Casey 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 the U.S. 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 ...

. 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 ...

Liberty Liberty is the ability to do as one pleases, or a right or immunity enjoyed by prescription or by grant (i.e. privilege). It is a synonym for the word freedom. In modern politics, liberty is understood as the state of being free within society fr ...

. The county was formed in 1806 from the western part of Lincoln County and named for

Colonel Colonel (abbreviated as Col., Col or COL) is a senior military 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 colonel was typically in charge ...

William Casey, a pioneer settler who moved his family to Kentucky in 1779. It is the only Kentucky county entirely in the Knobs region. Casey County is home to annual Casey County Apple Festival, and is a prohibition or

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 th ...

. It is considered part of the Appalachian region of Kentucky.

History

Casey County was established in 1806 from land given by Lincoln County. The third and present courthouse was built in 1889. In 2015, County Clerk Casey Davis received national press when he announced he would deny

same-sex marriage Same-sex marriage, also known as gay marriage, is the marriage of two people of the same sex or gender. marriage between same-sex couples is legally performed and recognized in 33 countries, with the most recent being Mexico, constituting ...

licenses, as a show of solidarity with fellow county clerk Kim Davis, who was criticized and later jailed for doing the same thing in Rowan County, Kentucky.Second Kentucky Clerk Refuses to Issue Same-Sex Marriage Licenses
" NBC News. 2015-09-02. Retrieved 2015-09-05.

Geography

According to the

U.S. 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 (0.3%) is water. The highest point in Casey County is Green River Knob at .

Adjacent counties

* Boyle County (north) * Lincoln County (northeast) * Pulaski County (southeast) * Russell County (south/CST Border) * Adair County (southwest/CST Border) * Taylor County (west) * Marion County (northwest)

Major highways

* * * * * * * *

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 15,447 people, 6,260 households, and 4,419 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 7,242 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.30%

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 ...

, 0.33%

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 ...

, 0.28% Native American, 0.06% Asian, 0.05%

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 O ...

, 0.31% from other races, and 0.66% from two or more races. 1.28% 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 6,260 households, out of which 31.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.10% 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, 10.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.40% were non-families. 26.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.60% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.44 and the average family size was 2.94. 24.50% of the population was under the age of 18, 8.20% from 18 to 24, 27.50% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 15.10% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 38 years. For every 100 females there were 95.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 92.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $21,580, and the median income for a family was $27,044. Males had a median income of $22,283 versus $17,885 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 $12,867. About 20.70% of families and 25.50% 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 32.10% of those under age 18 and 29.60% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Casey County has one of the longest streaks of voting for

Republican Party Republican Party is a name used by many political parties around the world, though the term most commonly refers to the United States' Republican Party. Republican Party may also refer to: Africa * Republican Party (Liberia) *Republican Party ...

candidates in presidential elections in Kentucky & nationwide, with its candidates gaining the majority of the vote by wide margins in every election from 1916 on. No Democratic presidential candidate has even managed to gain 30% of the county's vote since

Jimmy Carter James Earl Carter Jr. (born October 1, 1924) is an American politician who served as the 39th president of the United States from 1977 to 1981. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he previously served as th ...

in 1976.

Education

Casey County Schools operates public schools.

Communities

* Bethelridge * Clementsville * Creston * Dunnville *

(county seat) * Middleburg *

Phil Phil may refer to: * Phil (given name), a shortened version of masculine and feminine names * Phill, a given name also spelled "Phil" * Phil, Kentucky, United States * ''Phil'' (film), a 2019 film * -phil-, a lexical fragment, used as a root ter ...

* Jacktown *

Penetralia Hypocrisy is a Swedish death metal band formed in October 1991 in Ludvika by Peter Tägtgren. History After spending three years in Fort Lauderdale, Florida, in 1990, founder Peter Tägtgren returned to his homeland of Sweden, to form his own ba ...

Teddy Teddy is an English language given name, usually a hypocorism of Edward or Theodore. It may refer to: People Nickname * Teddy Atlas (born 1956), boxing trainer and fight commentator * Teddy Bourne (born 1948), British Olympic epee fencer * Tedd ...

* Upper Tygart *

Walltown Walltown is a rural unincorporated community in eastern Casey County, Kentucky Kentucky ( , ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States ...

* Windsor *

Yosemite Yosemite National Park ( ) is an American national park in California, surrounded on the southeast by Sierra National Forest and on the northwest by Stanislaus National Forest. The park is managed by the National Park Service and covers an ar ...

Notable people

Silas Adams Silas Adams (February 9, 1839 – May 5, 1896) was an American attorney and politician from Kentucky who served for one term as a member of the United States House of Representatives from Kentucky's 11th congressional district. Early life and ed ...

, member of the

United States House of Representatives The United States House of Representatives, often referred to as the House of Representatives, the U.S. House, or simply the House, is the lower chamber of the United States Congress, with the Senate being the upper chamber. Together they ...

(1893-1895) * Tim Butler,

The Psychedelic Furs The Psychedelic Furs are a post-punk band founded in London in February 1977. Led by lead vocalist Richard Butler and his brother Tim Butler on bass guitar, the Psychedelic Furs are one of the many acts spawned from the British post-punk scen ...

bass player * Charles T. Wethington Jr., former president of the

University of Kentucky The University of Kentucky (UK, UKY, or U of K) is a public land-grant research university in Lexington, Kentucky. Founded in 1865 by John Bryan Bowman as the Agricultural and Mechanical College of Kentucky, the university is one of the state ...

Crystal Wilkinson Crystal E. Wilkinson is an African-American feminist writer from Kentucky, and proponent of the Affrilachian Poet movement. She is the winner of a 2022 NAACP Image Award, a 2020 winner of the USA Fellow of Creative Writing, and a 2021 O. Henry P ...

, author * Wallace G. Wilkinson, governor of Kentucky (1987-1991)

References

External links

The Kentucky Highlands Project
{{authority control 1806 establishments in Kentucky Populated places established in 1806 Kentucky counties Counties of Appalachia