Daviess County ( "Davis"), 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 ...

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 103,312. 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 ...

Owensboro Owensboro is a home rule-class city in Daviess County, Kentucky, United States, of which it is also the county seat. It is the fourth-most populous city in the state. Owensboro is located on U.S. Route 60 and Interstate 165 about southwest ...

. The county was formed from part of Ohio County on January 14, 1815. Daviess County is included in the Owensboro, KY Metropolitan Statistical Area. Daviess County also shares its namesake with another nearby Daviess County of

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 ...

. Both counties are in the Illinois-Indiana-Kentucky Tri-State Area.

History

Daviess County was established in 1815. The county is named for Major

Joseph Hamilton Daveiss Joseph Hamilton Daveiss (; March 1774 – November 7, 1811), a Virginia-born lawyer, received a mortal wound while commanding the Dragoons of the Kentucky Militia at the Battle of Tippecanoe. Five years earlier, Daveiss had tried to warn President ...

(a recording error in the State Clerk's office accounts for the error in spelling, which was never corrected), the

United States Attorney United States attorneys are officials of the U.S. Department of Justice who serve as the chief federal law enforcement officers in each of the 94 U.S. federal judicial districts. Each U.S. attorney serves as the United States' chief federal ...

who unsuccessfully prosecuted

Aaron Burr Aaron Burr Jr. (February 6, 1756 – September 14, 1836) was an American politician, businessman, lawyer, and Founding Fathers of the United States, Founding Father who served as the third vice president of the United States from 1801 to 1805 d ...

. The county's borders were altered in 1829 to form Hancock County, in 1830 to absorb a small area surrounding Whitesville, in 1854 to cede land to McLean County, and finally in 1860 to annex from Henderson County. The courthouse was burned in January 1865 during the

American Civil War The American Civil War (April 12, 1861May 26, 1865; also known by Names of the American Civil War, other names) was a civil war in the United States between the Union (American Civil War), Union ("the North") and the Confederate States of A ...

, but the county records were spared destruction because they had been transferred to a church.

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 (3.8%) is water. The northern half of the county along the

Ohio River The Ohio River () is a river in the United States. It is located at the boundary of the Midwestern and Southern United States, flowing in a southwesterly direction from Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, to its river mouth, mouth on the Mississippi Riv ...

is relatively flat, with a few rolling hills dotting the landscape. The southern portion is mostly rolling hills mixed with flat valleys. The southern portion was mined for coal in the past, especially in the rolling hills along Panther Creek and other streams.

Adjacent counties

Warrick County, Indiana Warrick County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of 2020, the population was 63,898. The county seat is Boonville. It was organized in 1813 and was named for Captain Jacob Warrick, an Indiana militia company commander kill ...

(northwest) *

Spencer County, Indiana Spencer County is a county located in the U.S. state of Indiana. As of the 2020 census, the population was 19,810. The county seat is Rockport. Despite not being in the Owensboro Metropolitan Area, the entire riverfront of the city of Owen ...

(northeast) * Hancock County (east) * Ohio County (southeast) * McLean County (southwest) * Henderson County (west)

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 2010, there were 96,656 people, 36,033 households, and 24,826 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 38,432 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 93.69%

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 ...

, 4.35%

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 ...

, 0.13% Native American, 0.43% Asian, 0.02%

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 ...

, 0.44% from other races, and 0.94% from two or more races. 0.92% 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 36,033 households, out of which 32.90% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 53.60% were married couples living together, 11.80% had a female householder with no husband present, and 31.10% were non-families. 27.10% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.10% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.47 and the average family size was 3.00. In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.80% under the age of 18, 9.00% from 18 to 24, 28.40% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 13.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 92.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 88.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $36,813, and the median income for a family was $45,404. Males had a median income of $35,295 versus $21,971 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 $18,739. About 9.40% of families and 12.30% 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 15.60% of those under age 18 and 11.40% of those age 65 or over.

