the principal advisor to the p ...
. It was the 38th
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. Breckinridge County is now a
wet county Wet may refer to: * Moisture, the condition of containing liquid or being covered or saturated in liquid * Wetting (or wetness), a measure of how well a liquid sticks to a solid rather than forming a sphere on the surface Wet or WET may also refe ...
, following a local option election on January 29, 2013, but it had been 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 ...
for the previous 105 years.


History

The area presently bounded by Kentucky state lines was a part of the U.S. State of Virginia, known as Kentucky County when the British colonies separated themselves in the American Revolutionary War. In 1780, the Virginia legislature divided the previous Kentucky County into three smaller units: Fayette, Jefferson, and Lincoln. In 1791, this area was separated into the State of Kentucky; it became effective on June 1, 1792. From that time, the original three counties were divided several times. A portion of Jefferson County was split off as Nelson County in 1784; a portion of Nelson was split off as Hardin County in 1792; the present Breckinridge County was split off from Hardin in 1799. In August 1779, Sinclair Hardin (first cousin of Captain
William Hardin Captain William Hardin (c. 1745 – July 22, 1821) was an American soldier, farmer, and founder of Hardinsburg, Kentucky. Known as "Big Bill" or "Indian Bill", he was related to Colonel John Hardin, for whom Hardin County, Kentucky was named. Fam ...
, the founder of Hardin's Fort), was killed by
Shawnee The Shawnee are an Algonquian-speaking indigenous people of the Northeastern Woodlands. In the 17th century they lived in Pennsylvania, and in the 18th century they were in Pennsylvania, Ohio, Indiana and Illinois, with some bands in Kentucky a ...
Indians while taking a drink at Big Springs. He was the first white settler in Breckinridge County to be killed by Native Americans.Jolly, Henry C. April 25, 1902. "Interesting History of Indian Bill Hardin". The Breckinridge Democrat.Perrin, W.H. 1885. A History of the State of Kentucky. pp. 1039–1042; 1081, 1082. Retrieved fro

an

/ref> The Indian threat continued for several years. However, the only sizable expedition against the Native Americans that Breckinridge County settlers took part in culminated in the Battle of Saline Creek in August 1786, in Illinois. The battle only lasted a few minutes, with fierce hand-to-hand combat. Between 18 and 30 Shawnee warriors were killed, with six more wounded. The remainder of the Shawnee fled. Captain William Hardin had commanded the Kentucky volunteers, many of whom also were killed or wounded. Hardin's militia brought home 16 Shawnee scalps, nine captured horses, 17 muskets, and "a mighty nice sword". The Judge-Executive of Breckinridge County from 1801 to 1805 was William Comstock. Jo Allen was the county clerk, and Ben Huff was the sheriff. During the
American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...
, raiding Kentucky
Confederate Confederacy or confederate may refer to: States or communities * Confederate state or confederation, a union of sovereign groups or communities * Confederate States of America, a confederation of secessionist American states that existed between 1 ...
cavalry Historically, cavalry (from the French word ''cavalerie'', itself derived from "cheval" meaning "horse") are soldiers or warriors who fight mounted on horseback. Cavalry were the most mobile of the combat arms, operating as light cavalry ...
burned the courthouse, as it was being used by Union troops as a barracks, though most of the records were saved. On March 12, 1865, Jerome Clarke, a well known Confederate guerrilla, claimed by some to have been
Sue Munday Sue Mundy was a fictional guerrilla character created by George D. Prentice, the editor of the ''Louisville Journal''. Prentice opposed the heavy-handed military rule of General Stephen G. Burbridge in Kentucky during the American Civil War. Histo ...
, was captured near the Breckinridge–Meade County line. He was hanged three days later in
Louisville Louisville ( , , ) is the largest city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky and the 28th most-populous city in the United States. Louisville is the historical seat and, since 2003, the nominal seat of Jefferson County, on the Indiana border. ...
. Afterward, his trial drew heavy criticism. During the nineteenth century, the Victoria Coal Mines, named in honor of British
Queen Victoria Victoria (Alexandrina Victoria; 24 May 1819 – 22 January 1901) was Queen of the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland from 20 June 1837 until Death and state funeral of Queen Victoria, her death in 1901. Her reign of 63 years and 21 ...
, were the first to produce
coal oil Coal oil is a shale oil obtained from the destructive distillation of cannel coal, mineral wax, or bituminous shale, once used widely for illumination. Chemically similar to the more refined, petroleum-derived kerosene, it consists mainly of se ...
, and Cloverport exported it to
Great Britain Great Britain is an island in the North Atlantic Ocean off the northwest coast of continental Europe. With an area of , it is the largest of the British Isles, the largest European island and the ninth-largest island in the world. It is ...
, where it was used to light
Buckingham Palace Buckingham Palace () is a London royal residence and the administrative headquarters of the monarch of the United Kingdom. Located in the City of Westminster, the palace is often at the centre of state occasions and royal hospitality. It ...
. United States Supreme Court Justice Wiley Blount Rutledge Jr., who served on the High Court from 1943 to 1949, was born at Tar Springs in 1894, when his father was pastor of Cloverport Baptist Church. On June 6, 1932, at Hardinsburg, Sam Jennings became the penultimate person to be publicly executed in the United States. In the 1950s,
Rough River Dam State Resort Park Rough River Dam State Resort Park is a Kentucky state park encompassing on Rough River Lake in Grayson county. Rough River Dam of 1959, stretching across and high, creates Rough River Lake, a recreational lake of approximately . The lake is ...
was developed at the southern border of the county. A third courthouse fire nearly destroyed county records in 1958. Breckinridge County High School won the 1965 and 1995
Kentucky High School Athletic Association The Kentucky High School Athletic Association (KHSAA) has been the governing body of the U.S. state of Kentucky high-school athletics since 1917. It is located in Lexington. Sports The organization sanctions competition in the following sports ...
's Boys' Basketball tournaments. The Breckinridge County Archives, formed in 1984, was the first state-funded archival repository in the history of the United States and is known across the nation as an excellent resource for genealogical and historical research.


