County in Kentucky, United States
County in Kentucky
Bracken County
is a
county
located in the
U.S. state
of
Kentucky
. As of the
2020 census
, the population was 8,400.
[1]
Its
county seat
is
Brooksville
.
[2]
The county was formed in 1796.
Bracken County is included in the
Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area
.
History
[
edit
]
Bracken County was organized as Kentucky's 23rd county in 1796 from parts of
Mason
and
Campbell
counties.
[3]
[4]
It was named after two creeks, the Big and Little Bracken, which in turn were named for
William Bracken
, an 18th-century explorer and surveyor who visited the area in 1773.
[5]
He was later killed by Indians during the
Northwest Indian War
. The county originally extended to southern
Nicholas County
, north to the
Ohio River
, west to the
Licking River
and east to Dover, Kentucky.
[6]
Several early
settlers
were veterans of the
American Revolutionary War
, including Captain Abner Howell, who brought his family came from
Pennsylvania
. He died in Bracken County in 1797.
The county government moved from Augusta to
Woodward's Crossing
(now
Brooksville
) in 1833.
Bracken was the birthplace of
John Gregg Fee
, founder of
Berea College
and Kentucky's most noted
abolitionist
. He was a graduate of Augusta College and
Lane Theological Seminary
. In 1822
Augusta College
was founded as the first
Methodist
college in the world.
Anti-slavery activists in Bracken County played a major role in the movement known as the
Underground Railroad
. There are several Underground Railroad sites in the
Augusta
area. A network of citizens sympathetic to escaping slaves helped them cross the
Ohio River
to nearby
Ripley, Ohio
and other points north.
[7]
Bracken County's economy was largely agricultural. Its chief crops before the
Civil War
were
tobacco
and corn. White
burley tobacco
, a light, adaptable leaf that revolutionized the industry, was first sold at the 1867
St. Louis
Fair by the farmer Mr. Webb from
Higginsport, Ohio
. He had produced it in 1864 from Bracken County seed and developed the type.
[8]
It became a major product of central Kentucky and central Tennessee.
Agriculture remains vital to the economy, with farms occupying 83.8 percent of the land area in 1982. Commodities include wheat, hay, and milk. Burley tobacco production in 1988 amounted to 5,406,000 pounds. Agricultural receipts in 1986 totaled $19,158,000 (~$45.2 million in 2023).
[9]
Historic schools
[
edit
]
Augusta:
Brooksville
:
Germantown
:
Milford
:
Law and government
[
edit
]
- Judge Executives
- Earl Bush (2011?Present)
- Gary Riggs (2007?2011)
- Leslie Newman (2002?2007)
- Dwayne "Pie" Jett (1987?2002)
United States presidential election results for Bracken County, Kentucky
[10]
Year
|
Republican
|
Democratic
|
Third party
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
No.
|
%
|
2020
|
3,398
|
80.03%
|
800
|
18.84%
|
48
|
1.13%
|
2016
|
2,711
|
76.86%
|
705
|
19.99%
|
111
|
3.15%
|
2012
|
2,029
|
62.78%
|
1,147
|
35.49%
|
56
|
1.73%
|
2008
|
2,066
|
60.78%
|
1,241
|
36.51%
|
92
|
2.71%
|
2004
|
2,363
|
65.46%
|
1,213
|
33.60%
|
34
|
0.94%
|
2000
|
2,065
|
68.40%
|
888
|
29.41%
|
66
|
2.19%
|
1996
|
1,371
|
50.40%
|
1,055
|
38.79%
|
294
|
10.81%
|
1992
|
1,162
|
39.63%
|
1,259
|
42.94%
|
511
|
17.43%
|
1988
|
1,630
|
57.72%
|
1,176
|
41.64%
|
18
