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Gallatin County, Kentucky

Coordinates: 38°46′N 84°52′W / 38.76°N 84.86°W / 38.76; -84.86
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Gallatin County
County
Gallatin County Courthouse in Warsaw
Gallatin County Courthouse in Warsaw
Map of Kentucky highlighting Gallatin County
Location within the U.S. state of Kentucky
Map of the United States highlighting Kentucky
Kentucky's location within the U.S.
Coordinates: 38°46′N 84°52′W / 38.76°N 84.86°W / 38.76; -84.86
Country United States
State Kentucky
Founded1798
Named forAlbert Gallatin
SeatWarsaw
Largest cityWarsaw
Area
 • Total105 sq mi (270 km2)
 • Land101 sq mi (260 km2)
 • Water3.5 sq mi (9 km2)  3.3%
Population
 (2020)
 • Total8,690
 • Estimate 
(2023)
8,792 Increase
 • Density83/sq mi (32/km2)
Time zoneUTC−5 (Eastern)
 • Summer (DST)UTC−4 (EDT)
Congressional district4th
Websitegallatincounty.ky.gov

Gallatin County, is a county located in the northern part of the U.S. state of Kentucky. Its county seat is Warsaw.[1] The county was founded in 1798 and named for Albert Gallatin, the Secretary of the Treasury under President Thomas Jefferson.[2][3] Gallatin County is included in the Cincinnati-Middletown, OH-KY-IN Metropolitan Statistical Area. It is located along the Ohio River across from Indiana.

History

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The county was formed on December 14, 1798. Gallatin was the 31st Kentucky county to be established. It was derived from parts of Franklin and Shelby counties.[4] Later, parts of the county were pared off to create three additional counties: Owen in 1819, Trimble in 1836, and Carroll in 1838. Today Gallatin is one tenth of its original size. Its northern border is the Ohio River.

The population of Gallatin County in 1800 was 1,291, according to the Second Census of Kentucky, composed of 960 whites, 329 slaves, and 2 "freemen of color".[5]

During the Civil War, several skirmishes occurred in the county and the Union Army arrested a number of men for treason for supporting the Confederates.

The 1866 Gallatin County Race Riot happened just after the Civil War, when bands of lawless Ku Klux Klansmen terrorized parts of the Bluegrass State. "A band of five hundred whites in Gallatin County... forced hundreds of blacks to flee across the Ohio River."[6]

On December 4, 1868, two passenger steamers, the America and the United States, collided on the Ohio River near Warsaw. The United States carried a cargo of kerosene barrels which caught fire. The flames soon spread to the America, and many passengers perished by burning or drowning. The combined death toll was 162, making it one of the most deadly steamboat accidents in American history.

The Lynchings of the Frenches of Warsaw were conducted by a white mob on May 3, 1876. It was unusual as Benjamin and Mollie French were killed for the murder of Lake Jones, another, older African-American man. They were hanged by local masked KKK members.[7]

As the 20th century progressed, commercial river trade began to decline, and the steamboat era ended, as faster means of transportation became available. Rail lines expanded, automobiles and trucks became reliable, and aircraft soon arrived on the scene. In the postwar period after World War II, numerous major highways were constructed, leading to greater auto travel and commuting. Gallatin County is traversed by I-71, U.S. 42, and U.S. 127. By the 1980s, more than 50 percent of the population was employed outside the county.[8]

Construction on the Markland Locks and Dam began in 1956 and was completed in 1964. In 1967 a hydroelectric power plant was built at the dam, which provided jobs.

Marco Allen Chapman was executed in 2008 for multiple murders he committed on August 23, 2002, in Warsaw, Kentucky.[9] He murdered two children, Chelbi Sharon, 7, and Cody Sharon, 6, by slitting their throats.[10] He raped and stabbed their mother, Carolyn Marksberry, more than 15 times.[11] A third child, daughter 10-year-old Courtney Sharon, played dead after being stabbed and then escaped.[12] Thirty-seven-year-old Chapman was executed on November 21, 2008, by lethal injection at the Kentucky State Penitentiary in Eddyville, Kentucky. He was the last person executed by the Commonwealth.[13]

Geography

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According to the U.S. Census Bureau, the county has a total area of 105 square miles (270 km2), of which 101 square miles (260 km2) is land and 3.5 square miles (9.1 km2) (3.3%) is water.[14] It is the second smallest county by area in Kentucky.[15]

