Knox 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

Appalachia Appalachia () is a cultural region in the Eastern United States that stretches from the Southern Tier of New York State to northern Alabama and Georgia. While the Appalachian Mountains stretch from Belle Isle in Newfoundland and Labrador, C ...

near the southeastern corner 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 30,193. 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 ...

is Barbourville. The county is named for

General A general officer is an officer of high rank in the armies, and in some nations' air forces, space forces, and marines or naval infantry. In some usages the term "general officer" refers to a rank above colonel."general, adj. and n.". O ...

Henry Knox Henry Knox (July 25, 1750 – October 25, 1806), a Founding Father of the United States, was a senior general of the Continental Army during the Revolutionary War, serving as chief of artillery in most of Washington's campaigns. Following th ...

. It is one of the few coal-producing counties in Kentucky that has not suffered massive population loss. Knox County is included in the

London London is the capital and List of urban areas in the United Kingdom, largest city of England and the United Kingdom, with a population of just under 9 million. It stands on the River Thames in south-east England at the head of a estuary dow ...

, KY Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

Knox County was formed on December 19, 1799, from portions of Lincoln County. It is usually assumed to be named for

of Massachusetts, a Revolutionary War general and the first

United States 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 ...

. However, there is strong evidence that it was actually named for James Knox. Knox was a pre-war explorer and long hunter, a veteran of Dunmore's War and the Revolutionary War, a pioneer guide, road-builder, and legislator. Knox had used the

Wilderness Road The Wilderness Road was one of two principal routes used by colonial and early national era settlers to reach Kentucky from the East. Although this road goes through the Cumberland Gap into southern Kentucky and northern Tennessee, the other (m ...

, which traverses the county, as an explorer and later oversaw its improvement into a wagon road. The

Civil War A civil war or intrastate war is a war between organized groups within the same state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government polici ...

Battle of Barbourville The Battle of Barbourville was one of the early engagements of the American Civil War. It took place on September 19, 1861, in Knox County, Kentucky during the campaign known as the Kentucky Confederate Offensive. The battle is considered th ...

was fought on September 19, 1861, between 800 Confederate soldiers from General

Felix Zollicoffer Felix Kirk Zollicoffer (May 19, 1812 – January 19, 1862) was an American newspaperman, slave owner, politician, and soldier. A three-term United States Congressman from Tennessee, an officer in the United States Army, and a Confederate briga ...

's command and 300 Union troops who attempted to defend the Union's Camp Andrew Johnson. The Union men tore up the planks on the bridge in an attempt to keep the Confederates from crossing, but the more numerous Confederates succeeded anyway. They destroyed the camp and seized the arms and equipment it contained. The present courthouse, completed in 1964, is the fifth courthouse to serve the county. The county has historically had

coal Coal is a combustible black or brownish-black sedimentary rock, formed as rock strata called coal seams. Coal is mostly carbon with variable amounts of other elements, chiefly hydrogen, sulfur, oxygen, and nitrogen. Coal is formed when ...

mining as the driver of its economy. Unlike other areas of southeastern Kentucky, it has continued to maintain jobs and much of its population.

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 th ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.4%) is water.

Adjacent counties

Clay County Clay County is the name of 18 counties in the United States. Most are named for Henry Clay, U.S. Senator and statesman: * Clay County, Alabama * Clay County, Arkansas (named for John Clayton, and originally named Clayton County) * Clay County, Flo ...

(northeast) * Bell County (southeast) * Whitley County (southwest) * Laurel County (northwest)

Economy

The largest employers in Knox County are Health Care & Social Assistance (1,406 people), Retail Trade (1,331 people), and Educational Services (1,226 people). But the highest-paying jobs are with mining, quarrying, and oil and gas extraction. Real estate sales, and rental and leasing also pay well, followed by finance and insurance.

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 31,795 people, 12,416 households, and 8,939 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 13,999 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.84%

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 ...

, 0.82%

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 ...

, 0.25% Native American, 0.17% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 0.08% 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 0.82% from two or more races. 0.57% 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 12,416 households, out of which 34.40% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 54.30% 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, 13.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 28.00% were non-families. 25.70% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.60% 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 3.01. In the county, the population was spread out, with 26.20% under the age of 18, 9.70% from 18 to 24, 28.10% from 25 to 44, 23.20% from 45 to 64, and 12.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.70 males. The median income for a household in the county was $18,294, and the median income for a family was $23,136. Males had a median income of $24,833 versus $18,390 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 $10,660. About 29.60% of families and 34.80% 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 ...

, including 42.40% of those under age 18 and 28.90% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Knox County is part of the Unionist bloc of counties covering the eastern Pennyroyal Plateau and the western part of the Eastern Coalfield. Like all counties in this bloc, Knox County is majority white by a high proportion, strongly opposed secession, and has been rock-ribbed Republican ever since the Civil War. The only Democrat to carry Knox County since then has been

Lyndon Johnson Lyndon Baines Johnson (; August 27, 1908January 22, 1973), often referred to by his initials LBJ, was an American politician who served as the 36th president of the United States from 1963 to 1969. He had previously served as the 37th vice ...

during his 1964 landslide.

