Knott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 census, the population was 14,251. Its county seat is Hindman. The county was formed in 1884 and is named for

James Proctor Knott James Proctor Knott (August 29, 1830 – June 18, 1911) was a U.S. Representative from Kentucky and served as the 29th Governor of Kentucky from 1883 to 1887. Born in Kentucky, he moved to Missouri in 1850 and began his political career the ...

, Governor of Kentucky (1883–1887). It 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 the ...

. Its county seat is home to the Hindman Settlement School, founded as America's first settlement school. The Knott County town of

Pippa Passes ''Pippa Passes'' is a verse drama by Robert Browning. It was published in 1841 as the first volume of his ''Bells and Pomegranates'' series, in a low-priced two-column edition for sixpence, and republished in his collected ''Poems'' of 1849, w ...

is home to Alice Lloyd College.

History

Knott County was established in 1884 from land given by Breathitt, Floyd, Letcher, and Perry counties. The 1890s-era courthouse, the second to serve the county, burned in 1929.

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 (0.4%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Magoffin County Magoffin County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2010 census, the population was 13,333. Its county seat is Salyersville. The county was formed in 1860 from adjacent portions of Floyd, Johnson, and Morgan Counties ...

(north) * Floyd County (northeast) * Pike County (east) * Letcher County (south) *

Perry County Perry County may refer to: United States *Perry County, Alabama *Perry County, Arkansas *Perry County, Illinois *Perry County, Indiana *Perry County, Kentucky *Perry County, Mississippi *Perry County, Missouri *Perry County, Ohio *Perry Coun ...

(southwest) *

Breathitt County Breathitt County ( ) is a county in the eastern Appalachian portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of the 2020 United States Census, the population was 13,718. Its county seat is Jackson. The county was formed in 1839 and was named for John B ...

(northwest)

Summits

Big Lovely Mountain, 1,401 feet (427 m)

Demographics

As of the census of 2000, there were 17,649 people, 6,717 households, and 4,990 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 7,579 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.27% White, 0.73% Black or African American, 0.11% Native American, 0.15%

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 ...

, 0.01% Pacific Islander, 0.12% from other races, and 0.60% from two or more races. 0.63% of the population were Hispanic 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 6,717 households, out of which 34.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.60% 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, 12.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.70% were non-families. 23.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.54 and the average family size was 3.00. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.50% under the age of 18, 10.80% from 18 to 24, 29.00% from 25 to 44, 24.30% from 45 to 64, and 11.40% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 97.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 94.10 males. The median income for a household in the county was $20,373, and the median income for a family was $24,930. Males had a median income of $29,471 versus $21,240 for females. The per capita income for the county was $11,297. About 26.20% of families and 31.10% of the population were below the poverty line, including 39.80% of those under age 18 and 23.10% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Knott County Schools

Knott County Central High School Knott County Central High School is a high school located in Hindman, Kentucky. It is home to the Knott County Central Patriots, who have claimed several regional titles in basketball, baseball, track, and other sports. History The school was f ...

* Knott County Area Technology Center * Beaver Creek Elementary * Carr Creek Elementary *

Cordia School Cordia School is one of two high schools located in Knott County, Kentucky. It serves students from Prekindergarten to 12th grade. History The school was established by Alice Slone from Caney Creek, Kentucky. Slone was sent to Cleveland, Ohio ...

* Emmalena Elementary * Hindman Elementary * Jones Fork Elementary

Private schools

* Bethel Christian Academy * Hindman Settlement School * June Buchanan School

Higher education

* Knott County Campus of Hazard Community and Technical College * Alice Lloyd College

Politics

Knott County had historically voted very strongly for the

Democratic Party Democratic Party most often refers to: *Democratic Party (United States) Democratic Party and similar terms may also refer to: Active parties Africa *Botswana Democratic Party *Democratic Party of Equatorial Guinea *Gabonese Democratic Party *Demo ...

