Boyle County is a

county A county is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesChambers 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. 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 sover ...

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 to ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 30,614. 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 Danville. The county was formed in 1842 and named for John Boyle (1774–1835), a

U.S. Representative 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 c ...

, chief justice of the

Kentucky Court of Appeals The Kentucky Court of Appeals is the lower of Kentucky's two appellate courts, under the Kentucky Supreme Court. Prior to a 1975 amendment to the Kentucky Constitution the Kentucky Court of Appeals was the only appellate court in Kentucky. The ...

, and later federal judge for the

District of Kentucky Kentucky County (then alternately spelled Kentucke County) was formed by the Commonwealth of Virginia from the western portion (beyond the Cumberland Mountains) of Fincastle County effective December 31, 1776. The name of the county was taken ...

, and is part of the

Danville, KY Danville is a home rule-class city in Boyle County, Kentucky, United States. It is the seat of its county. The population was 17,236 at the 2020 Census. Danville is the principal city of the Danville Micropolitan Statistical Area, which include ...

Micropolitan Statistical Area.

History

In 1820, a portion of Casey County, now south of KY Route 300, was annexed to Mercer County. This became part of Boyle County when Boyle County was formed on February 15, 1842, from sections of Lincoln County and Mercer County. It is named for John Boyle,

Congressman A Member of Congress (MOC) is a person who has been appointed or elected and inducted into an official body called a congress, typically to represent a particular constituency in a legislature. The term member of parliament (MP) is an equivalen ...

, Chief Justice of the

, and U.S. District Judge.

Associate Justice of the Supreme Court of the United States An associate justice of the Supreme Court of the United States is any member of the Supreme Court of the United States other than the chief justice of the United States. The number of associate justices is eight, as set by the Judiciary Act of 18 ...

John Marshall Harlan John Marshall Harlan (June 1, 1833 – October 14, 1911) was an American lawyer and politician who served as an associate justice of the U.S. Supreme Court from 1877 until his death in 1911. He is often called "The Great Dissenter" due to his ...

, a supporter of civil rights and the sole dissenter in the

Civil Rights Cases The ''Civil Rights Cases'', 109 U.S. 3 (1883), were a group of five landmark cases in which the Supreme Court of the United States held that the Thirteenth and Fourteenth Amendments did not empower Congress to outlaw racial discrimination by pr ...

and

Plessy v. Ferguson ''Plessy v. Ferguson'', 163 U.S. 537 (1896), was a landmark U.S. Supreme Court decision in which the Court ruled that racial segregation laws did not violate the U.S. Constitution as long as the facilities for each race were equal in qualit ...

, was born in Boyle County in 1833. A courthouse fire in 1860 resulted in the loss of some county records. During the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861 – May 26, 1865; also known by other names) was a civil war in the United States. It was fought between the Union ("the North") and the Confederacy ("the South"), the latter formed by states th ...

, the

Battle of Perryville The Battle of Perryville, also known as the Battle of Chaplin Hills, was fought on October 8, 1862, in the Chaplin Hills west of Perryville, Kentucky, as the culmination of the Confederate Heartland Offensive (Kentucky Campaign) during the A ...

took place here on October 8, 1862, fought between the Confederate

Army of Mississippi There were three formations known as the Army of Mississippi in the Confederate States Army during the American Civil War. This name is contrasted against Army of the Mississippi, Army of ''the'' Mississippi, which was a Union Army named for the ...

and the Union

Army of the Ohio The Army of the Ohio was the name of two Union armies in the American Civil War. The first army became the Army of the Cumberland and the second army was created in 1863. History 1st Army of the Ohio General Orders No. 97 appointed Maj. Gen. Do ...

. 7407 men fell in the battle.

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 the ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (1.4%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Mercer County (north) *

Garrard County Garrard County ( ;) is a county located in the Bluegrass Region of Kentucky. As of the 2020 U.S. Census, the county's population was 16,953. Its county seat is Lancaster. The county was formed in 1796 and was named for James Garrard, Governor o ...

(east) * Lincoln County (southeast) * Casey County (south) * Marion County (southwest) * Washington County (northwest)

Major highways

* U.S. Route 68 *

U.S. Route 127 U.S. Route 127 (US 127) is a north–south U.S. Highway in the eastern half of the United States. The southern terminus of the route is at US 27 in Chattanooga, Tennessee. The northern terminus is at Interstate 75 (I-75) near G ...

U.S. Route 150 U.S. Route 150 (US 150) is a 571-mile (919 km) long northwest-southeast United States highway, signed as east–west. It runs from U.S. Route 6 outside of Moline, Illinois to U.S. Route 25 in Mount Vernon, Kentucky. Route description Il ...