Adjacent counties

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Demographics

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Historical population
CensusPop.Note%±
18001,291—
18103,307156.2%
18207,075113.9%
18306,674−5.7%
18404,003−40.0%
18505,13728.3%
18605,056−1.6%
18705,0740.4%
18804,832−4.8%
18904,611−4.6%
19005,16312.0%
19104,697−9.0%
19204,664−0.7%
19304,437−4.9%
19404,307−2.9%
19503,969−7.8%
19603,867−2.6%
19704,1346.9%
19804,84217.1%
19905,39311.4%
20007,87045.9%
20108,5899.1%
20208,6901.2%
2023 (est.)8,792[16]1.2%
U.S. Decennial Census[17]
1790–1960[18] 1900–1990[19]
1990–2000[20] 2010–2021[21]

As of the 2010 United States Census, there were 8,589 people living in the county. 94.7% were White, 1.3% Black or African American, 0.2% Asian, 0.1% Native American, 1.6% of some other race and 2.0% of two or more races. 4.3% were Hispanic or Latino (of any race). 22.6% were of German, 21.4% American, 13.8% Irish and 6.5% English ancestry.[22]

As of the census[23] of 2000, there were 7,870 people, 2,902 households, and 2,135 families living in the county. The population density was 80 per square mile (31/km2). There were 3,362 housing units at an average density of 34 per square mile (13/km2). The racial makeup of the county was 96.72% White, 1.59% Black or African American, 0.18% Native American, 0.22% Asian, 0.25% from other races, and 1.04% from two or more races. 1.04% of the population were Hispanic or Latino of any race.

There were 2,902 households, out of which 37.00% had children under the age of 18 living with them, 58.00% were married couples living together, 10.70% had a female householder with no husband present, and 26.40% were non-families. 22.00% of all households were made up of individuals, and 8.20% had someone living alone who was 65 years of age or older. The average household size was 2.68 and the average family size was 3.11.

In the county, the population was spread out, with 28.60% under the age of 18, 7.70% from 18 to 24, 31.00% from 25 to 44, 22.50% from 45 to 64, and 10.30% who were 65 years of age or older. The median age was 35 years. For every 100 females there were 98.90 males. For every 100 females age 18 and over, there were 96.00 males.

The median income for a household in the county was $36,422, and the median income for a family was $41,136. Males had a median income of $32,081 versus $21,803 for females. The per capita income for the county was $16,416. About 11.60% of families and 13.40% of the population were below the poverty line, including 16.60% of those under age 18 and 16.40% of those age 65 or over.

Politics

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United States presidential election results for Gallatin County, Kentucky[24]
Year Republican Democratic Third party(ies)
No.  % No.  % No.  %
2024 3,109 79.37% 761 19.43% 47 1.20%
2020 2,955 76.77% 822 21.36% 72 1.87%
2016 2,443 73.19% 749 22.44% 146 4.37%
2012 1,758 57.43% 1,238 40.44% 65 2.12%
2008 1,840 57.63% 1,278 40.03% 75 2.35%
2004 1,869 60.82% 1,188 38.66% 16 0.52%
2000 1,345 54.70% 1,049 42.66% 65 2.64%
1996 838 35.72% 1,189 50.68% 319 13.60%
1992 699 30.01% 1,171 50.28% 459 19.71%
1988 881 45.13% 1,060 54.30% 11 0.56%
1984 1,042 49.78% 1,042 49.78% 9 0.43%
1980 684 40.14% 988 57.98% 32 1.88%
1976 436 26.86% 1,164 71.72% 23 1.42%
1972 719 53.38% 612 45.43% 16 1.19%
1968 413 29.35% 685 48.69% 309 21.96%
1964 267 17.60% 1,246 82.14% 4 0.26%
1960 756 42.38% 1,028 57.62% 0 0.00%
1956 547 30.89% 1,223 69.06% 1 0.06%
1952 465 25.12% 1,383 74.72% 3 0.16%
1948 342 19.67% 1,381 79.41% 16 0.92%
1944 516 27.33% 1,360 72.03% 12 0.64%
1940 495 25.10% 1,473 74.70% 4 0.20%
1936 404 21.55% 1,456 77.65% 15 0.80%
1932 365 16.87% 1,792 82.85% 6 0.28%
1928 1,010 55.04% 823 44.85% 2 0.11%
1924 750 42.13% 1,007 56.57% 23 1.29%
1920 536 23.03% 1,782 76.58% 9 0.39%
1916 283 21.01% 1,060 78.69% 4 0.30%
1912 174 14.57% 906 75.88% 114 9.55%
1908 321 24.92% 958 74.38% 9 0.70%
1904 334 25.87% 941 72.89% 16 1.24%
1900 404 28.27% 1,018 71.24% 7 0.49%
1896 396 29.44% 933 69.37% 16 1.19%
1892 237 23.72% 737 73.77% 25 2.50%
1888 313 26.98% 821 70.78% 26 2.24%
1884 254 25.02% 753 74.19% 8 0.79%
1880 274 28.63% 683 71.37% 0 0.00%

Gallatin County used to be Democratic. In 1984, it was tied between Walter Mondale and Ronald Reagan, even as Reagan won Kentucky in a landslide (see blue tab in the table). However, more recently it has turned more Republican, giving 73% of the vote to Donald Trump (even as Trump lost the popular vote nationally) in 2016.