. In

1992 File:1992 Events Collage V1.png, From left, clockwise: 1992 Los Angeles riots, Riots break out across Los Angeles, California after the Police brutality, police beating of Rodney King; El Al Flight 1862 crashes into a residential apartment buildi ...

, 75% of Knott County residents voted for Democrat Bill Clinton for US President, the highest percentage for Clinton of any county in the state. However, in recent years, Knott County has voted more favorably for the

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 Part ...

. In the 2008 presidential election, Republican

John McCain John Sidney McCain III (August 29, 1936 – August 25, 2018) was an American politician and United States Navy officer who served as a United States senator from Arizona from 1987 until his death in 2018. He previously served two terms ...

became the first Republican to win Knott County in a presidential election by winning 52.6% of the vote to Barack Obama's 45%. Aside from

Elliott County Elliott County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Sandy Hook. The county was formed in 1869 from parts of Morgan, Lawrence, and Carter counties, and is named for John Lyle Elliott, U.S. Congressman, Conf ...

(which didn't vote Republican until 2016) and the equally historically blue Floyd County, Knott County was the last county in Kentucky outside of Fayette and Jefferson counties to switch to the GOP. When Governor Ernie Fletcher appointed Republican Randy Thompson as County Judge Executive in 2005, it was the first time the county ever had a Republican Judge Executive. Thompson won re-election in 2006 and again in 2010, making him the first Republican to win election in a Knott County office. Congressman

Hal Rogers Harold Dallas Rogers (born December 31, 1937) is an American lawyer and politician serving his 21st term as the U.S. representative for , having served since 1981. He is a member of the Republican Party. Upon Don Young's death in 2022, Rogers b ...

has also won Knott County's vote in recent years. Thompson was removed from office in 2013 after being convicted of misusing public funds.

Economy

Coal companies in Knott County

* Alpha Natural Resources * James River Coal Company

Areas of interest

Tourism is increasing in the county, especially the popularity of

elk The elk (''Cervus canadensis''), also known as the wapiti, is one of the largest species within the deer family, Cervidae, and one of the largest terrestrial mammals in its native range of North America and Central and East Asia. The common ...

viewing. Knott County and its surrounding counties are home to 5,700 free ranging elk, the largest elk herd east of the Mississippi River. There is an ATV Training Center dedicated to the safety of ATV usage amongst riders and th
Knott County Sportsplex
a sports complex which has indoor basketball courts, outside baseball fields, a soccer field, and a fitness center.

Media

Television

Hometown24

Radio

WKCB-FM WKCB-FM (107.1 FM) is a radio station broadcasting a classic hits format. Licensed to Hindman, Kentucky, United States. The station is currently owned by Hindman Broadcasting Corporation and features programming from Fox News Radio Fox News ...

* WKCB-AM *

WWJD WWJD (91.7 FM, "Eagle 91.7") is a radio station licensed to serve Pippa Passes, Kentucky. The station is owned by Alice Lloyd College. It broadcasts in a Contemporary Christian music format. The station has been assigned these call letters by ...

-FM

Newspapers

''Troublesome Creek Times''

Communities

Cities

* Hindman (county seat) *

* Vicco (part)

Unincorporated communities

Anco Anco may refer to: Places * Anco, Kentucky, US * Anco District, Churcampa Anco District is one of ten districts of the province Churcampa in Peru. Ethnic groups The people in the district are mainly Indigenous citizens of Quechua descent. Quech ...

Bath Bath may refer to: * Bathing, immersion in a fluid ** Bathtub, a large open container for water, in which a person may wash their body ** Public bathing, a public place where people bathe * Thermae, ancient Roman public bathing facilities Plac ...

* Bearville * Betty * Breeding Creek *

Carrie Carrie may refer to: People * Carrie (name), a female given name and occasionally a surname Places in the United States * Carrie, Kentucky, an unincorporated community * Carrie, Virginia, an unincorporated community * Carrie Glacier, Olympic Nati ...

