Grant 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 northern part of 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 sove ...

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 24,941. 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 Williamstown. The county was formed in 1820 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 o ...

John Grant, who led a party of settlers in 1779 to establish Grant's Station, in today's Bourbon County, Kentucky. Grant County is included in the Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area. Grant County residents voted to allow full alcohol sales in the county by a margin of 56% to 44% in a special election on December 22, 2015. In the 19th century, Grant County contained multiple saloons. The Grant County News, established in 1906 and published in Williamstown, is preserved on microfilm by 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 ...

Libraries. The microfilm holdings are listed in a master negative database on the UK Libraries Preservation and Digital Programs website.

History

Grant County was established in 1820 from land taken from Pendleton County. The historic courthouse, built in 1939, replaced two earlier structures. A new judicial center was completed in April 2010. In 1975, many residents reported seeing a UFO at Williamstown Lake.

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 t ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.1%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Boone County (north) *

Kenton County Kenton County is a county located in the northern part of the Commonwealth of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 169,064, making it the third most populous county in Kentucky (behind Jefferson County and Fayette County). It ...

(northeast) * Pendleton County (east) * Harrison County (southeast) * Scott County (south) * Owen County (west) * Gallatin County (northwest)

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 in ...

of 2000, there were 22,384 people, 8,175 households, and 6,221 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: 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 geographical ...

was . There were 9,306 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.31%

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 o ...

, 0.25%

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 ...

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, 0.29% 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 ...

, 0.32% 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 0.54% from two or more races. 1.04% 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 forme ...

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 8,175 households, out of which 39.60% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 60.10% were married couples living together, 11.10% had a female householder with no husband present, and 23.90% were non-families. 19.80% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.72 and the average family size was 3.10. In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.70% under the age of 18, 9.40% from 18 to 24, 31.50% from 25 to 44, 20.90% 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 97.10 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.80 males. The median income for a household in the county was $38,438, and the median income for a family was $42,605. Males had a median income of $31,987 versus $23,669 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 $16,776. About 9.00% of families and 11.10% 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 t ...

, including 15.10% of those under age 18 and 13.40% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Grant County has six schools: Crittenden Mt Zion (CMZ), Dry Ridge Elementary (DRE), Sherman Elementary (SES), Mason Corinth Elementary (MCE), Grant County Middle School (GCMS), Grant County High School (GCHS) and Williamstown Independent Schools (WES)- (WMS) – (WHS). Grant County's only library is located in Williamstown.

Politics

Infrastructure

Transportation

Public transportation is provided by Senior Services of Northern Kentucky with demand-response service.

Notable attractions

Grant County, specifically in Williamstown, is the location of the

Ark Encounter Ark Encounter is a Christian young Earth creationist theme park that opened in Williamstown, Kentucky, United States in 2016. The centerpiece of the park is a large representation of Noah's Ark, based on the Genesis flood narrative contained ...

, operated by the Christian apologetics organization

Answers in Genesis Answers in Genesis (AiG) is an American fundamentalist Christian apologetics parachurch organization. It advocates Young Earth creationism on the basis of its literal, historical-grammatical interpretation of the Book of Genesis and the Bibl ...

and opened in 2016.

Communities

Corinth Corinth ( ; el, Κόρινθος, Kórinthos, ) is the successor to an ancient city, and is a former municipality in Corinthia, Peloponnese (region), Peloponnese, which is located in south-central Greece. Since the 2011 local government refor ...

* Crittenden * Dry Ridge * Jonesville * Williamstown (county seat)

References

External links

Historical Texts and Images of Grant County
{{authority control Kentucky counties 1820 establishments in Kentucky Populated places established in 1820