Perry 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 ...

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 28,473. 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 ...

Hazard A hazard is a potential source of harm. Substances, events, or circumstances can constitute hazards when their nature would potentially allow them to cause damage to health, life, property, or any other interest of value. The probability of that ...

. The county was founded in 1820. Both the county and county seat are named for Commodore Oliver Hazard Perry, a naval hero in the

War of 1812 The War of 1812 was fought by the United States and its allies against the United Kingdom of Great Britain and Ireland, United Kingdom and its allies in North America. It began when the United States United States declaration of war on the Uni ...

History

The area presently bounded by Kentucky state lines was a part of the U.S. State of

Virginia Virginia, officially the Commonwealth of Virginia, is a U.S. state, state in the Southeastern United States, Southeastern and Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic regions of the United States between the East Coast of the United States ...

, known as Kentucky County when the British colonies separated themselves 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 ...

. In 1780, Kentucky County was divided into three counties: Fayette, Jefferson, and Lincoln. In 1791, this area was separated into the State of Kentucky; it became effective on June 1, 1792. From that time, the original three counties were divided several times. By 1820, the present Perry County was formed from portions of Floyd and

Clay Clay is a type of fine-grained natural soil material containing clay minerals (hydrous aluminium phyllosilicates, e.g. kaolinite, ). Most pure clay minerals are white or light-coloured, but natural clays show a variety of colours from impuriti ...

counties. In 1824 the first post office was built on the north fork of the Kentucky River, and was called the Perry Post Office. The first settlers around this area were Elijah Combs, his seven brothers and daughter Jade Miller. The county's economy has long been based on logging and mining coal. Perry County is home to Hazard Community and Technical College. It is also home to the Hazard ARH Regional Medical Center, a not-for-profit health system operating 10 hospitals, multi-specialty physician practices, home health agencies, HomeCare Stores and retail pharmacies. It is the largest provider of care and single largest employer in southeastern Kentucky and the third largest private employer in southern West Virginia.

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.

Adjacent counties

* Breathitt County (north) * Knott County (northeast) * Letcher County (southeast) * Harlan County (south) * Leslie County (west) * Clay County (northwest) * Owsley 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 29,390 people, 11,460 households, and 8,491 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 12,741 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 97.34%

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 ...

, 1.64%

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 ...

, 0.05% Native American, 0.49% 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 ...

, 0.04% from other races, and 0.43% from two or more races. 0.52% 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 11,460 households, out of which 34.20% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 56.70% 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, 13.20% had a female householder with no husband present, and 25.90% were non-families. 23.30% of all households were made up of individuals, and 9.30% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.53 and the average family size was 2.98. In the county, the population was spread out, with 24.40% under the age of 18, 9.10% from 18 to 24, 30.70% from 25 to 44, 24.60% from 45 to 64, and 11.20% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females there were 94.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $22,089, and the median income for a family was $26,718. Males had a median income of $31,702 versus $20,502 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 $12,224. About 26.10% of families and 29.10% 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 36.00% of those under age 18 and 20.60% of those age 65 or over.

Life expectancy

Of 3,142 counties in the United States in 2013, Perry County ranked 3,140 (3rd-from-last) in the life expectancy of both male and female residents. Males in Perry County lived an average of 66.5 years and females lived an average of 73.1 years compared to the national average for longevity of 76.5 for males and 81.2 for females. Moreover, the average longevity in Perry County declined by 0.1 years for males and 2.4 years for females between 1985 and 2013 compared to a national average for the same period of an increased life span of 5.5 years for men and 3.1 years for women. The coal-mining industry, high rates of smoking and obesity and a low level of physical activity appear to be contributing factors to the lowered longevity for both sexes.

Politics

Elected officials

Education

Public

The county has two school districts:

Perry County Schools

This district covers the entire county except for the city of Hazard. * * Buckhorn Elementary School * Buckhorn High School * * East Perry Elementary School * Perry County Central High School * Robinson Elementary School * R.W. Combs Elementary School * West Perry Elementary School * Viper Elementary School *

Hazard Independent Schools

This district essentially encompasses the city of Hazard. Se
this link
for a more accurate map of the Hazard district boundary. * Hazard High School * Hazard Middle School * Roy G. Eversole Elementary School

Private

* Hazard Christian Academy

Economy

Coal companies in Perry County

* Arch Coal * James River Coal Company * TECO Coal

Media

Television

* WYMT-TV * WKHA-TV, a satellite station of Kentucky Educational Television

Radio

* WSGS * WKIC * WJMD * WEKH, a satellite station of WEKU * WQXY * WLZD-LP

Newspapers

* '' Hazard Herald''

Infrastructure

Transportation

Public transportation is provided by LKLP Community Action Partnership with demand-response service and scheduled service in

, and connecting to Hindman, Hyden, and Whitesburg.