Education

K–12

Three public school districts serve the county:
Text list
- For more detailed boundaries of the independent school districts see:

Knox County Public Schools Knox may refer to: Places United States * Fort Knox, a United States Army post in Kentucky ** United States Bullion Depository, a high security storage facility commonly called Fort Knox * Fort Knox (Maine), a fort located on the Penobscot River i ...

serves the entire county, including the cities of Barbourville and Corbin. The following are schools funded by the Knox County Public School District (grades served in parentheses): ** Central Elementary (PS–5) ** Dewitt Elementary (PS–5) ** Flat Lick Elementary (PS–5) ** Girdler Elementary (PS–5) ** G.R. Hampton Elementary (PS–5) ** Jesse D. Lay Elementary (PS–5) ** Lynn Camp Elementary (PS–5) ** Knox County Middle School (6–8) ** Lynn Camp High School (6–12) ** Knox Appalachian School (5–12) ** Knox Central High School (9–12) ** Knox County Learning Academy (9–12)

Barbourville Independent School District serves the city of Barbourville at a single campus with elementary and high school sections (grades PS–12). * The

Corbin Independent School District Corbin Independent School District or Corbin Schools is a school district headquartered in Corbin, Kentucky Corbin is a home rule-class city in Whitley, Knox and Laurel counties in the southeastern portion of the U.S. state of Kentucky. ...

serves the entire city of Corbin, making it one of the few districts in Kentucky whose boundaries cross county lines. The following are schools funded by the Corbin Independent School School District (grades served in parentheses): ** Corbin Primary School (K–2) ** Corbin Elementary (3–4) ** Corbin Intermediate (5–6) ** Corbin Middle School (7–8) ** Corbin High School (9–12)

Higher education

Union College Union College is a private liberal arts college in Schenectady, New York. Founded in 1795, it was the first institution of higher learning chartered by the New York State Board of Regents, and second in the state of New York, after Columbia Co ...

, a small

Methodist Methodism, also called the Methodist movement, is a group of historically related denominations of Protestant Christianity whose origins, doctrine and practice derive from the life and teachings of John Wesley. George Whitefield and John's ...

-affiliated

liberal arts college A liberal arts college or liberal arts institution of higher education is a college with an emphasis on undergraduate study in liberal arts and sciences. Such colleges aim to impart a broad general knowledge and develop general intellectual ca ...

, is located in Barbourville.

Communities

Cities

* Barbourville (county seat) * Corbin (primarily in Whitley County)

Census-designated places

* Artemus * Flat Lick * North Corbin (primarily in Laurel County)

Other unincorporated places

Gray Grey (more common in British English) or gray (more common in American English) is an intermediate color between black and white. It is a neutral or achromatic color, meaning literally that it is "without color", because it can be compose ...

* Kay Jay

Popular media

Video games

Project Zomboid ''Project Zomboid'' is an open-world isometric video game in development by British and Canadian independent developer The Indie Stone. The game is set in the post-apocalyptic, zombie-infested exclusion zone of the fictional Knox County, Kentuc ...

* Kentucky Zombie game

Notes

References

The Kentucky Highlands Project
* Bradley, Erwin S., ''Union College: A History, 1889-1954,'' Written in Commemoration of the Seventy-Fifth Anniversary of Its Founding (Barbourville, KY: Union College, 1954). Available online at: https://archive.org/details/unioncollege18791954brad * Decker, Elmer, "Knox County Kentucky History," manuscript by a local attorney from the 1930s and 1940s, containing much in the way of raw historical facts as well as documents, available online on the Bell County YPublic Libraries website www.bellcountypubliclibraries.org/crm/ky/knox/decker.html * Fetterman, John, ''Stinking Creek: The Portrait of a Small Mountain Community in Appalachia'' (E. P. Dutton, 1967; reprint, Plume, 1970). Also available online on the Bell County YPublic Libraries website. See
Bellcountypubliclibraries.org
* Marigold, W. Gordon and Erwin S. Bradley, ''Union College, 1879-1979'' (Barbourville, KY: Union College, 1979). * Mills, Michael C., ''Barbourville and Knox County.'' Arcadia Publishing (August 2, 2000). Also available online at
Arcadia Publishing-Local Interest & American History Books
* Mitchell, Charles Reed, ed., ''History and Families, Knox County, Kentucky, 1799-1994.'' With a History of Knox County, Kentucky by William Sherman Oxendine, Charles Reed Mitchell, and Ron Rosenstiel (Paducah, KY: Turner Pub. Co., 1994). * Warren, King Solomon, ''History of Knox County, Kentucky'' (Barbourville, KY: Daniel Boone Festival, 1976).

External links

* {{Coord, 36.89067, -83.85404, format=dms, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-KY_source:wikidata 1799 establishments in Kentucky Counties of Appalachia Kentucky counties London, Kentucky micropolitan area Populated places established in 1799