Shelby 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 48,065. 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 Shelbyville. The county was established in 1792 and named for

Isaac Shelby Isaac Shelby (December 11, 1750 – July 18, 1826) was an American politician and military officer who was the List of governors of Kentucky, first and fifth Governor of Kentucky and served in the state legislatures of Virginia and North Ca ...

, the first

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 ...

. Shelby County is part of the Louisville/Jefferson County, KY– IN Metropolitan Statistical Area. Shelby County's motto is "Good Land, Good Living, Good People".

History

Shelby County was founded in 1792 from land given by Jefferson County.

Founding families

One of the earliest families to settle in Shelby County was that of Daniel Ketcham of Washington County,

Maryland Maryland ( ) is a U.S. state, state in the Mid-Atlantic (United States), Mid-Atlantic region of the United States. It borders the states of Virginia to its south, West Virginia to its west, Pennsylvania to its north, and Delaware to its east ...

. Ketcham, who arrived in 1784, had been a soldier in the

American Revolution The American Revolution (1765–1783) was a colonial rebellion and war of independence in which the Thirteen Colonies broke from British America, British rule to form the United States of America. The revolution culminated in the American ...

. He had 9 children. His oldest, John Ketcham, moved to

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 ...

, become involved in politics, and laid the groundwork for the creation of

Indiana University Indiana University (IU) is a state university system, system of Public university, public universities in the U.S. state of Indiana. The system has two core campuses, five regional campuses, and two regional centers under the administration o ...

. Another early settler was Thomas Mitchell, who also moved to Shelby County in 1784. Mitchell was born on December 16, 1777, in

Augusta County, Virginia Augusta County is a county in the Shenandoah Valley on the western edge of the Commonwealth of Virginia in the United States. The second-largest county of Virginia by total area, it completely surrounds the independent cities of Staunton and ...

. He married Rebecca Ketcham, daughter of Daniel Ketcham, and settled near the headwaters of South Fork Clear Creek (or Mulberry Creek). Mitchell was commissioned an ensign in the 18th Regiment of Militia and on January 4, 1801, Governor James Garrard became a captain in the 18th Regiment. Mitchell was a minister of the Methodist Church and served 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 ...

Sale of alcohol

Shelby County was historically a prohibition or completely

dry county In the United States, a dry county is a county whose local government forbids the sale of any kind of alcoholic beverages. Some prohibit off-premises sale, some prohibit on-premises sale, and some prohibit both. The vast majority of counties n ...

, but the city of Shelbyville is now wet (i.e., allows retail alcohol sales), and the county has voted wet and now allows package sales (7 days a week) and restaurants outside Shelbyville to sell alcoholic beverages by the drink if they seat at least 100 patrons and derive at least 70% of their total sales from food. Today, Shelby County is officially classified by the Kentucky Office of Alcoholic Beverage Control as a wet county.

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 (1.6%) is water. Jeptha Knob at is the highest point in the Louisville area. Guist Creek Lake and Marina offers 325 acres of fishing.

Adjacent counties

* Henry County (north) * Franklin County (east) * Anderson County (southeast) * Spencer County (southwest) * Jefferson County (west) * Oldham County (northwest)

Major highways

* * * * *

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 33,337 people, 12,104 households, and 9,126 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 12,857 housing units at an average density of . The racial makeup of the county was 86.61%

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 ...

, 8.83%

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 ...

, 0.30% Native American, 0.40% Asian, 0.12%

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 ...

, 2.39% from other races, and 1.34% from two or more races. 4.51% 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 12,104 households, out of which 34.70% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 61.00% 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, 10.60% had a female householder with no husband present, and 24.60% were non-families. 20.20% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.00% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.63 and the average family size was 3.00. The age distribution was 25.20% under the age of 18, 8.70% from 18 to 24, 31.40% from 25 to 44, 24.00% from 45 to 64, and 10.80% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 36 years. For every 100 females, there were 94.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.30 males. The median income for a household in the county was $45,534, and the median income for a family was $52,764. Males had a median income of $35,484 versus $25,492 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 $20,195. About 6.50% of families and 9.90% 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 11.70% of those under age 18 and 12.30% of those age 65 or over.

Education

School districts in Shelby County include: �
Text list
– For more detailed boundaries of the independent school districts see: – The Census Bureau map only shows Shelby County Public Schools, but the State of Kentucky document shows Eminence ISD does extend into Shelby County. * Shelby County Public Schools * Eminence Independent School District

Shelby County Public Schools

Shelby County Public Schools has six elementary schools, two middle schools, and two high schools. Sally Sugg is the Superintendent of Schools. Schools located in Shelby County include: Elementary Schools * Clear Creek Elementary School * Heritage Elementary School * Marnel C. Moorman School * Painted Stone Elementary School * Simpsonville Elementary School * Southside Elementary School * Wright Elementary School Middle Schools * Marnel C. Moorman School * Shelby County East Middle School * Shelby County West Middle School High Schools: * Martha Layne Collins High School * Shelby County High School

Shelby County Public Library

The Shelby County Public Library, built in 1903, is one of few Carnegie libraries still functioning as a public library in Kentucky. Pamela W. Federspiel is the executive director.

Communities

Cities

* Pleasureville (partly in Henry County) * Shelbyville (county seat) * Simpsonville

Unincorporated communities

* Bagdad * Chestnut Grove * Christianburg * Clark * Clay Village * Cropper * Finchville * Harrisonville * Hemp Ridge * Mt. Eden * Mulberry * Olive Branch * Peytona * Southville * Todds Point * Waddy

Politics

The county voted "No" on 2022 Kentucky Amendment 2, an anti-abortion ballot measure, by 52% to 48%, and backed

Donald Trump Donald John Trump (born June 14, 1946) is an American politician, media personality, and businessman who is the 47th president of the United States. A member of the Republican Party (United States), Republican Party, he served as the 45 ...

with 64% of the vote to

Joe Biden Joseph Robinette Biden Jr. (born November 20, 1942) is an American politician who was the 46th president of the United States from 2021 to 2025. A member of the Democratic Party (United States), Democratic Party, he served as the 47th vice p ...

's 34% in the 2020 presidential election. The County Judge/Executive is Dan Ison.

Elected officials

References

* "Excerpts from the Executive Journal of Governor James Garrad," Kentucky Historical Society Register, vol. 32, p. 133. * Woodfill, Gabriel, "A Preacher of the Gospel," Marriage Bonds of Shelby County – 1792–1800, Kentucky Marriage Records: From the Register of the Kentucky Historical Society, Baltimore 1983, p. 693. * Willis, George L. Sr., History of Shelby County Kentucky, Shelbyville 1929, p. 115.

External links

*
ShelbyKY Tourism

Shelby County Public Schools

Shelby County Chamber of Commerce
{{authority control Kentucky counties Louisville metropolitan area 1792 establishments in Kentucky Populated places established in 1792