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 the ...
, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (3.2%) is water.


Adjacent counties

*
Perry County, Indiana Perry County is a county located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2010, the population was 19,338. The county seat is Tell City. It is the hilliest county as well as one of the most forested counties in Indiana as it ...
(northwest) * Meade County (northeast/EST Border) * Hardin County (east/EST Border) * Grayson County (south) * Ohio County (southwest) * Hancock County (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 incl ...
of 2000, there were 18,648 people, 7,324 households, and 5,309 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 RosenberPopul ...
was . There were 9,890 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 95.84%
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 on ...
, 2.86%
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 o ...
or
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 ...
, 0.23% Native American, 0.08%
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 list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...
, 0.09% 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 0.90% from two or more races. 0.72% of the population were
Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...
or
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 7,324 households, out of which 31.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.60% 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 t ...
living together, 8.90% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.50% were non-families. 24.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.60% 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 2.97. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.90% under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 26.70% from 25 to 44, 26.00% from 45 to 64, and 14.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 98.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $30,554, and the median income for a family was $36,575. Males had a median income of $31,004 versus $19,371 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 $15,402. About 11.80% of families and 15.80% 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 t ...
, including 16.60% of those under age 18 and 19.00% of those age 65 or over.


Education


K-12 education

School districts include:
Text list
- For more detailed boundaries of the independent school districts see:
*
Breckinridge County School District Breckinridge may refer to: People * Breckinridge (surname) * Breckinridge family * Marvin Breckinridge Patterson (1905–2002), American photojournalist, cinematographer, and philanthropist * Benjamin Breckinridge Warfield (1851–1921), princ ...
*
Cloverport Independent School District Cloverport is a list of Kentucky cities, home rule-class city in Breckinridge County, Kentucky, Breckinridge County, Kentucky, United States, on the banks of the Ohio River. The population was 1,152 at the 2010 United States Census, 2010 census. ...
It also has a private school: * Saint Romuald Interparochial School


Library

Breckinridge County Public Library is located at 308 Old Highway 60 in Hardinsburg, Kentucky.