Communities

Cities

* Buckhorn *

(county seat) * Vicco (part)

Census-designated places

* Combs * Diablock *

Jeff Jeff is a masculine name, often a short form (hypocorism) of the English given name Jefferson or Jeffrey, which comes from a medieval variant of Geoffrey. Music * DJ Jazzy Jeff, American DJ/turntablist record producer Jeffrey Allen Townes ...

Other unincorporated places

* Allais * Allock * Ary * Avawam *

Beehive A beehive is an enclosed structure which houses honey bees, subgenus '' Apis.'' Honey bees live in the beehive, raising their young and producing honey as part of their seasonal cycle. Though the word ''beehive'' is used to describe the nest of ...

* Blue Diamond *

Boat A boat is a watercraft of a large range of types and sizes, but generally smaller than a ship, which is distinguished by its larger size or capacity, its shape, or its ability to carry boats. Small boats are typically used on inland waterways s ...

* Bonnyman * Bulan * Busy *

Butterfly Butterflies are winged insects from the lepidopteran superfamily Papilionoidea, characterized by large, often brightly coloured wings that often fold together when at rest, and a conspicuous, fluttering flight. The oldest butterfly fossi ...

* Chavies *

Christopher Christopher is the English language, English version of a Europe-wide name derived from the Greek language, Greek name Χριστόφορος (''Christophoros'' or ''Christoforos''). The constituent parts are Χριστός (''Christós''), "Jesus ...

* Clemons * Combs * Cornettsville * Curly Fork * Daisy * Darfork * Defiance * Delphia *

Dice A die (: dice, sometimes also used as ) is a small, throwable object with marked sides that can rest in multiple positions. Dice are used for generating random values, commonly as part of tabletop games, including dice games, board games, ro ...

* Doorway * Dow * Dunraven *

Dwarf Dwarf, dwarfs or dwarves may refer to: Common uses *Dwarf (folklore), a supernatural being from Germanic folklore * Dwarf, a human or animal with dwarfism Arts, entertainment, and media Fictional entities * Dwarf (''Dungeons & Dragons''), a sh ...

* Eversole * Farler * Fourseam * Fusonia * Gays Creek * Glomawr * Grigsby * Happy * Happy Valley * Hardburly * Harveyton * Hilton * Hiner *

Hurricane A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system with a low-pressure area, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depending on its ...

Johnson Johnson may refer to: People and fictional characters *Johnson (surname), a common surname in English * Johnson (given name), a list of people * List of people with surname Johnson, including fictional characters *Johnson (composer) (1953–2011) ...

* Jones *

Kodak The Eastman Kodak Company, referred to simply as Kodak (), is an American public company that produces various products related to its historic basis in film photography. The company is headquartered in Rochester, New York, and is incorporated i ...

Krypton Krypton (from 'the hidden one') is a chemical element; it has symbol (chemistry), symbol Kr and atomic number 36. It is a colorless, odorless noble gas that occurs in trace element, trace amounts in the Earth's atmosphere, atmosphere and is of ...

* Lamont * Leatherwood * Lead Branch * Lothair * Middle Fork * Miller * Mudlick * Napfor * Olivers * Otter Creek * Red Hill * Rock Fork *

Saul Saul (; , ; , ; ) was a monarch of ancient Israel and Judah and, according to the Hebrew Bible and Old Testament, the first king of the United Monarchy, a polity of uncertain historicity. His reign, traditionally placed in the late eleventh c ...

* Scuddy * Sixteen * Slemp * Stacy * Tenmile * Tilford * Tribbey * Typo * Upper Pidgeonroost *

Viper Vipers are snakes in the family Viperidae, found in most parts of the world, except for Antarctica, Australia, Hawaii, Madagascar, New Zealand, Ireland, and various other isolated islands. They are venomous and have long (relative to non-vipe ...

* Wentz * Whitaker * Whitsett * Woodland Park * Yerkes

Ghost towns

* Upper Squabble

Notable residents

* Shelby Lee Adams - American photographer * Chester Jones - American businessman, educator, and politician * Jean Ritchie - Folk singer

References

External links

*
Hazard Kentucky and Perry County: A Photographic History

Hazard Kentucky and Perry County History & Ancestry
{{Coord, 37.24, -83.23, display=title, type:adm2nd_region:US-KY_source:UScensus1990 Kentucky counties 1820 establishments in Kentucky Populated places established in 1820