Christian County is a

county A county () is a geographic region of a country used for administrative or other purposesL. Brookes (ed.) '' Chambers Dictionary''. Edinburgh: Chambers Harrap Publishers Ltd, 2005. in some nations. The term is derived from the Old French denoti ...

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 so ...

Kentucky Kentucky (, ), officially the Commonwealth of Kentucky, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Illinois, Indiana, and Ohio to the north, West Virginia to the ...

. As of the 2020 census, the population was 72,748. Its

county seat A county seat is an administrative center, seat of government, or capital city of a county or parish (administrative division), civil parish. The term is in use in five countries: Canada, China, Hungary, Romania, and the United States. An equiva ...

is Hopkinsville. The county was formed in 1797. Christian County is part of the Clarksville,

Tennessee Tennessee (, ), officially the State of Tennessee, is a landlocked U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It borders Kentucky to the north, Virginia to the northeast, North Carolina t ...

–Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area.

History

The county is named for

Colonel Colonel ( ; abbreviated as Col., Col, or COL) is a senior military Officer (armed forces), 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 colon ...

William Christian, a native of

Augusta County, Virginia Augusta County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The second-largest county of Virginia by total area, it completely surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and ...

, and a veteran of the Revolutionary War. He settled near

Louisville, Kentucky Louisville is the List of cities in Kentucky, most populous city in the Commonwealth of Kentucky, sixth-most populous city in the Southeastern United States, Southeast, and the list of United States cities by population, 27th-most-populous city ...

in 1785, and was killed by Native Americans in southern

Indiana Indiana ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Midwestern United States, Midwestern region of the United States. It borders Lake Michigan to the northwest, Michigan to the north and northeast, Ohio to the east, the Ohio River and Kentucky to the s ...

in 1786.

Jefferson Davis Jefferson F. Davis (June 3, 1808December 6, 1889) was an American politician who served as the only President of the Confederate States of America, president of the Confederate States from 1861 to 1865. He represented Mississippi in the Unite ...

, president of the

Confederate States of America The Confederate States of America (CSA), also known as the Confederate States (C.S.), the Confederacy, or Dixieland, was an List of historical unrecognized states and dependencies, unrecognized breakaway republic in the Southern United State ...

, was born in Fairview, Kentucky (in the small part that is now in Todd County) in 1808. United States Vice President

Adlai Stevenson I Adlai Ewing Stevenson (October 23, 1835 – June 14, 1914) was an American politician and diplomat who served as the 23rd vice president of the United States from 1893 to 1897 under President Grover Cleveland. A member of the History of the Demo ...

was born in Christian County in 1835. The present courthouse, built in 1869, replaced a structure burned by Confederate cavalry in 1864 because the Union Army was using it as their barracks. The United States Supreme Court case '' Barker v. Wingo'', 407 U.S. 514 (1972), arose out of a 1958 double-murder in Christian County, Kentucky. In 2006 and 2008, tornadoes touched down across northern Christian County, damaging homes in the Crofton area. In 2017, northwestern Christian County was the point of greatest eclipse for the

solar eclipse of August 21, 2017 The solar eclipse of August 21, 2017, dubbed the "Great American Eclipse" by some media, was a total solar eclipse visible within a band that spanned the contiguous United States from the Pacific Ocean, Pacific to the Atlantic Ocean, Atlantic c ...

that crossed North America. The center was in the Bainbridge/Sinking Fork area of the county, on the Orchardale farm.

Geography

According to the

United States Census Bureau The United States Census Bureau, officially the Bureau of the Census, is a principal agency of the Federal statistical system, U.S. federal statistical system, responsible for producing data about the American people and American economy, econ ...

, the county has a total area of , of which is land and (0.9%) is water. It is the second-largest county by area in Kentucky and the largest in Western Kentucky.

Adjacent counties

* Hopkins County (north) * Muhlenberg County (northeast) * Todd County (east) * Montgomery County, Tennessee (southeast) *

Stewart County, Tennessee Stewart County is a county located on the northwestern corner of Middle Tennessee, in the U.S. state of Tennessee. As of the 2020 census, the population was 13,657. Its county seat is Dover. Stewart County is part of the Clarksville Metr ...

(southwest) * Trigg County (west) * Caldwell County (northwest)

Demographics

As of the

census A census (from Latin ''censere'', 'to assess') is the procedure of systematically acquiring, recording, and calculating population information about the members of a given Statistical population, population, usually displayed in the form of stati ...

of 2000, there were 72,265 people, 24,857 households, and 18,344 families residing in the county. The

population density Population density (in agriculture: Standing 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 geog ...

was . There were 27,182 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 69.92%

White White is the lightest color and is achromatic (having no chroma). It is the color of objects such as snow, chalk, and milk, and is the opposite of black. White objects fully (or almost fully) reflect and scatter all the visible wa ...

, 23.73%

Black Black is a color that results from the absence or complete absorption of visible light. It is an achromatic color, without chroma, like white and grey. It is often used symbolically or figuratively to represent darkness.Eva Heller, ''P ...

African American African Americans, also known as Black Americans and formerly also called Afro-Americans, are an Race and ethnicity in the United States, American racial and ethnic group that consists of Americans who have total or partial ancestry from an ...

