Mount Sterling, often written as Mt. Sterling, is a home rule-class city in Montgomery County,

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 ...

, United States. The population was 7,558 as of the 2020 census, up from 6,895 in

2010 The year saw a multitude of natural and environmental disasters such as the 2010 Haiti earthquake, the Deepwater Horizon oil spill, and the 2010 Chile earthquake. The 2009 swine flu pandemic, swine flu pandemic which began the previous year ...

. It is the

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 ...

of Montgomery County and the principal city of the Mount Sterling micropolitan area.

History

Mount Sterling is named for an ancient

burial mound Burial, also known as interment or inhumation, is a method of final disposition whereby a dead body is placed into the ground, sometimes with objects. This is usually accomplished by excavating a pit or trench, placing the deceased and objec ...

called "Little Mountain", and for the town of

Stirling Stirling (; ; ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, city in Central Belt, central Scotland, northeast of Glasgow and north-west of Edinburgh. The market town#Scotland, market town, surrounded by rich farmland, grew up connecting the roya ...

Scotland Scotland is a Countries of the United Kingdom, country that is part of the United Kingdom. It contains nearly one-third of the United Kingdom's land area, consisting of the northern part of the island of Great Britain and more than 790 adjac ...

. It was named by the first developer of the area, Hugh Forbes. The

Kentucky Assembly The Kentucky General Assembly, also called the Kentucky Legislature, is the state legislature of the U.S. state of Kentucky. It comprises the Kentucky Senate and the Kentucky House of Representatives. The General Assembly meets annually in th ...

passed an act in 1792 establishing the town as Mt. Sterling, a misspelling which was retained. The area was originally part of the thick wilderness of central Kentucky. Explorers, hunters, and surveyors traveling along a trail called Old Harper's Trace noted a tree-covered mound which they called "the Little Mountain". Later excavations showed it to be a burial site. The site of the mound is now the intersection of Queen and Locust streets in Mt. Sterling. The first cabin in the area was built in 1779. The first permanent settlement was established around 1790, when Forbes began to sell lots and laid out a road, now Locust Street. In 1796 the town was established as the county seat of newly created Montgomery County. At that time the town consisted of 33 town lots, four retail stores, and three taverns. A courthouse was built, the first of seven to be housed in Mt. Sterling. A jail and a town pump were also installed. A large brick market house where farm produce was bought and sold confirmed the town as the commercial center of the surrounding area. Baptist, Presbyterian and Methodist churches were established during the town's first decade. During the

Civil War A civil war is a war between organized groups within the same Sovereign state, state (or country). The aim of one side may be to take control of the country or a region, to achieve independence for a region, or to change government policies.J ...

the town was occupied alternately by Union and Confederate troops on multiple occasions. The Battle of Mount Sterling in June 1864, which ended in a Confederate defeat, was the last of the fighting in Montgomery County.

Geography

Mt. Sterling is located northwest of the center of Montgomery County at (38.056613, -83.944500). It is east of Lexington and west of

Huntington, West Virginia Huntington is a city in Cabell County, West Virginia, Cabell and Wayne County, West Virginia, Wayne counties in the U.S. state of West Virginia. The County seat, seat of Cabell County, the city is located at the confluence of the Ohio River, O ...

. U.S. Route 60 passes through the city as Main Street, leading northeast to Owingsville and west-southwest to

Winchester Winchester (, ) is a City status in the United Kingdom, cathedral city in Hampshire, England. The city lies at the heart of the wider City of Winchester, a local government Districts of England, district, at the western end of the South Downs N ...

. U.S. Route 460 crosses US 60 in the center of Mt. Sterling, leading northwest to

Paris Paris () is the Capital city, capital and List of communes in France with over 20,000 inhabitants, largest city of France. With an estimated population of 2,048,472 residents in January 2025 in an area of more than , Paris is the List of ci ...

and southeast to Frenchburg. Kentucky Route 11 joins US 460 through the center of Mt. Sterling but leads north to Flemingsburg and south to Clay City.

Interstate 64 Interstate 64 (I-64) is an east–west Interstate Highway in the Eastern United States. Its western terminus is at Interstate 70, I-70, U.S. Route 40 (US 40), and U.S. Route 61, US 61 in Wentzville, Missouri. Its eastern ter ...

passes through the northern part of Mt. Sterling, with access from exits 110 (US 460) and 113 (US 60), and connecting Mt. Sterling with Lexington and Huntington. 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 ...

, Mt. Sterling has a total area of , of which , or 0.49%, are water. Hinkston Creek runs through the city center, flowing north and then west to the South Fork of the Licking River in northern Bourbon County.