* Dema (part) *

Elic Elic or ELIC may refer to: * Elic, Kentucky, an unincorporated community in Knott County *Executive Life Insurance Company Executive Life Insurance Company (ELIC) was once the largest life insurance company in California. Its financial problems a ...

* Elmrock * Emmalena * Fisty *

Garner Garner may refer to: Places United States * Garner, Arkansas * Garner, Iowa * Garner, Missouri * Garner, North Carolina Other uses * Garner (surname), a surname * Granary, a grain store * ''Tennessee v. Garner'', a United States Supreme Court cas ...

* Handshoe * Hollybush * Indian Grave * Irishman * Jones Fork * Kite * Leburn * Littcarr * Mallie * Mousie * Pine Top *

Raven A raven is any of several larger-bodied bird species of the genus ''Corvus''. These species do not form a single taxonomic group within the genus. There is no consistent distinction between "crows" and "ravens", common names which are assigned t ...

Ritchie Ritchie may refer to: People Surname *Adele Ritchie (1874–1930), singer – comic opera, musical comedy and vaudeville *Albert Ritchie (1876–1936), governor of Maryland 1920 to 1935 *Alistair Ferguson Ritchie (1890–1954), crossword compiler ...

* Sassafras * Slone Fork * Soft Shell * Spider * Talcum *

Tina Tina may refer to: People *Tina (given name), people and fictional characters with the given name ''Tina'' Places *Tina, Iran, a village in Khuzestan Province, Iran *Tina, Tunisia, a town in Sfax Governorate, Tunisia * Tina, Guadalcanal, Solomon ...

Topmost Topmost was a Finnish rock band founded in 1964, becoming the most popular band in Finland in 1967.''Iskelma'' magazine 1968, ''Stump'' magazine 1967 Its members were Heimo "Holle" Holopainen (bass guitar, background vocals), Kristian "Kisu" Je ...

* Vest * Wiscoal

Infrastructure

Transportation

Public transportation is provided by LKLP

Community Action Partnership A community is a social unit (a group of living things) with commonality such as place, norms, religion, values, customs, or identity. Communities may share a sense of place situated in a given geographical area (e.g. a country, village ...

with demand-response service and scheduled service from Hindman to

Hazard A hazard is a potential source of harm Harm is a moral and legal concept. Bernard Gert construes harm as any of the following: * pain * death * disability * mortality * loss of abil ity or freedom * loss of pleasure. Joel Feinberg giv ...

Notable residents

* Lige Clarke (1942−1975), LGBT activist, journalist and author * Rebecca Gayheart (born 1971), actress and model *

Carl Dewey Perkins Carl Dewey Perkins (October 15, 1912 – August 3, 1984), a Democrat, was an American politician and member of the United States House of Representatives from the state of Kentucky serving from 1949 until his death from a heart attack in Lexing ...

(1912−1984), politician and member of the United States House of Representatives *

James Still James Still (July 16, 1906 – April 28, 2001) was an American poet, novelist and folklorist. He lived most of his life in a log house along the Dead Mare Branch of Little Carr Creek, Knott County, Kentucky. He was best known for the novel '' ...

(1906–2001), author folklorist *

David Tolliver Halfway to Hazard is an American country music duo composed of singer-songwriters David Tolliver and Chad Warrix. Though Tolliver and Warrix grew up in different towns in southeastern Kentucky, their band's origins are in Hazard, Kentucky, which ...

, musician; member of country band

Halfway to Hazard Halfway to Hazard is an American country music duo composed of singer-songwriters David Tolliver and Chad Warrix. Though Tolliver and Warrix grew up in different towns in southeastern Kentucky, their band's origins are in Hazard, Kentucky, which ...

In popular culture

* 20th Century Fox filmed several scenes in the county for a nationally released movie '' Fire Down Below''

References

External links

The Kentucky Highlands Project
{{authority control Kentucky counties Counties of Appalachia 1884 establishments in Kentucky Populated places established in 1884