Communities


Incorporated Communities

* Cloverport * Hardinsburg (county seat) * Irvington


Unincorporated Communities A–L

*
Addison Addison may refer to: Places Canada * Addison, Ontario United States *Addison, Alabama *Addison, Illinois *Addison Street in Chicago, Illinois which runs by Wrigley Field * Addison, Kentucky *Addison, Maine *Addison, Michigan *Addison, New York ...
*
Axtel Axtel S.A.B. de C.V., known as Axtel, is a Mexican telecommunications company headquartered in San Pedro, near Monterrey. It offers telephone, internet, and television services through FTTH in 45 cities of Mexico as well as IT Services. It is t ...
* Bewleyville * Big Spring (partially in Hardin County and Meade County in the
Eastern Time Zone The Eastern Time Zone (ET) is a time zone encompassing part or all of 23 states in the eastern part of the United States, parts of eastern Canada, the state of Quintana Roo in Mexico, Panama, Colombia, mainland Ecuador, Peru, and a small por ...
) *
Cannons Point A cannon is a large- caliber gun classified as a type of artillery, which usually launches a projectile using explosive chemical propellant. Gunpowder ("black powder") was the primary propellant before the invention of smokeless powder dur ...
* Clifton Mills *
Constantine Constantine most often refers to: * Constantine the Great, Roman emperor from 306 to 337, also known as Constantine I *Constantine, Algeria, a city in Algeria Constantine may also refer to: People * Constantine (name), a masculine given name ...
*
Custer George Armstrong Custer (December 5, 1839 – June 25, 1876) was a United States Army officer and cavalry commander in the American Civil War and the American Indian Wars. Custer graduated from West Point in 1861 at the bottom of his class, b ...
* Dyer * Fairfield * Falls of Rough (mostly in Grayson County) *
Fisher Fisher is an archaic term for a fisherman, revived as gender-neutral. Fisher, Fishers or The Fisher may also refer to: Places Australia *Division of Fisher, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives, in Queensland *Elect ...
* Frymire *
Garfield ''Garfield'' is an American comic strip created by Jim Davis. Originally published locally as ''Jon'' in 1976, then in nationwide syndication from 1978 as ''Garfield'', it chronicles the life of the title character Garfield the cat, his human ...
* Glen Dean * Harned * Hinton Hills *
Holt Holt or holte may refer to: Natural world *Holt (den), an otter den * Holt, an area of woodland Places Australia * Holt, Australian Capital Territory * Division of Holt, an electoral district in the Australian House of Representatives in Vic ...
*
Hudson Hudson may refer to: People * Hudson (given name) * Hudson (surname) * Henry Hudson, English explorer * Hudson (footballer, born 1986), Hudson Fernando Tobias de Carvalho, Brazilian football right-back * Hudson (footballer, born 1988), Hudso ...
* Kingswood *
Kirk Kirk is a Scottish and former Northern English word meaning "church". It is often used specifically of the Church of Scotland. Many place names and personal names are also derived from it. Basic meaning and etymology As a common noun, ''kirk'' ...
* Locust Hill * Lodiburg


Unincorporated Communities M–Z

*
Madrid Madrid ( , ) is the capital and most populous city of Spain. The city has almost 3.4 million inhabitants and a metropolitan area population of approximately 6.7 million. It is the second-largest city in the European Union (EU), and ...
* Mattingly * McCoy * McDaniels * McQuady *
Mook Mook or Mooks may refer to: Places * Mook, Iran (disambiguation) * Mook, Kentucky, an unincorporated community, United States * Mook en Middelaar, a municipality in the Netherlands Entertainment * Mook (publishing), a portmanteau of magazine a ...
* Mooleyville * Mount Merino * Mystic *
Raymond Raymond is a male given name. It was borrowed into English from French (older French spellings were Reimund and Raimund, whereas the modern English and French spellings are identical). It originated as the Germanic ᚱᚨᚷᛁᚾᛗᚢᚾᛞ ( ...
* Roff *
Sample Sample or samples may refer to: Base meaning * Sample (statistics), a subset of a population – complete data set * Sample (signal), a digital discrete sample of a continuous analog signal * Sample (material), a specimen or small quantity of s ...
* Se Ree * Stephensport * Tar Fork * Union Star * Vanzant *
Webster Webster may refer to: People *Webster (surname), including a list of people with the surname *Webster (given name), including a list of people with the given name Places Canada *Webster, Alberta *Webster's Falls, Hamilton, Ontario United State ...
* Westview


