Morgan County is a county 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 13,726. 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 West Liberty. The county was voted a wet county in 2024

History

Morgan County was formed on December 7, 1822, from portions of Bath County and Floyd County. It was named for Daniel Morgan, a distinguished general in the

American Revolutionary War The American Revolutionary War (April 19, 1775 – September 3, 1783), also known as the Revolutionary War or American War of Independence, was the armed conflict that comprised the final eight years of the broader American Revolution, in which Am ...

. The first white settler in the county was Daniel Williams, a traveling preacher from Virginia who built the first permanent home in the vicinity several miles south of present-day West Liberty. Williams had also previously served in the American Revolution in the Kentucky Militia. During the Civil War, Morgan County was a majority Pro-Confederate County. 220 Morgan County men served as Union Soldiers, while nearly 400 or more served as Confederate soldiers. Morgan County men formed nearly all of A, B, C and parts of D and E. companies of the 5th KY Infantry. (CSA) On May 29, 1869, a portion of Morgan County became part of present-day Menifee County. Morgan County was hit by an EF3 tornado on March 2, 2012, which cost the lives of six people and injured many others. Following the tornado, Morgan County's population decreased, but the county seat still has a strong population for a small town. Morgan County had begun building a new court house in 2011, but the tornado delayed its construction to late 2013.

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 (0.7%) is water.

Adjacent counties

* Rowan County (northwest) * Elliott County (north) * Lawrence County (northeast) * Johnson County (east) * Magoffin County (southeast) * Wolfe County (southwest) * Menifee County (west)

National protected area

* Daniel Boone National Forest (part)

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 13,948 people, 4,752 households, and 3,568 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 5,487 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 94.59%

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 ...

, 4.38% Black or African American, 0.15% Native American, 0.16% 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 ...

, 0.06% from other races, and 0.65% from two or more races. 0.61% 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 4,752 households, out of which 34.80% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 62.40% were married couples living together, 9.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.90% were non-families. 22.60% of all households were made up of individuals, and 10.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.55 and the average family size was 2.97. In the county, the population was spread out, with 22.40% under the age of 18, 10.60% from 18 to 24, 32.90% from 25 to 44, 22.30% from 45 to 64, and 11.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 123.30 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 128.40 males. The median income for a household in the county was $21,869, and the median income for a family was $26,135. Males had a median income of $23,966 versus $18,463 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 $12,657. 27.20% of the population and 23.50% of families were below the poverty line. Out of the total people living in poverty, 33.90% are under the age of 18 and 28.50% are 65 or older.

Politics

Morgan County a historically Democratic county, with the party's candidate winning it in every presidential election until 2000, when George W. Bush became the first Republican to ever carry the county. In the 21st century, like almost all of Kentucky, the county has flipped to the Republicans in most elections.

Elected officials

Communities

City

* West Liberty (county seat)

Census-designated place

* Ezel

Other unincorporated places

* Caney * Cannel City * Cottle * Crockett * Dingus * Elamton * Elkfork * Grassy Creek * Lenox * Malone * Maytown * Mima * Mize *

Moon The Moon is Earth's only natural satellite. It Orbit of the Moon, orbits around Earth at Lunar distance, an average distance of (; about 30 times Earth diameter, Earth's diameter). The Moon rotation, rotates, with a rotation period (lunar ...

* Ophir *

Relief Relief is a sculpture, sculptural method in which the sculpted pieces remain attached to a solid background of the same material. The term ''wikt:relief, relief'' is from the Latin verb , to raise (). To create a sculpture in relief is to give ...

* Stacy Fork * White Oak * Wrigley * Yocum * Zag

References

External links

County Background and History

Morgan County Schools

The Kentucky Highlands Project

Morgan History & Ancestry
{{authority control Kentucky counties 1822 establishments in Kentucky Populated places established in 1822