Communities

[edit]

Infrastructure

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Transportation

[edit]

Interstate 71 runs through Gallatin County, with three exits around Sparta and Glencoe. Public transportation is provided by Senior Services of Northern Kentucky with demand-response service.[25]

Aviation

[edit]

Proposals to build an airport in Gallatin County first circulated in 2004. Funding was officially granted by federal, state, and local authorities in 2019.[26] The airport officially opened in June 2023, and given the FAA location identifier 8GK.[27]

Notable residents

[edit]
Albert Gallatin is honored with a statue in front of the U.S. Treasury Building in Washington, D.C.

See also

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References

[edit]
  1. ^ "Find a County". National Association of Counties. Archived from the original on May 31, 2011. Retrieved June 7, 2011.
  2. ^ Gannett, Henry (1905). The Origin of Certain Place Names in the United States. Govt. Print. Off. p. 133.
  3. ^ Bryant, Ron D. "Gallatin County". The Kentucky Encyclopedia. Archived from the original on October 2, 2018. Retrieved September 22, 2022.
  4. ^ Collins, Lewis (1882). Collins' Historical Sketches of Kentucky: History of Kentucky, Volume 2. Collins & Company. p. 26.
  5. ^ Libraries, University of Kentucky. "Notable Kentucky African Americans - Gallatin County (KY) Slaves, Free Blacks, and Free Mulattoes, 1850-1870".
  6. ^ Harrison, Lowell H. and James C. Klotter 1997. A New History of Kentucky. University Press of Kentucky. Lexington, Kentucky. pg. 237.
  7. ^ Wright, George C. 1990. Racial Violence in Kentucky, 1865–1940: Lynchings, Mob Rule, and "Legal Lynchings". Baton Rouge and London: Louisiana State University Press, pp. 98-99.
  8. ^ "Gallatin County", Rootsweb
  9. ^ "Kentucky death row inmate: 'I'm ready and I'm sorry'". USATODAY.com. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  10. ^ Estep, Bill. "Killer is Executed", Lexington Herald-Leader. November 22, 2008
  11. ^ "Supreme Court of Kentucky. Marco Allen CHAPMAN, Appellant, v. COMMONWEALTH of Kentucky, Appellee. No. 2005-SC-000070-MR. Decided: August 23, 2007". FindLaw. Retrieved February 13, 2017.
  12. ^ Mark Pitsch. Two Gallatin Children Killed in Knife Attack; Mom, Sister Hurt; Suspect Arrested in West Virginia. August 24, 2002. Courier-Journal. Louisville, Ky.
  13. ^ [1], WCPO-TV, News Local
  14. ^ "2010 Census Gazetteer Files". United States Census Bureau. August 22, 2012. Archived from the original on August 12, 2014. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  15. ^ "Kentucky Counties". Uky.edu. Retrieved February 24, 2017.
  16. ^ "Annual Estimates of the Resident Population for Counties: April 1, 2020 to July 1, 2023". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved March 14, 2024.
  17. ^ "U.S. Decennial Census". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  18. ^ "Historical Census Browser". University of Virginia Library. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  19. ^ "Population of Counties by Decennial Census: 1900 to 1990". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved August 14, 2014.
  20. ^ "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 14, 2014.
  21. ^ "State & County QuickFacts". United States Census Bureau. Archived from the original on June 7, 2011. Retrieved March 6, 2014.
  22. ^ Bureau, U.S. Census. "U.S. Census website". {{cite web}}: |last= has generic name (help)
  23. ^ "U.S. Census website". United States Census Bureau. Retrieved January 31, 2008.
  24. ^ Leip, David. "Dave Leip's Atlas of U.S. Presidential Elections". uselectionatlas.org. Retrieved July 1, 2018.
  25. ^ "SSNK Transportation Services". Senior Services of Northern Kentucky. Archived from the original on May 20, 2015. Retrieved May 19, 2015.
  26. ^ Weingartner, Tana. "You're clear for takeoff: Gallatin County Regional Airport is officially open". wxvu.org. Cincinnati Public Radio. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
  27. ^ "Gallatin County Airport". airnav.com. AirNav. Retrieved June 20, 2024.
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