Notable natives

* Alfred "Butch" Beard - professional basketball player and coach *
David "Big Dave" DeJernett David "Big Dave" DeJernett (February 22, 1912 – August 4, 1964) was a pioneer of integration in early basketball in the United States. He is best known for leading the integrated Washington Hatchets to the Indiana state title as a high school ...
- professional basketball player *
Philip Leget Edwards Philip Leget Edwards (July 14, 1812 – May 1, 1869) was an American educator from the state of Kentucky and first teacher in what became the state of Oregon. After teaching in Missouri, he traveled to the Oregon Country with Jason Lee and helped ...
- American educator *
Joseph Holt Joseph Holt (January 6, 1807 – August 1, 1894) was an American lawyer, soldier, and politician. As a leading member of the Buchanan administration, he succeeded in convincing Buchanan to oppose the secession of the South. He returned to Ke ...
-
Judge Advocate General of the United States Army The Judge Advocate General of the United States Army (TJAG) is the senior officer of the Judge Advocate General's Corps of the United States Army. Under Title 10 of the United States Code, the TJAG is appointed by the President of the United State ...
,
Attorney General In most common law jurisdictions, the attorney general or attorney-general (sometimes abbreviated AG or Atty.-Gen) is the main legal advisor to the government. The plural is attorneys general. In some jurisdictions, attorneys general also have exec ...
-
Secretary of War The secretary of war was a member of the U.S. president's Cabinet, beginning with George Washington's administration. A similar position, called either "Secretary at War" or "Secretary of War", had been appointed to serve the Congress of the ...
, Commissioner of Patents, and
Postmaster General A Postmaster General, in Anglosphere countries, is the chief executive officer of the postal service of that country, a ministerial office responsible for overseeing all other postmasters. The practice of having a government official respons ...
. *
Bobbi Jordan Roberta Carol "Bobbi" Jordan (née Bartlett; July 11, 1937 – November 9, 2012) was an American actress whose television and film credits included the soap opera '' General Hospital'' and the 1974 musical film ''Mame''. Her name is sometimes ...
- American actress *
John Alexander McClernand John Alexander McClernand (May 30, 1812 – September 20, 1900) was an American lawyer and politician, and a Union Army general in the American Civil War. He was a prominent Democratic politician in Illinois and a member of the United States H ...
- Union General during the American Civil War * Charles Harwood Moorman—Judge of the Kentucky Court of Appeals, Judge of the
United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky The United States District Court for the Western District of Kentucky (in case citations, W.D. Ky.) is the federal district court for the western part of the state of Kentucky. Appeals from the Western District of Kentucky are taken to the Unite ...
, and Judge of the
United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit The United States Court of Appeals for the Sixth Circuit (in case citations, 6th Cir.) is a federal court with appellate jurisdiction over the district courts in the following districts: * Eastern District of Kentucky * Western District of ...
*
George W. Swink George Washington Swink, or G.W. Swink, (1836–1910) was a landowner and politician in Colorado and is said to have been the holder of the first Timber Culture Act, timber claim certificate in the United States, issued by President Grover Clevel ...
- businessman *
Tera Wray Tera Wray (born Tera Elizabeth Lents; April 14, 1982 – January 13, 2016) was an American pornographic actress. In his biography of Wray, performing arts researcher Harris M. Lentz III referred to her as "a star of alternative pornography". Ear ...
- pornographic actress *
Joe Wright Joseph Wright (born 25 August 1972) is an English film director residing in Somerset, England. His motion pictures include the literary adaptations '' Pride & Prejudice'' (2005), ''Atonement'' (2007), ''Anna Karenina'' (2012), and ''Cyrano'' ( ...
- Majority floor leader in the
Kentucky State Senate The Kentucky Senate is the upper house of the Kentucky General Assembly. The Kentucky Senate is composed of 38 members elected from single-member districts throughout the Commonwealth. There are no term limits for Kentucky Senators. The Kentuc ...


Politics


See also

*
National Register of Historic Places listings in Breckinridge County, Kentucky This is a list of the National Register of Historic Places listings in Breckinridge County, Kentucky. This is intended to be a complete list of the properties and districts on the National Register of Historic Places in Breckinridge County, Ken ...


References

{{Authority control 1799 establishments in Kentucky Kentucky counties Kentucky counties on the Ohio River Populated places established in 1799