Economy

Distilling

Daviess County has long had a reputation as the leading center of the production of

distilled spirits Liquor ( , sometimes hard liquor), spirits, distilled spirits, or spiritous liquor are alcoholic drinks produced by the distillation of grains, fruits, vegetables, or sugar that have already gone through alcoholic fermentation. While the w ...

, chiefly Kentucky

bourbon Bourbon may refer to: Food and drink * Bourbon whiskey, an American whiskey made using a corn-based mash * Bourbon, a beer produced by Brasseries de Bourbon * Bourbon biscuit, a chocolate sandwich biscuit * Bourbon coffee, a type of coffee ma ...

. Walter McFarland, who moved here from

North Carolina North Carolina ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern region of the United States. It is bordered by Virginia to the north, the Atlantic Ocean to the east, South Carolina to the south, Georgia (U.S. stat ...

, began making whiskey and peach brandy in about 1804 on a estate just south of Panther Creek, on today's U.S. 431."Medley Distillers eager to join Kentucky Bourbon Trail", by Keith Lawrence, Messenger-Inquirer, Monday, September 21, 2009 Cornelius Westerfield also began distilling corn whiskey in the early 1800s on his farm southwest of

Whitesville, Kentucky Whitesville is a home rule-class city in Daviess County, Kentucky, United States. The population was 580 as of the 2020 Census, up from 552 as of the 2010 census. It is included in the Owensboro, Kentucky Metropolitan Statistical Area. The ci ...

, on Deserter Creek. It finally closed in 1872, after more than 60 years of production. By the 1880s, 18 large distilleries operated in Daviess County at the same time. Today only three remain. One dates back to 1869, the former

Glenmore Distillery Company Glenmore Distillery Company was a large distillery company based in Owensboro, Kentucky best known as a producer of bourbon whiskey. In 2009, the company was acquired by the Sazerac Company, and is still operated under the name "The Glenmore Disti ...

, which was originally the R. Monarch

Distillery Distillation, also classical distillation, is the process of separating the component substances of a liquid mixture of two or more chemically discrete substances; the separation process is realized by way of the selective boiling of the mixt ...

. In 1885, J.W. McCullough began the Green River Distillery which ran until Prohibition and was subsequently purchased thereafter by Charles Medley Distillers where it ran until the 1950s, changing ownership a number of times without producing anything until its eventual purchase by Trinidad-based Angostura Limited, who bought the Medley Distillery in 2007 with plans to make its entrance into the world's bourbon market, but the severe global recession in 2008 ended those plans. The distillery was sold to the Terressentia Corporation in 2014. In 2020, the distillery was renamed as Green River Distilling Co, restoring the Green River name that was used at the facility under McCulloch's original ownership. The following is list of distilleries operating in 1883 * Owensboro Distilling Company, founded 1880 * Sour-Mash Distilling Company, founded 1868 * Hill, Perkins and Company, founded 1880 * Rock Spring Distillery, founded 1881 * Hill and Perkins Distillery, founded 1866 * R. Monarch Distillery, founded 1869, acquired and renamed in 1901 Glenmore Distillery Company * E.P. Millet and Company, founded 1880 * John Thixton Distillery Company * John Hanning Distillery Company, founded 1869 * Eagle Distillery Company, founded 1869 * Daviess county Distilling Company, founded April 16, 1874 * M.P. Mattingly's Distyillery, founded 1855 * Daviess County Club Distillery, founded 1880 * J.W.M. Field Distillery, founded February 3, 1873 * J.T. Welch Distilling Company, founded March 1, 1881 * Boulware and Wilhoute's Distillery, founded 1880 * C.L. Appelgate and Company distillery, founded 1879 at

Yelvington, Kentucky Yelvington is a small Unincorporated area#United States, unincorporated community in the U.S. state of Kentucky, located approximately 12 miles east of Owensboro, Kentucky, Owensboro along U.S. Route 60 in Kentucky, U.S. Route 60 east and near t ...