Kentucky Route 33 Kentucky Route 33 (KY 33) is a , two-lane, north–south state highway in Kentucky managed by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. KY 33 begins at US 150 in Danville and proceeds north through Boyle, Mercer, Jessamine, and Woodford count ...

Kentucky Route 34 Kentucky Route 34 (KY 34) is a , east–west, 2-lane, state highway in Kentucky managed by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. KY 34 begins at US 68 and KY 52 near Mitchellsburg and goes through Boyle and Garrard counties before terminati ...

Kentucky Route 37 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 to ...

Kentucky Route 52 Kentucky Route 52 (KY 52) is a long east–west state highway in Kentucky, United States, managed by the Kentucky Transportation Cabinet. Its western terminus is at US 62 near Boston, Kentucky. It goes through Nelson, LaRue, Marion, Boyle, ...

Kentucky Route 300 Kentucky Route 300 (KY 300) is a state highway in the U.S. state of Kentucky. The highway connects mostly rural areas of Boyle and Lincoln counties with Parksville, Junction City, and Stanford. Route description Boyle County KY&nb ...

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 incl ...

of 2000, there were 27,697 people, 10,574 households, and 7,348 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 RosenberPopul ...

was . There were 11,418 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 87.77%

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 on ...

, 9.68%

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 have o ...

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 ...

, 0.19% Native American, 0.56%

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 ...

, 0.03%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, or rarely Pacificers are the peoples of the list of islands in the Pacific Ocean, Pacific Islands. As an ethnic group, ethnic/race (human categorization), racial term, it is used to describe the original p ...

, 0.65% 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 1.12% from two or more races.

Hispanic The term ''Hispanic'' ( es, hispano) refers to people, Spanish culture, 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 Vic ...

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 were 1.44% of the population. There were 10,574 households, of which 31.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.70% 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, 12.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 30.50% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 12.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.38 and the average family size was 2.87. By age, 22.70% of the population was under 18, 11.00% from 18 to 24, 28.60% from 25 to 44, 23.70% from 45 to 64, and 14.10% were 65 or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.00 males. The median income for a household in the county was

US $ The United States dollar (symbol: $; code: USD; also abbreviated US$ or U.S. Dollar, to distinguish it from other dollar-denominated currencies; referred to as the dollar, U.S. dollar, American dollar, or colloquially buck) is the official ...

35,241, and the median income for a family was $42,699. Males had a median income of $33,411 versus $23,635 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 $18,288. About 9.10% of families and 11.90% 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 15.80% of those under age 18 and 12.10% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Government

Education

Public schools

There are two school districts in the county.
Text list
- For more detailed boundaries of the independent school districts see: Boyle County Schools is the school district that serves all of Boyle County except Danville with three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school.

Danville Schools Danville Schools is a school district located in Danville, Kentucky. The district includes most of the boundaries of the city of Danville, about in size. It comprises a primary school, intermediate school, one middle school, and one high schoo ...

is the school district that serves the city of Danville with three elementary schools, one middle school, and one high school.

Kentucky School for the Deaf The Kentucky School for the Deaf (KSD), located in Danville, Kentucky, United States, is a school that provides education to deaf and hard-of-hearing children from elementary through high school levels. Founded in 1823, it was the first school ...

, a state-operated school, provides education to Kentucky's deaf and hard-of-hearing children from elementary through high school

Private schools

Two private schools operate in Boyle County
Danville Christian Academy
an
Danville Montessori School

Colleges and universities

Centre College Centre College is a private liberal arts college in Danville, Kentucky. It is an undergraduate college with an enrollment of approximately 1,400 students. Centre was officially chartered by the Kentucky General Assembly in 1819. The college is ...

, a nationally recognized liberal arts college, is located in Danville. Four other colleges and universities have campuses in Boyle County: *

Bluegrass Community and Technical College Bluegrass Community and Technical College (BCTC) is a public community college in Lexington, Kentucky. It is one of sixteen two-year, open admission colleges of the Kentucky Community and Technical College System (KCTCS). It was formed from th ...

, *

Eastern Kentucky University Eastern Kentucky University (Eastern or EKU) is a public university in Richmond, Kentucky. As a regional comprehensive institution, EKU also maintains branch campuses in Corbin, Hazard, Lancaster, and Manchester and offers over 40 online un ...

, closed as of May 2018. * Midway University, and * American National University.

Communities

* Aliceton * Alum Springs (area between Parksville and Junction City) * Atoka * Brumfield * Danville (county seat) * Forkland * Junction City * Little Needmore * Mitchellsburg * Needmore * Parksville * Perryville * Shelby City (annexed by Junction City)

References

External links

Boyle County, KY

Danville/Boyle County Economic Development Partnership

Danville-Boyle County Convention and Visitors Bureau

Danville, Boyle County Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control 1842 establishments in Kentucky Populated places established in 1842 Kentucky counties Danville, Kentucky micropolitan area