|
0.64%
|
1984
|
1,812
|
60.89%
|
1,136
|
38.17%
|
28
|
0.94%
|
1980
|
1,154
|
43.65%
|
1,420
|
53.71%
|
70
|
2.65%
|
1976
|
879
|
35.23%
|
1,577
|
63.21%
|
39
|
1.56%
|
1972
|
1,628
|
64.30%
|
873
|
34.48%
|
31
|
1.22%
|
1968
|
1,115
|
40.81%
|
1,067
|
39.06%
|
550
|
20.13%
|
1964
|
861
|
30.54%
|
1,958
|
69.46%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1960
|
2,002
|
60.16%
|
1,326
|
39.84%
|
0
|
0.00%
|
1956
|
1,754
|
53.54%
|
1,515
|
46.25%
|
7
|
0.21%
|
1952
|
1,690
|
49.07%
|
1,753
|
50.90%
|
1
|
0.03%
|
1948
|
1,239
|
39.13%
|
1,863
|
58.84%
|
64
|
2.02%
|
1944
|
1,483
|
43.40%
|
1,915
|
56.04%
|
19
|
0.56%
|
1940
|
1,551
|
44.05%
|
1,961
|
55.69%
|
9
|
0.26%
|
1936
|
1,436
|
41.70%
|
1,956
|
56.79%
|
52
|
1.51%
|
1932
|
1,471
|
37.52%
|
2,407
|
61.39%
|
43
|
1.10%
|
1928
|
2,820
|
69.98%
|
1,201
|
29.80%
|
9
|
0.22%
|
1924
|
1,779
|
51.67%
|
1,485
|
43.13%
|
179
|
5.20%
|
1920
|
1,791
|
40.09%
|
2,621
|
58.66%
|
56
|
1.25%
|
1916
|
1,082
|
38.33%
|
1,676
|
59.37%
|
65
|
2.30%
|
1912
|
693
|
29.18%
|
1,315
|
55.37%
|
367
|
15.45%
|
Geography
[
edit
]
According to the
U.S. Census Bureau
, the county has a total area of 209 square miles (540 km
2
), of which 206 square miles (530 km
2
) is land and 3.3 square miles (8.5 km
2
) (1.6%) is water.
[11]
Adjacent counties
[
edit
]
Demographics
[
edit
]
Historical population
Census
| Pop.
| Note
| %±
|
1800
| 2,606
| | ?
|
---|
1810
| 3,706
| | 42.2%
|
---|
1820
| 5,280
| | 42.5%
|
---|
1830
| 6,518
| | 23.4%
|
---|
1840
| 7,053
| | 8.2%
|
---|
1850
| 8,903
| | 26.2%
|
---|
1860
| 11,021
| | 23.8%
|
---|
1870
| 11,409
| | 3.5%
|
---|
1880
| 13,509
| | 18.4%
|
---|
1890
| 12,369
| | ?8.4%
|
---|
1900
| 12,137
| | ?1.9%
|
---|
1910
| 10,308
| | ?15.1%
|
---|
1920
| 10,210
| | ?1.0%
|
---|
1930
| 9,616
| | ?5.8%
|
---|
1940
| 9,389
| | ?2.4%
|
---|
1950
| 8,424
| | ?10.3%
|
---|
1960
| 7,422
| | ?11.9%
|
---|
1970
| 7,227
| | ?2.6%
|
---|
1980
| 7,738
| | 7.1%
|
---|
1990
| 7,766
| | 0.4%
|
---|
2000
| 8,279
| | 6.6%
|
---|
2010
| 8,488
| | 2.5%
|
---|
2020
| 8,400
| | ?1.0%
|
---|
2023 (est.)
| 8,426
| [12]
| 0.3%
|
---|
As of the
census
[18]
of 2000, there were 8,279 people, 3,228 households, and 2,346 families residing in the county. The
population density
was 41 per square mile (16/km
2
). There were 3,715 housing units at an average density of 18 per square mile (6.9/km
2
). The racial makeup of the county was 98.48%
White
, 0.62%
Black
or
African American
, 0.25%
Native American
, 0.06%
Asian
, 0.04%
Pacific Islander
, 0.21% from
other races
, and 0.35% from two or more races. 0.47% of the population were
Hispanic
or
Latino
of any race.
There were 3,228 households, out of which 33.50% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 57.30% were
married couples
living together, 10.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 27.30% were non-families. 23.90% of all households were made up of individuals, and 11.30% 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 3.00.
In the county, the population was spread out, with 25.50% under the age of 18, 8.40% from 18 to 24, 29.50% from 25 to 44, 23.00% from 45 to 64, and 13.50% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 37 years. For every 100 females, there were 98.00 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 95.90 males.