, 0.52% Native American, 0.91% Asian, 0.32%

Pacific Islander Pacific Islanders, Pasifika, Pasefika, Pacificans, 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 th ...

, 2.23% from other races, and 2.37% from two or more races. 4.83% of the population were

Hispanic The term Hispanic () are people, Spanish culture, cultures, or countries related to Spain, the Spanish language, or broadly. In some contexts, Hispanic and Latino Americans, especially within the United States, "Hispanic" is used as an Ethnici ...

or Latino of any race. There were 24,857 households, out of which 41.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.00% were

married couples Marriage, also called matrimony or wedlock, is a culturally and often legally recognised union between people called spouses. It establishes rights and obligations between them, as well as between them and their children (if any), and b ...

living together, 13.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.20% were non-families. 22.50% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.50% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.66 and the average family size was 3.12. In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.30% under the age of 18, 15.80% from 18 to 24, 30.10% from 25 to 44, 16.00% from 45 to 64, and 9.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 28 years. For every 100 females, there were 106.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 107.60 males. The median income for a household in the county was $31,177, and the median income for a family was $35,240. Males had a median income of $25,063 versus $20,748 for females. The

per capita income Per capita income (PCI) or average income measures the average income earned per person in a given area (city, region, country, etc.) in a specified year. In many countries, per capita income is determined using regular population surveys, such ...

for the county was $14,611. About 12.10% of families and 15.00% 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 19.30% of those under age 18 and 13.50% of those age 65 or over.

Education

Most residents are zoned to Christian County Public Schools. However residents of

Fort Campbell Fort Campbell is a United States Army installation located astride the Kentucky–Tennessee border between Hopkinsville, Kentucky and Clarksville, Tennessee (post address is located in Kentucky). Fort Campbell is home to the 101st Airborne Div ...

are zoned to

Department of Defense Education Activity The Department of Defense Education Activity (DoDEA) is a federal school system headquartered in Alexandria, Virginia, responsible for planning, directing, coordinating, and managing prekindergarten through 12th grade educational programs on beh ...

(DoDEA) schools.

High schools

* Christian County High School, established 1959 * Hopkinsville High School * Fort Campbell High School (DoDEA) — physically located in Tennessee, but serving the entire Fort Campbell base, and a member of Kentucky's governing body for high school athletics, the Kentucky High School Athletic Association * University Heights Academy (private K-12) * Heritage Christian Academy (private K-12)

Colleges

* Hopkinsville Community College *

Murray State University Murray State University (MSU) is a public university in Murray, Kentucky, in the Southern United States. In addition to the main campus in Calloway County in southwestern Kentucky, Murray State operates extended campuses offering upper-level an ...

(regional campuses in Hopkinsville and Ft. Campbell)

Politics

Elected officials

Communities

Cities

* Crofton * Hopkinsville * LaFayette * Oak Grove * Pembroke

Census-designated places

* Cerulean (mostly in Trigg County) * Fairview (partially in Todd County) * Fort Campbell North * Gracey

Other unincorporated communities

Apex The apex is the highest point of something. The word may also refer to: Arts and media Fictional entities * Apex (comics) A-Bomb Abomination Absorbing Man Abraxas Abyss Abyss is the name of two characters appearing in Ameri ...

* Bainbridge * Bennettstown * Bluff Spring * Casky * Edgoten *

Empire An empire is a political unit made up of several territories, military outpost (military), outposts, and peoples, "usually created by conquest, and divided between a hegemony, dominant center and subordinate peripheries". The center of the ...

* Fearsville * Fruit Hill * Garrettsburg * Hensleytown * Herndon * Honey Grove * Howel * Julien * Kelly * Mannington * Newstead * Saint Elmo * Sinking Fork

Notable people

*Terena Elizabeth Bell, author of '' Tell Me What You See'' * Greg Buckner, former NBA player *

Edgar Cayce Edgar Cayce (; March 18, 1877 – January 3, 1945) was an American clairvoyant who claimed to diagnose diseases and recommend treatments for ailments while asleep. During thousands of transcribed sessions, Cayce would answer questions on ...

(1877–1945), mystic * Anthony Hickey (born 1992), basketball player for Hapoel Haifa in the

Israeli Basketball Premier League Ligat HaAl (, lit., ''Supreme League or Premier League''), or the Israeli Basketball Premier League, is a professional basketball league in Israel and the highest level of basketball in the country. The league's name is abbreviated as either BSL ...

* Ted Poston (1906–1974), known as the Dean of Black Journalists and a member of President Franklin Roosevelt's Black Cabinet * Nori Reed, comedian and writer *

, 23rd Vice President of the United States (1893–1897), was born in Christian County * Gloria Jean Watkins, feminist author known by her pen name, bell hooks * Whitney Westerfield, politician * Chris Whitney, former NBA player

References

External links

Community Data and Relocation Info

Economic Development Council- Hopkinsville/Christian County

Chamber of Commerce- Hopkinsville/Christian County

WHVO-AM (Local Radio Station)

* {{authority control Kentucky counties 1797 establishments in Kentucky Clarksville metropolitan area Populated places established in 1797