Owen County, KY
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Owen County is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Owenton. The county is named for Colonel
Abraham Owen Abraham Owen or Abram Owen (1769–1811) was born in Prince Edward County, Virginia, in 1769. He moved to Kentucky in 1785. Owen served in the wars with the Indians under generals James Wilkinson and Arthur St. Clair in 1791, and served wit ...
. 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 ...
, with the exception of a winery that is authorized to sell its product to the public, and limited sales within the incorporated city limits of Owenton.


History

Numerous Native American burial mounds were located in Owen County. Many pioneers made their homes on land grants along the many streams which flow through the county. Owen County was formed as the 63rd county by the Commonwealth of Kentucky and approved February 6, 1819.Acts of 1818-1819 Chapter 287 page 702 http://www.myowencountyky.com/owen-county-history/ It was formed from the counties of Franklin, Scott, Gallatin, and Pendleton. Hesler (Heslerville) was the first county seat. Owen County was named after Abraham Owen, an Indian fighter and Kentucky legislator, who was killed at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Colonel Owen also surveyed and mapped the region that became Owen County. On November 16, 1820, the legislature passed another act which restored to Franklin County part or all of what was taken from it under the 1819 act. To compensate for this, the legislature took some more land from Gallatin County and gave it to Owen by act dated December 26, 1820. Therefore, Hesler was no longer in the center of the county. Accordingly, on January 15, 1822, the county court ordered that the seat of justice be removed to land owned by Andrew Parker, James Hess, and William H. Forsee. The town Owenton was developed. Court was held at the new county seat on February 11, 1822. In 1844, after Kentucky began to construct locks and dams on the Kentucky River, packet boats on regular trips between Frankfort and Louisville made stops in Owen County at Monterey, Moxley, Gratz, and other towns. New Liberty was founded before 1800 and was the site of one of the first churches. In the 1870s, Owen County saw Deputy U.S. Marshall
Willis Russell Willis Russell (1844 – July 1, 1875) was a Deputy United States Marshal who fought against William Smoot and his Ku Klux Klan chapter in Owen County, Kentucky. Smoot and his followers conducted a bloody reign of terror in Franklin ( Frankfort), ...
struggle to suppress the local Ku Klux Klan chapter, which was committing violence against former slaves in the years during Reconstruction. Russell was murdered by an unknown assassin in 1875.


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 (0.9%) is water.


Adjacent counties

* Carroll County (northwest) * Gallatin County (northeast) * Grant County (east) * Scott County (southeast) * Franklin County (southwest) * Henry County (west)


Demographics

As of the census of 2010, there were 10,841 people, 4,296 households, and 3,023 families residing in the county. The population density was . There were 5,634 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 96.6% White, 0.8% Black or African American, 0.2% Native American, 0.2%
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 ...
, 1.2% from other races, and 1.0% from two or more races. 2.5% 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 4,296 households, out of which 28.8% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 55.4% 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, 9.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 29.6% were non-families. 25.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.52 and the average family size was 3.00. The age distribution was 21.9% under the age of 18, 5.0% from 20 to 24, 29.4% from 25 to 44, 29.0% from 45 to 64, and 14.5% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 40.1 years. The population distribution for males was 49.7% and for females was 50.3%. The median income for a household in the county was $41,719 and the median income for a family was $59,242. Males had a median income of $41,563 versus $31,016 for females. The per capita income for the county was $22,633. About 12.8% of families and 15.9% of the population were below the poverty line, including 22.4% of those under age 18 and 13.90% of those age 65 or over.


Libraries

Located in downtown Owenton, the Owen County Public Library was established in 1946 by the Owen County Woman's Club. It was housed in the front parlor of Elizabeth Holbrook Thomas's home on the same corner where the present library, built in 1973, now stands. The library's collection comprises more than 25,000 items, including a genealogy collection. Among the services it provides are printing, fax sending, notaries, and access to a public meeting room. Currently this library changed to a center for the elderly when the county build a new library on the outskirts of the city of Owenton


Communities


Cities

* Glencoe * Gratz * Monterey * Owenton (county seat)


Unincorporated communities

*
Hesler Hesler may refer to: * Mount Hesler, mount in the Selkirk Mountains of British Columbia, Canada *Georg Hesler (1427–1482), German Roman Catholic cardinal and bishop *Lexemuel Ray Hesler (1888–1977), American mycologist *Nicole Duval Hesler ...
* Long Ridge * Lusby's Mill * New Columbus * New Liberty * Perry Park *
Pleasant Home Pleasant Home, also known as the John Farson House, is a historic home located in the Chicago suburb of Oak Park, Illinois, United States. The large, Prairie style mansion was designed by architect George Washington Maher and completed in 1897. ...
* Squiresville *
Wheatley Wheatley may refer to: Places * Wheatley (crater), on Venus * Wheatley, Ontario, Canada * Wheatley, Hampshire, England * Wheatley, Oxfordshire, England ** Wheatley railway station * Wheatley, South Yorkshire, England * Wheatley, now Ben Rhydding, ...
* Jonesville kentucky


In popular culture

Owen County serves as the opening setting in the 1992 Paul Russell novel ''Boys of Life'' where it is referred to simply as Owen. Though majority of the novel is set in early 1980s New York City, various points of interest within Owen and nearby areas such as
Christian County Christian County is the name of several counties in the United States: * Christian County, Illinois * Christian County, Kentucky * Christian County, Missouri Christian County is located in the southwestern part of the U.S. state of Missouri. ...
are mentioned and referenced throughout the story.


Politics


See also

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


References


External links


Northern Kentucky Views
- Owen County Historical Images and Documents {{authority control Kentucky counties 1819 establishments in Kentucky Populated places established in 1819