The median income for a household in the county was $34,823, and the median income for a family was $40,469. Males had a median income of $31,503 versus $21,139 for females. The
per capita income
for the county was $16,478. About 7.60% of families and 10.80% of the population were below the
poverty line
, including 10.50% of those under age 18 and 17.30% of those age 65 or over.
Education
[
edit
]
School districts include:
[19]
Private schools:
Communities
[
edit
]
Cities
[
edit
]
Unincorporated Communities
[
edit
]
Notable residents
[
edit
]
- Nick Clooney
, a
Cincinnati
journalist and former newsanchor, and his wife Nina live in
Augusta
.
- George Clooney
, their son and an actor, grew up in Augusta and went to high school there.
- Heather French Henry
,
Miss America 2000
, grew up in Augusta and still lives there. Heather and her husband, former Ky. Lt. Governor
Steve Henry
, are the curators of the
Rosemary Clooney Museum
in Augusta.
- Rosemary Clooney
, singer and actress, lived in Augusta. Her most notable film was
White Christmas
.
- John G. Fee
, Minister and Educator, Born in Bracken Co. Founder
Berea College
.
See also
[
edit
]
References
[
edit
]
- ^
"Census - Geography Profile: Bracken County, Kentucky"
.
United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
December 30,
2022
.
- ^
"Find a County"
. National Association of Counties. Archived from
the original
on May 31, 2011
. Retrieved
June 7,
2011
.
- ^
Collins, Lewis (1882).
Collins' Historical Sketches of Kentucky: History of Kentucky, Volume 2
. Collins & Company. p. 26.
- ^
"Bracken County"
. The Kentucky Encyclopedia. 2000. Archived from
the original
on August 21, 2014
. Retrieved
August 20,
2014
.
- ^
The Register of the Kentucky State Historical Society, Volume 1
. Kentucky State Historical Society. 1903. pp.
34
.
- ^
"Bracken County History"
, Kentucky Historical Society
- ^
"Underground Railroad"
Archived
September 21, 2006, at the
Wayback Machine
, Augusta, Kentucky Website
- ^
J.M. Stoddart,
Encyclopædia Britannica. American Supplement
(Stoddart's Encyclopaedia Americana: A Dictionary of Arts, Sciences, and General Literature, and Companion to the Encyclopædia Britannica. (9th ed.) and to All Other Encyclopaedias, Volume 1), 1883, pp. 120?123, accessed February 5, 2011
- ^
"Bracken County, KY"
, Genealogy Inc
- ^
Leip, David.
"Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections"
.
uselectionatlas.org
. Retrieved
June 29,
2018
.
- ^
"2010 Census Gazetteer Files"
. United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from
the original
on August 12, 2014
. Retrieved
August 12,
2014
.
- ^
"Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023"
. United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
March 14,
2024
.
- ^
"U.S. Decennial Census"
. United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
August 12,
2014
.
- ^
"Historical Census Browser"
. University of Virginia Library
. Retrieved
August 12,
2014
.
- ^
"Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990"
. United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
August 12,
2014
.
- ^
"Census 2000 PHC-T-4. Ranking Tables for Counties: 1990 and 2000"
(PDF)
. United States Census Bureau.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on March 27, 2010
. Retrieved
August 12,
2014
.
- ^
"State & County QuickFacts"
. United States Census Bureau. Archived from
the original
on June 7, 2011
. Retrieved
March 5,
2014
.
- ^
"U.S. Census website"
.
United States Census Bureau
. Retrieved
January 31,
2008
.
- ^
"2020 CENSUS - SCHOOL DISTRICT REFERENCE MAP: Bracken County, KY"
(PDF)
.
U.S. Census Bureau
.
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on July 26, 2022
. Retrieved
July 25,
2022
.
-
Text list
- For more detailed boundaries of the independent school districts see:
"Appendix B: Maps Of Independent School Districts In Operation In FY 2014-FY 2015 Using 2005 Tax District Boundaries ? Augusta ISD"
(PDF)
.
Research Report No. 415 ? Kentucky's Independent School Districts: A Primer
. Frankfort, KY: Office of Education Accountability, Legislative Research Commission. September 15, 2015. p. 88 (PDF p. 102).
Archived
(PDF)
from the original on December 10, 2020.
External links
[
edit
]
|
---|
International
| |
---|
National
| |
---|
Other
| |
---|
38°41′N
84°05′W
/
38.69°N 84.08°W
/
38.69; -84.08