Coal mining

The southwestern portion of the county around the Panther Creek area was heavily mined through the 1960s till the early 1990s. After 1998 large tracts of mined land were left unclaimed. Then after a lengthy search for contractors by the state government's Division of Abandoned Mine Lands, work commenced on the largest tract, a tract once part of the now defunct Green Coal Company. The of unclaimed land were part of Green Coal Company's mine once known as the "Panther Surface Mine". Green Coal Company was a staple mining company in Daviess County and was based nearby in

Henderson Henderson may refer to: People *Henderson (surname), description of the surname, and a list of people with the surname * Clan Henderson, a Scottish clan Places Argentina *Henderson, Buenos Aires Australia *Henderson, Western Australia Canada *H ...

. Reclamation work commenced at the site on November 8, 1999, and was completed April 14, 2000. The licensed blaster employed by the contractor blasted the highwall into the pit, resulting in a reduced effort to grade and dress the final slope. Enough topsoil was gained from the area above the highwall to allow a growing medium for re-vegetation purposes. Through innovative field techniques and extraordinary cooperation from the contractor, this site has been returned to a very safe, stable and productive property. All of this project was reclaimed expending $127,538.82 of the available bond. The land is now safe for the public and is considered prime farm property once again.

Politics

Elected officials

Communities

Cities

(county seat) * Whitesville

Census-designated places

* Curdsville * Knottsville * Maceo * Masonville * Moseleyville *

Panther Panther may refer to: Large cats *Pantherinae, the cat subfamily that contains the genera ''Panthera'' and ''Neofelis'' **''Panthera'', the cat genus that contains tigers, lions, jaguars and leopards ***Jaguar (''Panthera onca''), found in Sout ...

* Pleasant Ridge (partially in Ohio County) * Utica

Other unincorporated communities

* Andersonville * Birk City * Boston * Browns Valley * Delaware * Dermont * Doyle * Ensor * Gatewood * Griffith *

Habit A habit (or wont, as a humorous and formal term) is a routine of behavior that is repeated regularly and tends to occur subconsciously. A 1903 paper in the '' American Journal of Psychology'' defined a "habit, from the standpoint of psychology, ...

* Handyville *

Livia Livia Drusilla (30 January 59 BC AD 29) was List of Roman and Byzantine empresses, Roman empress from 27 BC to AD 14 as the wife of Augustus, the first Roman emperor. She was known as Julia Augusta after her formal Adoption ...

(partially in McLean County) * Maxwell *

Newman Newman is a surname of Germanic Anglo-Saxon origins. Newman is the modern English form of the name used in Great Britain and among people of British ancestry around the world (as is 'Numan'), while Neumann (with variant spellings) is used in Ger ...

* Oak Ridge * Oklahoma * Pettit * Philpot * Red Hill *

Rome Rome (Italian language, Italian and , ) is the capital city and most populated (municipality) of Italy. It is also the administrative centre of the Lazio Regions of Italy, region and of the Metropolitan City of Rome. A special named with 2, ...

Saint Joseph According to the canonical Gospels, Joseph (; ) was a 1st-century Jewish man of Nazareth who was married to Mary, the mother of Jesus, and was the legal father of Jesus. Joseph is venerated as Saint Joseph in the Catholic Church, Eastern O ...

* Scythia * Sorgho * Spice Knob *

Stanley Stanley may refer to: Arts and entertainment Film and television * ''Stanley'' (1972 film), an American horror film * ''Stanley'' (1984 film), an Australian comedy * ''Stanley'' (1999 film), an animated short * ''Stanley'' (1956 TV series) ...

* Sutherland * Thruston *

Tuck Tuck may refer to: People * Tuck (surname), including a list of people * Tuck (nickname), a list of people * Tuck (footballer), Portuguese football player and coach João Carlos Novo de Araújo Gonçalves (born 1969) * Hillary Tuck (born 1978 ...

* West Louisville * Yelvington

References

External links

Daviess County government's website
{{Coord, 37.73, -87.09, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-KY_source:UScensus1990 Kentucky counties Kentucky counties on the Ohio River 1815 establishments in Kentucky Populated places established in 1815 Owensboro metropolitan area