Lawrence 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 of

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 16,293. 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 Louisa. The county is named for James Lawrence, and co-founded by Isaac Bolt, who served as a Lawrence County Commissioner and Justice of the Peace. It is the birthplace of

country music Country (also called country and western) is a popular music, music genre originating in the southern regions of the United States, both the American South and American southwest, the Southwest. First produced in the 1920s, country music is p ...

star Tyler Childers, late

Chief Justice of the United States The chief justice of the United States is the chief judge of the Supreme Court of the United States and is the highest-ranking officer of the U.S. federal judiciary. Appointments Clause, Article II, Section 2, Clause 2 of the U.S. Constitution g ...

Frederick Moore Vinson, and former Kentucky Governor Paul E. Patton. In regard to

alcoholic beverage Drinks containing alcohol (drug), alcohol are typically divided into three classes—beers, wines, and Distilled beverage, spirits—with alcohol content typically between 3% and 50%. Drinks with less than 0.5% are sometimes considered Non-al ...

sales, Lawrence County is considered a "moist" county, meaning alcohol sales are only allowed within the city limits of Louisa.

History

Lawrence County was established in 1821 from land given by Floyd and Greenup Counties. Four courthouses have served Lawrence County; the first was completed in 1823. During the Civil War, 149 men from Lawrence County served in the Confederacy, while 638 men served the Union Army. Louisa was used as a Union Fort during the war overlooking the local area.

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 (1.1%) is water. The bridge from Louisa, in eastern Lawrence County, to Fort Gay, West Virginia is a rare multi-way T-bridge. The quarter-mile concrete span spans across the Levisa Fork and the Tug River that come together and form the Big Sandy River, connects two states and has a right turn at its halfway point, which connects traffic to the Point Section neighborhood of Louisa.

Yatesville Lake State Park

Yatesville Lake was opened in 1992 and is a reservoir managed by the Army Corps of Engineers. Yatesville Lake provides flood control for the region as well as recreational opportunities. The Corps manages a boat ramp at the Rich Creek area.

Bordering Counties

* Carter County (northwest) * Boyd County (north) * Wayne County, West Virginia (east) * Martin County (southeast) * Johnson County (south) * Morgan County (southwest) * Elliott 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 2000, there were 15,569 people, 5,954 households, and 4,477 families in the county. The population density was . There were 7,040 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 98.93%

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 ...

, 0.10%

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 ...

, 0.28% Native American, 0.07% Asian, 0.01%

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 ...

, 0.05% from other races, and 0.56% from two or more races. 0.41%. 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. Of the 5,954 households 35.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.30% were married couples living together, 10.50% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.80% were non-families. 22.40% of households were one person and 10.00% were one person aged 65 or older. The average household size was 2.59 and the average family size was 3.02. The age distribution was 25.30% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 28.70% from 25 to 44, 24.70% from 45 to 64, and 12.40% 65 or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 97.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 93.00 males. The median household income was $21,610 and the median family income was $26,113. Males had a median income of $30,735 versus $19,174 for females. The per capita income for the county was $12,008. About 25.30% of families and 30.70% 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 40.00% of those under age 18 and 27.30% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

Lawrence County is a state bellwether in presidential elections, having voted for Kentucky's statewide winner in every election since 1956.

Elected officials

Communities

Cities

* Blaine * Louisa (county seat)

Unincorporated communities

* Buchanan * Cherryville * Fallsburg * Kise * Mazie * Ulysses * Lowmansville * Webbville * Zelda

References

External links

Lawrence County Schools

Lawrence County Tourism Commission

The Kentucky Highlands Project
{{authority control Kentucky counties 1821 establishments in Kentucky Populated places established in 1821