Washington County, Kentucky

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Washington County, Kentucky
Map
Location in the state of Kentucky
Kentucky's location in the U.S.
Statistics
Founded	1792
Seat	Springfield
Area - Total - Land - Water	302 sq mi (781 km²) 301 sq mi (779 km²) 1 sq mi (2 km²), 0.31%
Population - (2000) - Density	10,916 36/sq mi (14/km²)
Time zone	Eastern: UTC-5/-4
Website: www.springfieldkentuckychamber.com
Named for: George Washington (1732–1799), American Revolutionary War General and First President of the United States.

Washington County is a county located in the U.S. state of Kentucky. As of 2000, the population is 10,916. Its county seat is Springfield. The county is named for George Washington. Washington County was the first county formed in the Commonwealth of Kentucky when it reached statehood.^[1] The center of population of Kentucky is located in Washington County, in the city of Willisburg.^[2]

The county is dry, meaning that the sale of alcohol is prohibited, but contains the wet city of Springfield, where retail alcohol sales are allowed. This makes Washington County a moist county. Three wineries also operate in the county and are licensed to sell to the public despite lying in otherwise dry territory.^[3] Jacob Beam, founder of Jim Beam whiskey, sold his first barrel of whiskey in Washington County.^[4]

The Washington County Courthouse, completed in 1816, is the oldest courthouse still in use in Kentucky.

A significant county court record is the marriage bond of President Abraham Lincoln's parents, Thomas Lincoln and Nancy Hanks.^[5] The bond is dated June 10, 1806; the day before the marriage in the small community of Beechland on the Little Beech River. The marriage return was signed by Jesse Head, the Methodist preacher who performed the ceremony, and dates the marriage to June 12, 1806.

1 Geography
- 1.1 Adjacent Counties
2 Demographics^[6]
3 Cities, towns and communities
4 See also
5 References

[edit] Geography

According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 302 square miles (781 km²), of which, 301 square miles (779 km²) of it is land and 1 square miles (2 km²) of it (0.31%) is water.

[edit] Adjacent Counties

[edit] Demographics^[6]

Historical populations
Census	Pop.	%±
1800	9,050	—
1810	13,248	46.4%
1820	15,947	20.4%
1830	19,017	19.3%
1840	10,596	-44.3%
1850	12,194	15.1%
1860	11,575	-5.1%
1870	12,464	7.7%
1880	14,419	15.7%
1890	13,622	-5.5%
1900	14,182	4.1%
1910	13,940	-1.7%
1920	14,773	6.0%
1930	12,623	-14.6%
1940	12,965	2.7%
1950	12,777	-1.5%
1960	11,168	-12.6%
1970	10,728	-3.9%
1980	10,764	0.3%
1990	10,441	-3.0%
2000	10,916	4.5%

As of the census of 2000, there were 10,916 people, 4,121 households, and 3,020 families residing in the county. The population density was 36 people per square mile (14/km²). There were 4,542 housing units at an average density of 15 per square mile (6/km²). The racial makeup of the county was 90.62% White, 7.51% Black or African American, 0.16% Native American, 0.28% Asian, 0.61% from other races, and 0.82% from two or more races. 1.60% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 4,121 households out of which 33.10% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 59.50% were married couples living together, 10.00% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.70% were non-families. 24.00% of all households were made up of individuals and 11.40% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.57 and the average family size was 3.03.

The age distribution was 25.30% under the age of 18, 8.80% from 18 to 24, 27.90% from 25 to 44, 23.10% from 45 to 64, and 15.00% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females there were 96.60 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 91.90 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $33,136, and the median income for a family was $39,240. Males had a median income of $27,624 versus $21,593 for females. The per capita income for the county was $15,722. About 10.30% of families and 13.50% of the population were below the poverty line, including 14.40% of those under age 18 and 19.60% of those age 65 or over.