Climate

The climate in this area is characterized by hot, humid summers and generally mild to cool winters. According to the

Köppen Climate Classification The Köppen climate classification divides Earth climates into five main climate groups, with each group being divided based on patterns of seasonal precipitation and temperature. The five main groups are ''A'' (tropical), ''B'' (arid), ''C'' (te ...

system, Mt. Sterling has a

humid subtropical climate A humid subtropical climate is a subtropical -temperate climate type, characterized by long and hot summers, and cool to mild winters. These climates normally lie on the southeast side of all continents (except Antarctica), generally between ...

, abbreviated "Cfa" on climate maps.

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 5,876 people, 2,478 households, and 1,536 families residing in the city. The population density was . There were 2,768 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the city was 89.09%

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 ...

, 8.73%

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 ...

, 0.22% Native American, 0.19% Asian, 0.75% from other races, and 1.02% from two or more races.

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 people of any race were 1.68% of the population. There were 2,478 households, out of which 28.9% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 44.8% 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, 14.2% had a female householder with no husband present, and 38.0% were non-families. 33.3% of all households were made up of individuals, and 17.4% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.28 and the average family size was 2.89. In the city, the population was spread out, with 22.7% under the age of 18, 10.6% from 18 to 24, 28.4% from 25 to 44, 21.0% from 45 to 64, and 17.4% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 86.0 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 83.1 males. The median income for a household in the city was $27,050, and the median income for a family was $54,074. Males had a median income of $30,584 versus $21,081 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 city was $17,585. About 17.1% of families and 19.4% 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 29.4% of those under age 18 and 17.8% of those age 65 or over.

Arts and culture

Beginning in the eighteenth century, Court Day quickly became the annual trading day for the area. It remains a big event today, held on the third Monday in October and the weekend prior. Approximately 130,000 people from all parts of the country gather for the four-day event that specializes in many different arts and crafts, food and music. Mount Sterling is also home to Ruth Hunt Candies, a confectionery store created by Ruth Tharpe Hunt in 1921. Ruth Hunt Candies now sells over 70 different kinds of candy. The Gateway Regional Arts Center holds classes and exhibitions in the former First United Methodist Church, a historic building listed on the

National Register of Historic Places The National Register of Historic Places (NRHP) is the Federal government of the United States, United States federal government's official United States National Register of Historic Places listings, list of sites, buildings, structures, Hist ...

List of Registered Historical Places

* Bondurant House * Chesapeake and Ohio Railroad Passenger and Baggage Depots * Church of the Ascension * Confederate Monument of Mt. Sterling * East Mt. Sterling Historic District * Enoch Smith House * Gaitskill Mound Archeological Site * John Bell Hood House * KEAS Tabernacle Christian Methodist Episcopal Church * Machpelah Cemetery * Methodist Episcopal Church South * Miss Emma Hicks Bungalow * Monarch Milling Company * Mt. Sterling Commercial District * Northwest Residential District * Ralph Morgan Stone House * W. T. Fitzpatrick House * William Chiles House * Wright-Greene Mound Complex

Education

It is in the Montgomery County School District, and is home to Montgomery County High School. Mount Sterling has a

lending library A lending library is a library from which books and other media are lent out. The major classifications are endowed libraries, institutional libraries (the most diverse), public libraries, and subscription libraries. It may also refer to a librar ...

, a branch of the Montgomery County Public Library.

Notable people

* Lawrence Chenault (b. 1877),

film actor * Henry Daniel (1786–1873), congressman from Kentucky * Amos Davis (1794–1835), congressman from Kentucky *

Ernie Fletcher Ernest Lee Fletcher (born November 12, 1952) is an American physician and politician who was the List of governors of Kentucky, 60th governor of Kentucky from 2003 to 2007. He previously served three consecutive terms in the United States House ...

(b. 1952),

governor of Kentucky The governor of the Commonwealth of Kentucky is the head of government of the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Kentucky. Sixty-two men and one woman have served as governor of Kentucky. The governor's term is four years in length; sinc ...

(2003–2007) * Nancy Green (1834–1923), the original Aunt JemimaTom Eblen
"New location fitting for black history museum"
''Lexington Herald-Leader'', February 8, 2012. Retrieved August 8, 2013. * Robert E. Payne (b. 1941), United States district judge * Josephine B. Sneed (1899–1986), commissioner of Cook County, Illinois * Jeremy Sumpter (b. 1989), actor * James L. White (1947–2015), screenwriter known for '' Ray'' * Andrew T. Wood, (1834–1915), lawyer and politician

References

External links

* {{authority control * Cities in Kentucky Cities in Montgomery County, Kentucky County seats in Kentucky Mount Sterling, Kentucky micropolitan area